Small Fish, Big Pond

I’m upgrading my PC to Windows 7 soon. And I’m going to load a full legal copy onto my netbook (replacing the Beta version).

Even though both systems can be upgraded rather than completely reinstalled I like refreshing my installation every few years. I’ll admit that not all the programs I load on my computer are stable mainline programs, a lot of betas and unsupported programs go on and after a year even the best well maintained computer starts to collect dust (KDE on windows can goto hell, talk about screwing with your system!).

Anyway I’m well familiar with the process, usually done over the course of 3 hours on a lazy Saturday afternoon:

1. Backup documents, pics, songs, vids, etc.
- You should be doing this by default but so many people don’t. Personally all my files are kept on separate hard drives which backup to network drives. So wiping an OS has no affect.

2. Backup OS and program files and settings.
- I’ll admit, this mostly involves copying video game saves to a safe place. But some things like Firefox and other frequently used programs may have settings that can’t be exported (although they should!). Write down what you might forget to put on the new system, especially passwords, logins etc. (use xmarks on firefox to sync bookmarks and passwords to the cloud beforehand).

3. Make a list of the programs you have on your existing system so you can add them to the new one.
- This is a good time to eliminate old programs you don’t use. And get upgraded copies of the programs you do use. I keep all installation files in on a separate drive so I can download and replace those copies in the days leading up to the switch and avoid doing it on the new machines.

4. If any driver files are needed get updated copies and load them onto a separate drive so you can load them without a network connection (especially network drivers if needed).

5. Plug the laptop into the second monitor, watch a movie, and start the reformat->install process.

6. Spend the rest of the night installing and testing programs on the computer.

This time should be a bit easier, Techcrunch mentions a new site Ninite that allows you to install multiple programs in one big batch. I’ve seen similar programs to this before but they were all mostly hacks made by individual programmers that worked good customized for their system but was a bit sketchy if you didn’t have the exact same circumstances as they did.

It doesn’t cover all programs but it does cover the core programs that usually get installed first. In fact going over the other programs I have to install Ninite will be doing about 80% of the work that takes up the last and longest step of reinstalling an OS.

Anyway I must truly be a geek at heart, I’m already looking forward to spending the night upgrading my OS. I’ve got chips, salsa, beer, and the Rifftrax for Transformers: revenge of the fallen (plus the RT of Twilight on standby if the install goes long).

Just a reminder, since I forgot and just now barely remembered; the day after tomorrow is the live broadcast of Rifftrax doing “Plan 9 from Outerspace”
Get your tickets for your local theater now.

If you don’t know what Rifftrax is: It’s Mystery Science Theater 3000 except they’re doing it now with current big budget movies, not old episodes from the 90’s with B movies that are out of copyright. And it’s the same cast of Mike Nelson, Kevin Murphy, and Bill Corbett (Mike, Tom, and Crow). Head over to the Rifftrax link above to get a feel for it. The Empire Strikes Back riff was one of the best!

If you’ve never heard of Rifftrax or MST3K I pity you. The good thing is that you have tons of hilarious entertainment to catch up on now.

Also if you’ve never heard of either and you’re about to skip to another webpage take this opportunity to go out and see Plan 9 from Outerspace, widely regarded as the worst movie ever. Not only is this a chance to see it on the big screen, it a chance to see it made fun of by people who have been doing this for nearly two decades.
What better way to spend a Thursday night? (I mean for those of us who are single)