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Friend hasn't reformatted in almost 5 years

E

Eeezee

Diamond Member
He was smart enough to have a second hard drive that he used to keep backups of all of his important stuff, so formatting wasn't even a big deal. I finally convinced him that he'll get a nice performance boost. He was getting blue screens on bootup every now and then. I told him it was time. He's been much happier with his system's performance. It's a Dell 1.7GHz P4 with 256MB of ram and a Geforce2 MX 64MB graphics card.

I reformat about once every 3-6 months. It keeps things running smooth and doesn't take more than 30 minutes to an hour if you know what you're doing. This includes download time for latest updates and drivers 😉 My friend was deathly afraid of reformatting, afraid that it'd screw up his computer even more, until I told him how often I reformat.

Anyone else come across users that let their computers rot for years and years without a good tech support guy around to keep them clean? I'm sure there are some good stories lingering around here
 
Originally posted by: Eeezee
He was smart enough to have a second hard drive that he used to keep backups of all of his important stuff, so formatting wasn't even a big deal.
Click to expand...

Doing that makes formatting oh so much easier. My C:\ is only the OS and Programs. Everything else is on the D:\ (Basic Data), H:\ (High-Def DVR), or M:\ (Other Media)

Last time I formatted was probably beginning of the year. I'm due for another one.

 
I was forced to reformat when my RAM upgrade caused some unknown driver issue. I tried the repair thing but it was no bueno.

A fresh install is actually a good thing every year or so. 🙂

 
Originally posted by: Amol
Originally posted by: Eeezee
He was smart enough to have a second hard drive that he used to keep backups of all of his important stuff, so formatting wasn't even a big deal.
Click to expand...

Doing that makes formatting oh so much easier. My C:\ is only the OS and Programs. Everything else is on the D:\ (Basic Data), H:\ (High-Def DVR), or M:\ (Other Media)

Last time I formatted was probably beginning of the year. I'm due for another one.
Click to expand...

I have a pretty similar setup. C:\ is the OS and all Programs (including games), all other files go on other drives. C:\ also holds little documents, papers, and lab reports since those take all of 1 minute to copy somewhere else.
 
hahah, I usually format every 6-12 months. I used to be in the 3-6 month category, but then WIN2k came out. 😀
 
I don't think my roomate has reformatted in like 3 years.

He's installed a ton of programs and all kinds of crap. I'm sure he probably has a virus or two and some spyware as well. He does at least keep Windows updated.

He even plays quite a bit of games. He's been playing Oblivion on his 9700 AIW, and I don't think he's updated the drivers in about a year (which he only did because of some issue with KotOR.

He's kinda odd when it comes to computer stuff. He's got this humongous 19" Viewsonic CRT that I can't even stand to look at the picture quality its so bad (I don't think he's even adjusted it at all either). He also has no problem playing his PS2 through his tuner, which bothers my eyes really badly. One of his sticks of RAM went bad about two years ago. I told him to just contact the manufacturer (I think its Geil) and RMA it. Instead he bought another stick of RAM off Newegg and still has the other one sitting on his desk. I don't think he's cleaned his computer of dust since he's gotten it either.

I don't badger him about it since he seems to have no problems with it.
 
Originally posted by: darkswordsman17
I don't think my roomate has reformatted in like 3 years.

He's installed a ton of programs and all kinds of crap. I'm sure he probably has a virus or two and some spyware as well. He does at least keep Windows updated.

He even plays quite a bit of games. He's been playing Oblivion on his 9700 AIW, and I don't think he's updated the drivers in about a year (which he only did because of some issue with KotOR.

He's kinda odd when it comes to computer stuff. He's got this humongous 19" Viewsonic CRT that I can't even stand to look at the picture quality its so bad (I don't think he's even adjusted it at all either). He also has no problem playing his PS2 through his tuner, which bothers my eyes really badly. One of his sticks of RAM went bad about two years ago. I told him to just contact the manufacturer (I think its Geil) and RMA it. Instead he bought another stick of RAM off Newegg and still has the other one sitting on his desk. I don't think he's cleaned his computer of dust since he's gotten it either.

I don't badger him about it since he seems to have no problems with it.
Click to expand...

Sounds like me. Lazy as fvck.
 
PC performance has nothing to do with reformatting, except for to n00bs. They seem to think that's the fix all for everything. I have not reformatted my main comp in almost 5 years. It works fine.
 
