I've got an installation of Windows 8 on a drive that has bad blocks within Windows installation folder or registry. Obviously the drive is on its last leg, however it appears that the files within the /Users
folder are still intact and without problem. I can iterate through them all without any failures or lag.
So my question is: aside from a Windows Easy Transfer
to move settings over, which is impossible in this case, can one just move /Users
over to a new Windows 8 installation and retain settings? Obviously file retention is not a problem, I just want to minimize setup time for the users on this installation.
Throughout previous situations like this with Windows it always was a matter of putting a lot of additional effort to not only install apps again, but to also tweak settings. I have used Laplink with some success in the past, but usually when a drive is still functional. Any methods that offer a reduction of time or a more succinct solution would be much appreciated.
*NOTE: Please realize that Windows Easy Transfer
will not work in this case as others have thought. Windows Easy Transfer
requires a functional copy of Windows, as far as I have ever seen, to make a backup to restore. I am looking for other options that do work.