QUOTE(vebmetal @ Mar 25 2007, 04:31 PM) [snapback]84743[/snapback]
well, I imagine that
windows perhaps is smart enough to detect the new drivers and install them by itself. But do you really want to replicate all the clutter? A new PC is so nice in that in it's virgin state it runs nice and fast without all the temp files, fragmentation, and other similar crap slowing it down. How many programs could you possibly have that you can't reinstall them over a week?[/b]
You're assuming there _is_ clutter. The original poster wanted a quick fix and all I'm saying is that it's possible, so more power to him if he wants to go that way.
As for me, I have been updating the same XP image for years. The trick is to backup the image after a fresh install. You can then totall eff around with the system , try new software (even malicious crap sometimes). After a few weeks of playing around with new programs I know which ones are needed and which aren't, so I restore the 'virgin' image, install everything I want and create a fresh updated image. I note down any tweaks I make to my usual programs so those are made once again to the virgin install (along with spyware/virus sweeps just for the heck of it, Windows updates, defrag, registry cleaning & registry defragging) and it all gets backed up. The only thing to be careful about is that user generated data like office files or source code & other stuff like
music, pix, etc needs to be stored on a separate partition and backed up conventionally using a DVD burner. You keep a few previous disk images that you can go back to if you create an image after installing something that you don't like later.
This system has worked beautifully for me and I highly recommend it. You always have a fast 'virgin' system & since I'm trying out new software all the time it's great to know the whole thing will be up and running again withing minutes no matter what goes wrong, including a complete hard disk crash! If I were to start installing everything I have from scratch & get it to the fine-tuned state it is in right now, it would, without any exaggeration take me well over a fortnight.
The only time to start from scratch is when you upgrade the OS and going by how incredibly messed up Vista is, it's going to be a few years before that happens!