image for restoring windows 7

Hello everybody!
I'm searching for a way of restoring windows 7 with all the software I need already installed, instead of re-install windows from the beginning and the install again all my programs.
It should be easy, but it's not!


Once I format, re-install windows 7 and install all my software, one of these things happens:


if I set a restore point everything seems ok, but when restore time comes, my restore poit is disappeared, or, if I can see it, after everything is done and rebooted, system tells me something like "impossible to complete the restore process" and so nothing is done, so I have to re-install everithing manually.


Instead, if I use the windows tool for creating a restore CD/DVD, when I boot from such CD/DVD, i can't see anything that refers to the time i created the disk.


In the endm, every time I have to format my PC (I use to do this about once every 6 months), I install all my software by hand and then I say: "Now I want to make sure that next time I have to restore, i will not have to install everything"... but actually I never cn do this, and i ALWAYS have to intall everything by hand!


Anyone can help me, please?

You need something more powerful than system restore which is not designed to run a full recovery - it just restores situation and settings to some specified point in time. What you need is a full system imaging package which will enable to you create a complete image of the system drive/partition and subsequently restore the image in full or in part. I recommend Acronis True Image - you can get a full working trial from here:

Download free trial versions of Acronis products and Documentation

Hi

As Patcooke said the options you have mentioned do not create a backup of your hard drive.

Restore point only saves critical Windows files, like the Registry, and when you created the disks you only created a set of install disks for Windows 7.

There is an application in Windows that does that...

Back up your programs, system settings, and files

Watch the video!

Personally I use Acronis True Image the same as Patcooke.

Mike