Originally posted by: compuwiz1
PC performance has nothing to do with reformatting, except for to n00bs. They seem to think that's the fix all for everything. I have not reformatted my main comp in almost 5 years. It works fine.
Click to expand...

do you run windows?
 
Originally posted by: quakefiend420
Originally posted by: compuwiz1
PC performance has nothing to do with reformatting, except for to n00bs. They seem to think that's the fix all for everything. I have not reformatted my main comp in almost 5 years. It works fine.
Click to expand...

do you run windows?
Click to expand...

Yes..it does not run me. 😉

 
Originally posted by: compuwiz1
Originally posted by: quakefiend420
Originally posted by: compuwiz1
PC performance has nothing to do with reformatting, except for to n00bs. They seem to think that's the fix all for everything. I have not reformatted my main comp in almost 5 years. It works fine.
Click to expand...

do you run windows?
Click to expand...

Yes..it does not run me. 😉
Click to expand...

lucky you...mine runs much better after a fresh install when it's been 6 months or more

but i play with a lot of different stuff, so i get weird things left behind here and there...it would be more time consuming to try and sort out all the little things than to just wipe it
 
Laptop's WinXp install was done August 11th, 2005. I think my main system's install was somewhere around that time too, if not before.

My mom's system holds the family record - that install was done sometime in 2001. All shall change this summer though. All kinds of format & reinstalling will be going on.

I don't like reformatting. It takes a LOT of time to get everything right again. I install lots of little utility programs that just make the computer so much nicer to use. Heck, just Firefox alone can take awhile - I've got 30+ extensions. And I'm a tweaker. Everything's got to be just perfect.
 
Originally posted by: swtethan
Originally posted by: So
Originally posted by: swtethan
i have 3 hd's im thinking of adding a 4th.........

yeah reformats are easy on me
Click to expand...

Bah. I have 4 HD's and 8 partitions. 😀
Click to expand...

l33t!!!
Click to expand...

Actually, On my next rig, I hope to drop it to two or three drives. Too much heat and noise. 😛
 
Originally posted by: quakefiend420
Originally posted by: compuwiz1
Originally posted by: quakefiend420
Originally posted by: compuwiz1
PC performance has nothing to do with reformatting, except for to n00bs. They seem to think that's the fix all for everything. I have not reformatted my main comp in almost 5 years. It works fine.
Click to expand...

do you run windows?
Click to expand...

Yes..it does not run me. 😉
Click to expand...

lucky you...mine runs much better after a fresh install when it's been 6 months or more

but i play with a lot of different stuff, so i get weird things left behind here and there...it would be more time consuming to try and sort out all the little things than to just wipe it
Click to expand...

Actually, I have switched to images. Convenient and much quicker than a quick install. Good for anything other than a significant hardware change.
 
Does this have something to do with LFF and missing pointers? What's the theory behind this reformatting?
 
Originally posted by: compuwiz1
PC performance has nothing to do with reformatting, except for to n00bs. They seem to think that's the fix all for everything. I have not reformatted my main comp in almost 5 years. It works fine.
Click to expand...

Yep. Goddamn noobies.

3-6 months = you have no idea how to not fvck-up Windows.
Also, 30 minutes to an hour to reinstall, update and install applications? Ya right.
 
Originally posted by: Phil
Originally posted by: compuwiz1
PC performance has nothing to do with reformatting, except for to n00bs. They seem to think that's the fix all for everything. I have not reformatted my main comp in almost 5 years. It works fine.
Click to expand...

Yep. Goddamn noobies.

3-6 months = you have no idea how to not fvck-up Windows.
Also, 30 minutes to an hour to reinstall, update and install applications? Ya right.
Click to expand...

More like days worth spread over weeks.

 
Originally posted by: quakefiend420
Originally posted by: compuwiz1
Originally posted by: quakefiend420
Originally posted by: compuwiz1
PC performance has nothing to do with reformatting, except for to n00bs. They seem to think that's the fix all for everything. I have not reformatted my main comp in almost 5 years. It works fine.
Click to expand...

do you run windows?
Click to expand...

Yes..it does not run me. 😉
Click to expand...

lucky you...mine runs much better after a fresh install when it's been 6 months or more

but i play with a lot of different stuff, so i get weird things left behind here and there...it would be more time consuming to try and sort out all the little things than to just wipe it
Click to expand...

Mainly because all your Apps/Games and Utilities have been uninstalled. All that new spunk will be gone once you get everything set just the way you want it. Just accept that a system slows down at some point after an OS Install, it is inevitable and unavoidable if you want something running other than the OS.
 
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