How much better is it to reformat your HD and install a new OS then installing over an OS??

[NakaNaka]

I was just wondering this cause I was reading somewhere if you upgrade to XP over ME then it wont be that great compared to if you do a clean install of XP

How much better is it to reformat and why is it this way??

 

[BChico]

I did it both ways, i found that it ran alot better when it was clean installed than when installed over ME. I searched for the problems when installing over ME and i might have found some files and strings that were left by ME, but i am not sure...

 

[gariig]

My experience is it is much better to format and reinstall. You clean out all the old OS crap that is left over and you can add all the new OS crap. so if you can afford the time and effort, formatting is much better.

Gariig

 

[Davegod75]

much much better to format and reinstall.

 

[murdock2525]

It is better in its own way.. If you're not familiar with the registry...
I never re-format but I have a very deep understanding of the registry.....Something definately worth learning !

 

[knsaber]

you NEVER HAVE TO FORMAT! what a waste, you have to format and delete all of your files on the harddrive! what if you can't back up huh?
just go to DOS prompt and delete windows and program files directory, then you can have a clean install..
i don't get why people format, i haven't formatted any HDD's in a very long time.

 

[julianf]

format + reinstall.... no mess.... me leaves all kinds of bull behind...

get of your 16 bit kernel... and run w2k or xp....

 

[julianf]

besides xp and w2k uses different bootsectors from me and other dos based os'ses... so you might as well... your hd is better of getting formatted once in a while.

 

[Hector13]

<< you NEVER HAVE TO FORMAT! what a waste, you have to format and delete all of your files on the harddrive! what if you can't back up huh?
just go to DOS prompt and delete windows and program files directory, then you can have a clean install..
i don't get why people format, i haven't formatted any HDD's in a very long time. >>



What about all those programs in &quot;Program Files&quot; or any other programs you have installed? Most of them won't work correctly anymore.

You don't really have to format everything, you could go and delete each unneeded directory one at a time, but most of the time it is just more convenient to format everything and start over (if you have all the software on hand). Just make sure you back up whatever documents/media stuff that you want.

 

[knsaber]

i said that, &quot;delete windows and program files&quot; directory...
its a pain to backup gigs of media/pictures/games onto CDR's, it's a waste i think...
i always look thru windows and program files for any settings i want to save and put them into a temp directory... like outlook express data and IE bookmarks, wallpapers, etc. etc.

 

[julianf]

well if you delete your program files dir. there won't be any program to work.... the idea of formatting is setting your index strait... clearing your disk. it's a gooooooood thing for speed. if you plan to run xp or w2k, convert 2 ntfs. it's good...

 

[wyvrn]

I suggest backing up and reformatting. Clean installs always work better.

 

[BChico]

I think if you have &quot;Gigs&quot; of media you should invest in a second hard drive, so you can reformat every 5 minutes with out backing up!

 

[bigbootydaddy]

<< just go to DOS prompt and delete windows and program files directory, then you can have a clean install.. >>


doesnt ntfs make a difference??
what about people on scsi drives or raid, or both? gotta load the drivers for dos and half dont have any...then u cant see the drive.

format. you will sleep better at night.

 

[NakaNaka]

no I dont have Gigs of media it will probably be only 5 or so Zip 250's to back up everything I need from my current computer and I can just reinstall programs like Office, Half-Life etc etc

I just wanted to make sure it was better to reformat because once XP comes out I plan to get it and get rid of this ME, I just hope I wont have any problems with drivers, cause I know I don't have the CD for my Geforce 2 but I'm pretty sure you can download any drivers you need.

 

[Topochicho]

knsaber: thats what partitions are for. Only put deleteable unimportant info on the install drive and put your work and files on a seperat partition.

 

[crzyc]

<< knsaber: thats what partitions are for. Only put deleteable unimportant info on the install drive and put your work and files on a seperat partition. >>



took the words right out of my mouth, partition man, one for data one for os.

 

[ledzepp98]

i see this topic has split into two threads...clean install and backup/partitions. as for the original question, you can install one on top of the other but in my experience it is better and less of a headache to do a clean install. as for backup/partitions, i am a big fan of multiple drives. until this past upgrade, i had a 30gig drive and a 40gig drive. the 40gig drive was for storage, including divx movies, mp3's, videos, and any important date that doesn't actually get &quot;installed&quot; (meaning it's stuff that doesn't need to mix with the operating system to run or be opened). the 30gig drive was for windows, program files, basically anything that gets installed and mixes with the operating system. this obviously left plenty of room...which comes in handy for temporary space (hey, *.VOB files take up gigs of room until you're done with them). also, all the not-so-big stuff that was on the storage drive but was really important i would zip up and keep a copy on the main drive, just in case. now, since i have filled up the 40gig drive and i'm saving $$ to get another ~60gig drive, i have my main 30gig drive partitioned as 10/20, with the same principle as before but using the 20gig partition as an overflow from the 40gig drive. ok...no time to proof-read, did that make sense?

 

[Bojax]

why not just use ghost? takes little time!

 

[LarryJoe]

In response to the original question, although a clean install will work, I enjoy first seeing how the upgrade will do just to see how well Microsoft did in programming an upgrade. If is seems stable and fast after, I stick with. There really is nothing to lose except time. If it doesn't go in right, I blow it away and start clean. Nothing to lose by going over the old OS.

I am running 98SE and am also counting down the days until XP (10/25??). Early beta tests/reviews say it is pretty sweet.

LJ

 

[NakaNaka]

ya LJ i cant wait till XP but I heard they still have a couple of gaming problems to work out but it should be sweet by the time it launches.