4dy

Join Date 06/2009

Can you do this?

Everything On One Quick Installation?

Well its getting to that time in life when my PC needs a full system restore...

I was wondering, Is is possible to save everything, all the settings i have, the theme im using, all the custom icons, animated desktops, so that when i re-install my pc i can just install it all quickly and effortlessly?

Or will I have to install all my stardock programs again etc...?

Just wondered, Also because I was hoping to put the same scene on my laptop without having to go through everything.

Alex

Locked Post

Advanced Search

Watch this post

Do not email me updates for this post Email me updates for this post

Successfully updated karma reason!

Snowman

Join Date 03/2001

+343

Quoting ,

quoting post

Or will I have to install all my stardock programs again etc...?

All the applications have to be reinstalled, but you can backup all the installed themes/icons/ect ect and restore them afterwards.

Successfully updated karma reason!

amitsaran

Join Date 01/2009

+181

All the applications have to be reinstalled

No applications have to be re-installed if you backup the image of your Windows installation drive (mostly C: ) or if you make a complete pc backup.

Just wondered, Also because I was hoping to put the same scene on my laptop without having to go through everything.

Surely you can get this done, you just need a program for backing up an image of your hdd or complete pc.

If you are using Vista Ultimate, then you can use the backup and restore centre to do this or you can use Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image.

Enjoy

Successfully updated karma reason!

CarGuy1

Join Date 03/2007

+548

If you are using Vista Ultimate, then you can use the backup and restore centre to do this

The original post reads to me like they are talking about 2 seperate systems. Unless the 2 systems have matching hard drives, the back up and restore center in Vista Ultimate will not do this. If the drives are the same but there are other hardware differences, Windows will detect this and will refuse to boot. This is a form of piracy protection built into Vista Ultimate.

Snowman has it right, it's best to reinstall.

Successfully updated karma reason!

Sign Up or Login and this ad disappears!
There are many great features available to you once you register. Sign Up for a free account and browse the forums without ads.

amitsaran

Join Date 01/2009

+181

Quoting CarGuy1,

reply 3

If you are using Vista Ultimate, then you can use the backup and restore centre to do this
The original post reads to me like they are talking about 2 seperate systems. Unless the 2 systems have matching hard drives, the back up and restore center in Vista Ultimate will not do this. If the drives are the same but there are other hardware differences, Windows will detect this and will refuse to boot. This is a form of piracy protection built into Vista Ultimate.

Snowman has it right, it's best to reinstall.

Actually, a few days back I restored an image of my C drive on my laptop which did install some applications which were there when I had created the backup and again I uninstalled them as I did'nt need them anymore.

Even if its not matching hard drives, the problem may be caused by Windows inbuilt backup in Vista Ultimate but not with any backup images created with Acronis or Norton [tested for a long time].

Also know, some days back your hdd crashed and you bought a new hdd on which your backup did'nt work coz of the same problem but if your backup was created by these 3rd party programs, you could have got it as it was

Successfully updated karma reason!

DaveRI

Join Date 09/2003

+477

Seems like the Impulse Archive/Restore function would be a good option here to avoid redundant downloading. Not sure how it might work out, particularly in the case of transferring to a different machine. Obviously wouldn't restore the same user theme setups in use though.

Successfully updated karma reason!

If you use the "Download and Archive" option (available when an app is not installed) you will get a platform agnostic archive that can be restored on any system (provided that title is supported on it). Archiving after an install will make an OS specific archive that will only restore on the OS is was archived on. For instance, if moving from a 32 bit Vista to a 64 bit Vista system, you will want to use Download and Archive, but if you are reinstalling your OS for the same one, you can archive the existing install.

Stardock applications all store themes, skins, etc. in different locations. Here are the defaults:

WindowBlinds:
     XP:     C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Stardock\WindowBlinds
     Vista: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Stardock\WindowBlinds

IconPackager:
     XP:     C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Stardock\IconPackager
     Vista: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Stardock\IconPackager

DeskScapes:
     Vista: C:\Users\[YOUR USER NAME]\Documents\Stardock\Dreams

Sound Packager:
     XP:     C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Stardock\SoundPackager or C:\Documents and Settings\[YOUR USER NAME]\My Documents\Stardock\SoundPackager
     Vista: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Stardock\SoundPackager or C:\Users\[YOUR USER NAME]\Documents\Stardock\SoundPackager

DesktopX (XP and Vista):
     C:\Program Files\Stardock\DesktopX\Sidebar Gadgets
     C:\Program Files\Stardock\DesktopX\Themes
     C:\Program Files\Stardock\DesktopX\Widgets
     C:\Program Files\Stardock\DesktopX\Objects

CursorFX:
     XP:     C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Stardock\CursorFX
     Vista: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Stardock\CursorFX

LogonStudio Vista:
     C:\Program Files\Stardock\Object Desktop\LogonStudio\DefaultLogons

MyColors:
     XP:     C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Stardock\ThemeManager
     Vista: C:\Users\Public\Documents\Stardock\ThemeManager

ObjectDock:
     XP:     C:\Documents and Settings\[YOUR USER ACCOUNT]\My Documents\Stardock\ObjectDock Library
     Vista: C:\Users\[YOUR USER NAME]\Documents\Stardock\ObjectDock Library

Successfully updated karma reason!