I love fresh windows installs

[Hyperblaze]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
ghost image > fresh install

so true.

install system like you like it....

create image of it...

only problem with that...doesn't work so well when you have over 150 gigs of space for harddrive

 

[aidanjm]

Originally posted by: gflores
Yeah, I agree. Same goes for new Firefox installs. It just feels smoother.

that's cos you're not defragging and keeping your install lean & mean by not installing rubbish and bloatware

 

[daniel1113]

You could make a 4.7GB ghost image on a DVD of the basic Windows install setup the way you like, though... drivers and all. That would save a good 2 hours of work alone.

 

[aplefka]

Mine is pretty recent (one week) but it's already got that bloated feeling.

 

[aidanjm]

Originally posted by: Deadtrees

Originally posted by: Booster

Originally posted by: Rogue

Originally posted by: Booster
I call fiddlesticks. I don't think that a 'fresh' install makes any difference as far as speed is concerned.

And you would be wrong. Quite often, the addition and removal of software to the registry (essentially the system database for Windows) has things added and rarely completely removed. As such, the system slows down as it tries to parse larger and larger registry hives to locate necessary instructions and settings for the system to run.

That's why I run Norton Windows doctor regularly to delete dead registry entries. My install is nearing 1.5 years. I did everything to it, installed all kinds of programs. And it's as fast and stable as a fresh one and much better since I have things customized the way I want.

I've alwayws wondered what kind of people actually use such thing as Norton Windows Doctor. Please tell me more about yourself before they put you in a museum.

EDIT: And, I'm quite sure that you must've got your computer from Gateway, right?

Norton System Doctor/ WinDoctor was one of the few good utilities in Norton SystemUtilities. (Along with SpeedDisk, which was good for Windows 98/ Fat32 installations).

 

[rh71]

I haven't done a fresh install in 3 years. I really should though, after getting hit by spyware twice. I think I've cleaned it all but it's just a violated feeling. 😉

 

[aidanjm]

Originally posted by: Howard
I thought you were talking about actual windows.

no you didn't 😛

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: daniel1113
You could make a 4.7GB ghost image on a DVD of the basic Windows install setup the way you like, though... drivers and all. That would save a good 2 hours of work alone.

Two hours?? You can just make a custom XP CD with all the latest drivers for your system included in about 10 minutes. I can do a complete fresh install in about a half hour to 45 minutes...

Edit:

And Ghost is a PITA because eventually, you get to the point where you are installing drivers and programs that are outdated, and then spending time updating them. When you make a custom unattended install CD, you can update things so they install the latest stuff right off the bat.

 

[aidanjm]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
ghost image > fresh install

is ghost better than acronis trueimage? i've been using the acronis programs. ghost seemed to complicated.

 

[dug777]

i used to think it was the best feeling 😉

but now i just keep my antispyware/anti-vir/firewall up to date and with a gb of RAM it still feels as smooth as when i reinstalled a year ago 😀

 

[Booster]

Norton System Doctor/ WinDoctor was one of the few good utilities in Norton SystemUtilities. (Along with SpeedDisk, which was good for Windows 98/ Fat32 installations).

Why was? Newer versions keep coming out. I use Systemworks 2004, and there's the 2005 version out.

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: dug777
i used to think it was the best feeling 😉

but now i just keep my antispyware/anti-vir/firewall up to date and with a gb of RAM it still feels as smooth as when i reinstalled a year ago 😀

You might think that...but I guarantee it isn't. You don't notice the speed loss since it's gradual.. 🙂

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Originally posted by: dug777
i used to think it was the best feeling 😉

but now i just keep my antispyware/anti-vir/firewall up to date and with a gb of RAM it still feels as smooth as when i reinstalled a year ago 😀

You might think that...but I guarantee it isn't. You don't notice the speed loss since it's gradual.. 🙂

probably 🙁

but i guess i've been upping my o'c (was running 2000+(1667mhz) last year, now i'm at 175*12.5 (2.2ghz)) and got the extra 512mb of RAM so it would have hidden the slowdown even better i guess...😉

 

[daniel1113]

Originally posted by: Insane3D

Originally posted by: daniel1113
You could make a 4.7GB ghost image on a DVD of the basic Windows install setup the way you like, though... drivers and all. That would save a good 2 hours of work alone.

