Reimaging a laptop

[Ros]

Just like to know...After you re image a laptop is it possible to see what programs were on it before? Is there a .log file that has the info?

[xerodok]

I'm assuming by reimaging you mean you used the factory disk to restore the defaults.

Some computer manufacturer's offer data backup software that will often put the old files in a 'Old' folder in your Program Files, much like Windows 7 does.

Other than that, the chances of finding out what was on it before is very possible. When you bring a laptop to factory defaults, you generally arn't doing a clean reformat, it kind of just overwrites what is necessary.

GetDataBack -- great software to use, I'm not sure how good their trial is though.
Easeus Data Recovery Wizard Free Edition -- Good, free software as well

[bungiefan]

Factory reset on most laptops I have seen involves a reformat of the drive, except the recovery partition, meaning you don't get a list of what was there before the reset. Back up the drive to another computer with a drive enclosure before you do the reset, if in doubt. Better yet, get in the habit of keeping all downloaded program installers on an external drive, so you don't lose them when you reinstall. I reinstall Windows every year to keep it uncluttered and running fast, and have been doing so since 2004. Keeping all my installers and documents off my OS drive keeps me from losing data. Then all I have to backup is my Application Data folder inside my user folder, and my settings are carried over.

GetDataBack doesn't work well if you've written new files to the drive since the format. Rebuilding a file system that has been overwritten is a bit much for it, and I've used it in a repair shop. It was only useful if their file system got corrupted and Windows though the drive was unformatted. I was only able to recover a couple hundred photos, out of about 20,000 for someone who's drive got a factory reset, and a bunch of the photos were duplicates, or were only a partial section of the original image.