Seriously though, I don't see the point of making a Windows image with a lot of extra programs. These programs will get old fast.

Someone on another forum said that software is a consumable. Eat it and enjoy it while it lasts. Hardware changes, software changes, the perfect Windows image will soon be obsolete.

Make back-ups so you can reinstall if need be. I don't believe in the perfect OS image anymore. The less programs you include the less "bloat" you have to remove when your preferences changes.

I love stability, but software is an ever-changing roller-coaster. I have seen so much change the last ten years; I'm wondering what's driving all this change. New hardware, new web/software technologies, bored developers, corporations seeking "lock-in" advantages.

If you have registered your computer with Windows 10, you can just grab the latest ISO from Microsoft when you want to reinstall. This is one (of the few) advantages with Windows 10. Microsoft is always serving fresh ISOs.

If you download a Windows 7 ISO from Microsoft you get the 2010 version and Windows 8.1 is the 2013 version. That's so bad. Microsoft really hates these OSes with a passion.

Back to topic: Make your own Windows 8.1 image, but include only Windows updates and anti-virus. Everything else is likely to change from now until the time you need to reinstall your image.

Get yourself something like Acronis True Image ....and have daily [as I do] or weekly/whatever incremental updates to 'the ideal drive image'.

You can always keep particular full images that you 'like' as being complete/workable....but still keep on having incrementals.

If I remotely knew how to use photo editing software that would probably make the list. As it is, MS Paint gets me by for my very low needs- basic cropping of pictures is the most I do.

Is that gimps actual logo? If so, I love it!

Added another bit to the end of my OP for anyone who has already read the original post.

Wondering if the Samsung Magician software that comes with the SSD is worth the install. It is not the Data Migration Software, but supposedly software that is used to keep the drive in good order and running fast. My main question is whether or not this is a useful/necessary piece of software, or just some included bloat?

That sounds pretty ideal. Have you tried other similar software to Acronis and liked Acronis better? Or just tried Acronis from the get-go and are happy with it?

Yes, prior to that it was Drive Image 7 ...but it was slow with compatibility to a new OS [or hardware...don't remember which] so I moved on to Acronis.

Acrobat reader is not a browser it is basically made to read different software. The advantage of reading is so you can't write anything. They used to use edit. I have no idea why they changed. Yah no real reason program. If you are going to use these programs then I see a reason to include them on a image. When you start the new ssd change the download location to your new harddrive only installing what you want on you ssd drive that will save you some heartache on maintaining things. Only bring what you use on a fresh install. It will automatically update obsolete software. This is faster than downloading everything. I would make sure to have some virus checker right off the bat. From what I read Avg, or Bitdefender are the two best free virus checkers. Bitdefender is the best virus checker out there. 

The PDF reader was in my consider section, and has since moved into my - install after restoring image section.

The same with AV software though as well. I feel that updates much to often to be committed to the image. That will just be one of the very first things installed after restoring an image. And yeah, BitDefender is what I have been using for the last year or two.

I have mostly gone with the plan of:

OS (with updates)

Any software I install very early that is not apt to update often.

Any software that is not apt to have updated at all. There are very few of these. Probably would be more on my work computer, where I have some more specialized programs.

MS Office 2010 (with updates) - This isn't something I'll be getting rid of, and certainly won't have much in the way of updates, beside possible security updates.

Keyboard/Mouse/Webcam software - These I don't update often, or at all, so they are getting installed.

Think that mostly sums up the plan, purchased Acronis True Image 2017 today, and basically ready to make my image tonight, and then will need to move to the next section. I have been holding off on many of my software installs waiting on making the image. And was waiting on making the image while considering things. Computer has actually been off for a few days, think that is the longest it has been turned off in quite a few years!

---

Next up:

I have started a spread sheet, sorted by install order, of all the software I'll either install or consider after restoring a fresh image. It also contains notes about changes/custom configs so I won't need to reinvent the wheel everytime. Well at least not have to remember to reinvent the wheel.

I'm keeping that in my cloud drive for ease of access and ease of editing where ever I happen to be when thinking of something to add.

Concur with getting an imaging software,tho there are free versions as well not just the paid acronis.You'll need multiple copies of backup images on more than 1 hdd with a minimum of 2 hdd's tho more is preferable,this goes for anything else you backup

Using more than 1 email address you can create more accounts on mega increasing your storage & their sync software works quite well

minor photo work FastStone image viewer (installer or portable versions are available)

klite full - for movies or whatever including providing codecs

adobe reader ? if you just want to view pdf's sumatra pdf (installer or portable versions & very small foot print or a slightly larger more function foxit reader)

For installing multiple programs at once in the background, I have heard Ninite is very good.

It installs the latest versions and can also be used to update programs.

You choose programs from a list and it installs them all at once in the background with no extra crap.