Two hours?? You can just make a custom XP CD with all the latest drivers for your system included in about 10 minutes. I can do a complete fresh install in about a half hour to 45 minutes...

Edit:

And Ghost is a PITA because eventually, you get to the point where you are installing drivers and programs that are outdated, and then spending time updating them. When you make a custom unattended install CD, you can update things so they install the latest stuff right off the bat.

Hey, I use an unattended DVD as well. I was just offering another suggestion. By two hours, I meant the entire install process, which will easily take two hours with a full-fledged unattended CD/DVD. Copying an HD image over will be faster than a Windows install any day.

 

[0roo0roo]

And Ghost is a PITA because eventually, you get to the point where you are installing drivers and programs that are outdated, and then spending time updating them. When you make a custom unattended install CD, you can update things so they install the latest stuff right off the bat.

depends on how quicklly you upgrade. as long as your cpu/mb stays the same its saves time regardless. just ghost image a clean windows sp2 install + office. office doesn't change all that often u know. about 600mb compressed..restoring image takes 15 minutes. time making custom cds is a waste.

 

[chrisms]

I've been loaded with spyware for about a year now.. I get random error messages and tons of popups. Maybe I should finally get around to doing this

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo

And Ghost is a PITA because eventually, you get to the point where you are installing drivers and programs that are outdated, and then spending time updating them. When you make a custom unattended install CD, you can update things so they install the latest stuff right off the bat.

depends on how quicklly you upgrade. as long as your cpu/mb stays the same its saves time regardless. just ghost image a clean windows sp2 install + office. office doesn't change all that often u know. about 600mb compressed..restoring image takes 15 minutes. time making custom cds is a waste.

A waste how? I'd rather have a ~600mb custom install image that I can load from, and easily change driver files on as they update. If you use a CDRW, you don't "waste" anything. Simple fact is ghost is fine, but it really doesn't cut down on install time at all over a custom install CD, and it will be eventually out of date unless you do a true fresh install every so often and make a new Ghost image which takes a lot longer than updating a XP CD image.

It boils down to how you use your computer, but just because you think ghost is the best for your situation and preferences, doesn't mean it's the end all be all for everyone else. Oh, and making a custom install CD is free as long as you have some sort of burning program. Ghost is another program that you need to use/install/pay for.

 

[gflores]

Is the Norton Ghost Image only for the computer it was created for? I think I might try out Norton Ghost, but I don't reformat all that often, maybe 2 or 3 times a year.

 

[daniel1113]

Originally posted by: Insane3D
just because you think [whatever] is the best for your situation and preferences, doesn't mean it's the end all be all for everyone else.

Funny... I was just going to say the same thing to you.

 

[MustangSVT]

use ghosting u n00blet 😀

 

[Deadtrees]

Originally posted by: daniel1113

Originally posted by: Insane3D
just because you think [whatever] is the best for your situation and preferences, doesn't mean it's the end all be all for everyone else.

Funny... I was just going to say the same thing to you.

:thumbsup:

 

[Insane3D]

Originally posted by: daniel1113

Originally posted by: Insane3D
just because you think [whatever] is the best for your situation and preferences, doesn't mean it's the end all be all for everyone else.

Funny... I was just going to say the same thing to you.

I agree, and I wasn't saying that a custom CD is best for everyone. 🙂 I don't recall saying otherwise.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: gflores
Is the Norton Ghost Image only for the computer it was created for? I think I might try out Norton Ghost, but I don't reformat all that often, maybe 2 or 3 times a year.

yea basically, since its basically just a zipped copy of your harddrive at its simplest. so it works best if you keep your o/s and apps on a separate and relatively small partition*8gb or so. keep media and stuff off it. when the time comes to restore the image, not much will need to be backed up so that you can restore the image of that partition.

it only works on the same setup, or close as possible. one can have small changes like sound or graphics cards, but if the m/b cpu is different, the windows install will be incorrect.

as for saving time...it tends to unless you buy pc after pc after pc because you can install all basic apps before you image. like norton, office, extra browsers, download managers, ftp clients, icq, aim whatever. takes 15min to image. and its just nice to have the ~600mb image on another partition or something for quick restore in case of failure of some kind. that being said windows now doesn't hose itself quite as bad as it used to. now restoring image is just to get a cleaner less sluggish install. its also good for changing/upgrading harddrives. you can restore image aslong as the partition is big enough. or simply have ghost copy the partition to another drive.