How to back up installed software?

[Ankur]

I am going to re-install windows 7, I want to back up my C drive, sorry for the noob question, but the problem is there are many installed softwares and games in it.
I can install them later, but that will need to be updated, the updates are almost 20-30GBs, I don't want to do that, so is there any solution for this?

 

[voyagerfan99]

Nope. You're going to have to reinstall everything.

 

[Ankur]

What about the game updates?
BF3 has 25 GBs of updates for the 5 DLCs, can I copy the update folder where the DLCs lie and paste them back when I reinstall everything?
The problem is I have slow internet, so it will take ages.

 

[voyagerfan99]

Unless they're installer packages then most likely not. I'm assuming you're running EA's game client (similar to Steam - I can't think of the name right now). You could right click the game and see if there's a backup option. I know there is on Steam.

 

[jamesd1981]

If you do re-install to save you the hassle next time, once you get your windows install finished how you want it including updates etc, use acronis or macrium reflect free to make an image of your c drive.

Then you can simply re-install the whole image in one go including updates etc.