We have been talking about automating our computer work on Technibble a fair bit lately and I have recently been introduced to a tool called “Reimage”. Reimage is designed to automate the repair of severly damaged Windows installs.

Through the Reimage website via an ActiveX control, they scan the system files, folders, registry keys and drivers looking for something missing or something that shouldnt be there. This can be anything from missing critical system files to an adware infection of your computer. Once they find the problem, the website fixes it.

As a computer technician I am always sceptical about something that promises so much. So, I took the software for a test drive. I created a virtual machine on my computer which is a copy of Windows, running in a window on my desktop. Its great for testing the effects of viruses and other nasties without putting your computer in danger.

For this test, I installed the application “Starware” (which is known as adware by many companies) because it installs a toolbar, changes your start page and creates ads on websites you are viewing. I also deleted my win.ini file found in c:\Windows\System\.

Anyway, I went to the Reimage website, logged in using the test account I was given for this review and pressed the “Start Repair” button. I installed the ActiveX control that the website uses to scan for problems and let it begin its analysis. This process took around 5-8 minutes on my test runs.

Once the analysis was complete I pressed the “Fix” button and it began the fixing process. During this stage, the website downloaded a few megabytes of information so running this on a cable connection is ideal, but not required. Two minutes later the application asked me to reboot the computer so it can make changes to any in-use or locked system files and once the computer boots up again I am taken to the following page:

As you can see, my Starware toolbar has been removed. I went to check on my win.ini file shortly after and saw that it had been recreated.

Reimages slogan is “PC Repair. In Minutes” and my test runs took around 10-15 minutes, So they definitely live up to their name. Reimage is also is a complete support solution because they will call you if they detect any problems with your repair and help you through it.

As I said earlier Reimage is designed to “automate the repair of severely damaged Windows installs”, but something I would consider a “severely damaged Windows install” is when Windows doesn’t boot at all. If I cant boot the system, I cannot use IE to access the Reimage website right? Well, Reimage have solved this problem by offering a boot CD similar to Knoppix or UBCD4Win so you can rescue easily non-booting Windows installs.

The Reimage website has been created with computer technicians in mind because it allows you to brand the Reimage pages with your own logo so you can safely use it onsite while your client watches without them thinking “I could have just bypassed you and used Reimage directly”. As far as the client knows, its an inhouse application.

The pricing for Reimage works on a per use scale is $150 for 5 uses, $250 for 10 or $500 for Monthly plan (100 repairs). This works out to $30 each when you buy the lowest package or $5 each when you buy the largest. It is a small price to pay considering the amount of time you can save with this application and you can always pass the cost onto the client.

I am really pleased with the results of the repair on my test PC and I would recommend it to anyone. But, you don’t have to take my word for it. I have managed to acquire 3 free uses for Technibble readers so try it out yourself. Grab them quick because they are only valid until the 13th of June.

Get your free uses here:
http://www.reimage.com/registration.php?package=technibble&invitation=e5126f

For more information about Reimage, check out their website here:
http://www.reimage.com