how often do you format your pc

[xaeniac]

Is there an average time amount that you format your pc?

 

[skace]

When I buy a new one.... 2-3 years.

 

[firerock]

Why format when you can restore a clean pc image when you first installed your pc?

 

[sandorski]

format, install new OS/new drive, wait until new drive/os is in your hand, 4tw

 

[mjh]

I usually only format when I have to.

 

[jjones]

Never, or if I have to change the mobo or HDD and it requires a new install.

 

[biostud]

Originally posted by: jjones
Never, or if I have to change the mobo or HDD and it requires a new install.

 

[meltdown75]

very rarely... with new builds, new HDs, or once a year otherwise.

 

[mundane]

I had to just this weekend - it's been over two years since I built this PC. A fresh OS install feels good.

 

[lozina]

like every 6 months. i love clean installs

 

[naruto1988]

i'm guessing every 1-2 years.

 

[Schadenfroh]

Originally posted by: lozina
like every 6 months. i love clean installs

 

[Malak]

Originally posted by: skace
When I buy a new one.... 2-3 years.

 

[Genx87]

Depends on how it is performing but usually about every 6 months or so.

 

[MadmaXoo2]

Few times month, considering i restoring ghosted os.

 

[alent1234]

with Win9x it was every few months

With win2000 and WinXP it's once every few years. I don't even do it for hardware changes and it works with no problems.

 

[jlbenedict]

Every 6 months, if it stays clean..

When wife uses the system, and trys to download games from Bearshare... then its more frequent, unfortunately (gotta love spyware & trojans)

 

[warcrow]

Originally posted by: mjh
I usually only format when I have to.

Exactly. With WinXP, with proper maintenance, you should never have to format unless something has gone wrong.

 

[Nothinman]

Never. It would take a huge catastrophy to force me to format and reinstall.

 

[Looney]

Never. If you know how to keep your OS clean, an install that is 2 years old is just as quick and efficient as an install that is 2 months old.

 

[sourceninja]

I only have to format when I have to partition a new drive. Otherwise I have never formated sense 2002ish after switching to linux full time. However, I didn't recently change from 32bit gentoo to 64bit gentoo, and that did require a format as I wanted to change my partition scheme, and I did not have a spare drive.

 

[jdport]

With windows XP I tend to reformat about once a year... I guess I just don't know how to keep my PC clean because I always manage to pick up some garbage and after a year or so I just get the urge to reformat and clean it up fresh again. My wife's computer is running windows 2000 and it could stand to be reformatted a bit more often than the XP machine but it's a pain to do so I usually do that about once a year as well. My linux box of course never needs reloading...