Before formatting
What to Do

Why is a reinstallation so often carried out "incompletely"?

Because everyone looks in the same places: Desktop, Documents, Pictures. Those are the folders that are visible anyway. The real problem is that applications keep their own data in folders that are not visible to the user. This data goes when the drive is formatted, and most of it cannot be brought back — because even if it is technically “recoverable”, the new Windows installation has been written over it.

Backing up before a format is therefore not merely a matter of copying files. If you work through the nine items below in order, you will not have to search for anything after the format.

1. Copy the desktop and the user folders exactly as they are

In Windows C:\Users\YourUserName copying the folder in its entirety to an external drive is the most reliable method. Desktop, Documents, Downloads, Pictures, Videos and Music are already contained within this folder. Taking the parent folder instead of selecting them one by one reduces the chance of forgetting something to zero.

There is also a classic pitfall: Shortcuts on the desktop are not files. The actual file a shortcut points to may be on another drive or in another folder. Copying the shortcut gains you nothing; use right-click → “Open file location” to find the real file and back that up.

Make hidden folders visible

When you enable hidden items from the View menu in File Explorer, under your user folder AppData you will see a folder with that name. The settings, templates and records of many programs are kept here. It is not essential to back up the whole of it, but at least take a look at the folders of the programs you use intensively.

2. The e-mail archive: the most frequent and most expensive loss

If you use web-based e-mail (Gmail, Outlook.com) there is no problem — your messages remain on the server. If you use desktop Outlook, Thunderbird or a similar program, however, the situation changes.

• For accounts set up with POP3 the messages are downloaded from the server and deleted there. In other words, the only copy is on your computer. Format = the end of your entire correspondence history.
• Outlook data .pst and .ost files. These are located under AppData and are missed in a normal backup.
• Thunderbird – here you must copy the entire profile folder.

With our corporate customers, this is the step at which we intervene most often before a format. Invoice and contract correspondence spanning years can be lost because a single file was not copied.

3. Make a note of your licence keys

After the format, when you decide to “reinstall the program”, a licence key is requested. If you still have the box there is no problem; but with digitally purchased products the key is often only inside the installed program.

• Windows: On most current devices the licence is embedded in the motherboard (digital licence) and is activated automatically after a format. Even so, make sure it is linked to your Microsoft account.
• Office: If it is linked to your Microsoft account there is no problem. Versions purchased as a one-off require a product key.
• Antivirus: If you have days remaining, note down the licence key and the e-mail address you registered with.
• Professional software: In accounting, CAD and similar programs the licence is usually tied to the device, and deactivating the licence before the reinstallation is required. If you skip this, the licence will continue to appear as “in use” and you will get stuck during the new installation. Mark this item in particular.

4. The browser: not just bookmarks

If you have signed in with your account in Chrome, Edge or Firefox and switched on synchronisation, bookmarks, passwords and tabs are kept in the cloud; they return once you sign in after the format. If synchronisation is switched off, all of it exists only on this computer.

Before the reinstall: switch synchronisation on and wait for it to complete, or export your bookmarks as an HTML file. You can also export the saved passwords, but that file is plain text — do not put it on the external drive, keep it in a secure place and delete it once you are finished.

5. Migrate your two-factor authentication app

This is the riskiest item on the list and the one most often skipped. If you use the application that generates verification codes on your computer and you have no backup codes, after the format you you cannot sign in to your own accounts — you do not lose files, you lose access.

Before the format, transfer the verification application to your phone, or generate the recovery codes for each account and write them down somewhere. These codes are shown only once.

6. Download the drivers in advance

A newly installed Windows recognises most hardware, but not always. The worst case is this: the format finishes, the computer starts up, there is no network adapter driver and because you cannot connect to the internet you cannot download any drivers.

For this reason, before the format, download from the manufacturer’s support page the the network (Ethernet/Wi-Fi) and chipset drivers for your model number and copy it onto a USB stick. You can download the graphics card and sound drivers later, but you must have the network driver to hand.

Note down the model number as well

You need the exact model when searching for drivers. Since you will not be able to access the system information after the format, write down the model and serial number in advance. On laptops this information is usually on the label on the bottom cover.

7. Draw up a list of your programs

After the format, the question “what was installed?” will follow you around for weeks. Taking a screenshot of the Settings → Apps screen and saving it to your phone takes five seconds and is very useful.

Likewise, the drivers for peripherals such as printers and scanners will have to be reinstalled; add their model details to the same note.

8. After you have made the backup check

This point is not technical, but it is one of the most important. Reinstalling in the belief that a backup has been made is the cause of a noticeable proportion of data recovery requests. The copying process may have been interrupted halfway, the external drive may have become full, or the folder may appear to have been copied while remaining empty inside.

• Disconnect the external drive and reconnect it, and actually open the folders.
• Select a few files at random and see whether they open.
• Compare the folder sizes with the source.
• If possible, keep the backup in two separate places : an external drive and the cloud.

If you have started a format without a backup and it is already too late, you must stop using the drive at that moment. What should be done and, in particular, what should not be done in our data recovery guide we explained in detail.

9. A reinstallation can also be an opportunity: replace the drive

If the computer is going to be reset anyway, it is sensible to upgrade the drive in the same operation. On a system that still uses a mechanical drive, the relief you feel after a format disappears within a few months; the truly lasting difference comes from an SSD. The difference between the two in our SSD or HDD comparison we explained.

When you fit a new drive, the old one remains with you as a backup — so your pre-format copying trouble largely comes to an end as well. our SSD models in our shop, and leave the installation and data transfer to us.

Shall we carry out the reinstallation for you?

At our service centre in Çankaya, a reinstall does not consist merely of installing Windows: first we back up your data, we check the licence status, after the installation we load all the drivers, complete the updates and put your data back in place. We hand the device over in working condition and ready for use.

We carry out the same preparation for orders of computers with an operating system installed; you do not have to unbox the machine and deal with the setup screen.

Short checklist

• Has the entire user folder been copied, and have the real files been taken instead of shortcuts?
• Has the e-mail archive (Outlook .pst / Thunderbird profile) been backed up?
• Have the licence keys been noted down and the device-bound licences deactivated?
• Has browser synchronisation been completed, or have the bookmarks been exported?
• Has the two-step verification application been moved to a phone, or have the recovery codes been obtained?
• Have the network and chipset drivers been downloaded to a USB stick and has the model number been noted?
• Has a screenshot of the list of installed programs been taken?
• Has it been checked whether the backup actually opens?

If the answer to these eight questions is “yes”, you can carry out the format with an easy mind. If there is any point you are not sure about, before starting the format contact us on 0530 338 21 91 and ask; a five-minute conversation can prevent a loss that would take days to make good.