It has been over a year since I've had this computer and never formatted since

[dugweb]

On a side note, I have two hard drives... the main one 80gig, and the extra 200gig.

rather than backing up everything onto DVD's can I just throw it all onto the 200, or does that negate the reason for the format?

edit: I spelled 'computer' wrong in the title

 

[AdamSnow]

If you don't even know why you are formatting... why are you?

 

[drum]

Originally posted by: AdamSnow
If you don't even know why you are formatting... why are you?

:laugh:

i haven't formatted for a couple years

 

[imported_LoKe]

I rarely format. That's only a worst case scenario, and I'd never get myself into that position to begin with.

 

[iamaelephant]

There's no reason you can't backup everything you want to keep on the 200gb HDD. I format to clean up system files and for a nice clean registry. Just remember many of your programs will need to be reinstalled if they depend on registry entries to function properly.

 

[dugweb]

Originally posted by: AdamSnow
If you don't even know why you are formatting... why are you?

I'm formatting because my system is locking up more and more frequently... I remember a time when it would NEVER freeze. It did it twice today which made me think it's time for a clean slate.

Originally posted by: iamaelephant
There's no reason you can't backup everything you want to keep on the 200gb HDD. I format to clean up system files and for a nice clean registry. Just remember many of your programs will need to be reinstalled if they depend on registry entries to function properly.

I'm not backing up programs, just data.

 

[Daishiki]

Originally posted by: drum

Originally posted by: AdamSnow
If you don't even know why you are formatting... why are you?

:laugh:

i haven't formatted for a couple years

at least i know i'm not alone

 

[Atheus]

I'm sure if you run run a few malware scans and a registry fixer/cleaner, make sure your drivers are working and up to date, defrag, and clean the dust from your case, it will stop crashing.

 

[Injury]

Originally posted by: Atheus
I'm sure if you run run a few malware scans and a registry fixer/cleaner, make sure your drivers are working and up to date, defrag, and clean the dust from your case, it will stop crashing.

Yup. WindowsXP will RARELY lock up because of bad coding, contrary to anti-windows fans. Bad drivers that aren't MS approved, poorly written apps and spyware/malware are the biggest contributors.

Make sure your drivers are up to date and take the advice above.

Formatting is a last resort. You'll realize how annoying it is when you spend the next month putting all of your apps back on, and getting all of your settings right again.

 

[dugweb]

Originally posted by: Atheus
I'm sure if you run run a few malware scans and a registry fixer/cleaner, make sure your drivers are working and up to date, defrag, and clean the dust from your case, it will stop crashing.

dust from my case? interesting... that could really be causing it to crash?

 

[imported_LoKe]

Originally posted by: dugweb

Originally posted by: Atheus
I'm sure if you run run a few malware scans and a registry fixer/cleaner, make sure your drivers are working and up to date, defrag, and clean the dust from your case, it will stop crashing.

dust from my case? interesting... that could really be causing it to crash?

Without a doubt.

 

[sniperruff]

windows crashing can be attributed to increased temperature.

 

[SuperSix]

I would recommend moving the 200GB to the primary. It will be a bit faster.

And reinstalling Windows is like giving your car an oil change. It may seem fast and stable, but it will be faster after a format, especially if it's been 1-2 years since you ahve done so.

 

[Evadman]

System Up Time: 347 days, 9 hours, 28 minutes, 17 seconds

 

[Atheus]

Originally posted by: Evadman
System Up Time: 347 days, 9 hours, 28 minutes, 17 seconds

Not your home windows box surely...

 

[mcvickj]

Originally posted by: Evadman
System Up Time: 347 days, 9 hours, 28 minutes, 17 seconds

:camera:'s are required to back something like that up.

 

[jadinolf]

I made it to two years on two computers. I doubt if I could ever do it again. (XP)

 

[gar3555]

I usually reformat once every 6-8 months...but I have 4 HD in my main comp so there is no prob to back anything up...

 

[ElFenix]

Originally posted by: SuperSix
I would recommend moving the 200GB to the primary. It will be a bit faster.

And reinstalling Windows is like giving your car an oil change. It may seem fast and stable, but it will be faster after a format, especially if it's been 1-2 years since you ahve done so.

not any faster than not formatting and just doing a 'dirty install' and using a good defragger.

some regular maintenance, as the other posters said, will keep an XP install running just fine.

Originally posted by: gar3555
I usually reformat once every 6-8 months...but I have 4 HD in my main comp so there is no prob to back anything up...

that is far too often. if you feel you have to format every 6 to 8 months you're doing something wrong. stop surfing the 'free' porn sites.

 

[Pepsi90919]

i installed windows XP home in may 2004 on this box when i built it, upgraded XP professional over it on february 12 2005, and there's nothing wrong...

 

[Conky]

It's good to reformat every once in a while. :thumbsup:

I went thru this about 2 months ago and simply cleaned off one of my HD's and moved the entire old C drive into a file on another disk. Then I installed fresh on the clean drive... makes a nice difference as Windows gets sluggish over time due to the growth of the registry files and whatever other flawed parts of the O/S that get bloated over time. It's worth the trouble.

I am gonna do a fresh install when I build my E6600 system later this summer.

 

[Pepsi90919]

It's worth the trouble.

lol. if you say so. it would take me days, weeks even, to get my computer back to where it is right now, and it would still perform the same. it's not like windows contemplates the whole registry every time you do something.

 

[meltdown75]

If your computer freezes up once in a while, you suck at life!

Seriously - if it does, there are other issues to address which most likely cannot be remedied by a reinstall

<< Same XP Pro install for about 1.4 years and running.

I don't foresee myself getting the ambition to backup & reinstall anytime soon!

 

[dugweb]

after seeing the comment on dust in the case being an issue I looked inside my case and it looked like my comp had served a tour in desert storm :Q

So now, after getting all the dust out with my weak sauce air compressor and turning on another fan (I have 9 on the system) I have a good feeling about it not freezing up. I'm really starting to think that dust and over heating was probably the culprit. But I'm still doing all those maintainance things y'all mentioned.

 

[meltdown75]

Originally posted by: dugweb
after seeing the comment on dust in the case being an issue I looked inside my case and it looked like my comp had served a tour in desert storm :Q

So now, after getting all the dust out with my weak sauce air compressor and turning on another fan (I have 9 on the system) I have a good feeling about it not freezing up. I'm really starting to think that dust and over heating was probably the culprit. But I'm still doing all those maintainance things y'all mentioned.

Oh hells yeah. I've seen my temps drop 2-3C just from a routine dusting of the inside of my case - specifically my HSF unit... and it's not even really dusty per se. I keep it fairly spin-n-span in there. Every little bit helps. A clean PC is like a clean car in some ways... it will run better for you if it is clean