I need a program to:
1. Copy User Account folder Info and
2. Copy the programs found in both Program Files & Program Files (86)
3. Copy Stand alone programs (no Control Panel Add/Remove List Entry)
to a folder on a DVD or external hard drive.
If that's all you needed to do you don't need special software, as you can copy those folders yourself using Windows or *nix copy functions or utilities like FastCopy. Likewise Windows Regedit or any number of 3rd party registry editors will export the installation key that is used to populate that add/remove Windows Control Panel applet.
But unfortunately often it's more complicated than that -- installing software can add files in several places plus add all sorts of registry entries, plus very often the registration key is purposely hidden in the registry so you can't easily find it. Laplink made an app transfer program, Microsoft had one but they pulled it, so if your damaged Windows still runs you might try to find either of those. However the closest thing to a sure bet I'm aware of is to monitor each install so you know what's added, where, & can then duplicate it.
That said, in your case, dbgiveaway, you want to repair or reinstall Windows without losing your installed software -- get things working again without having to reinstall every app -- & AFAIK there's one, maybe 3 routes you can take. However you proceed I think a good 1st step is to figure out what went wrong if you don't know already -- e.g. if your system's been infected by malware, or if the hard drive's failing, you could wind up spending the time to fix things, only to wind up back at square one, or worse. Also before you proceed it wouldn't be a bad idea to back up that drive/partition -- there's no guarantees anything will work 100%, & with a backup you can always start over &/or maybe find anything that's missing.
1) probably the easiest fix would be a Windows repair (re)install. This works with at least XP & newer. Just insert the setup CD/DVD/USB device, start setup as you normally would, & watch carefully during the initial stages for the Repair option -- not the repair console. This installs Windows but leaves your software intact.
2) you could try one of the Paragon apps with virtualization features -- going P2V or P2P Windows *might* add in what it needs while it was adding needed drivers etc.
3) you could perform a new Windows install somewhere else [e.g. a VM, another drive/partition etc.] & just basically try copying over Windows system files from that new installation -- when I've done this sort of thing I've used Windiff from Microsoft to compare the 2 so I could see what was missing. If you're running the new copy of 7 you want to copy files from, you might need to log in as the so-called Super-Admin.
A 4th approach that might save some of your software could be to just reinstall Windows, then go through your old apps one by one, adding their folders to your new install -- assuming you copied the drive/partition somewhere else so you could access it. Many apps will automatically recreate the critical registry entries & AppData files/folders they need when you 1st run them, but some will not run & most will be unregistered. That's when you go to the copy of your drive/partition you saved, & look for folders belonging to that app under User AppData & ProgramData, copying them to your new install. If/when that doesn't work, you have to then mount the old registry using regedit, & look for keys belonging to that app -- export ones you find, importing them into the registry for your new install. This is not foolproof, & you might need to copy & sometimes register files from the copy of your old drive/partition if an app gives you a message that a certain file is missing.
