POLL: Best way to "upgrade" a Windows OS?

Electric Amish

Elite Member
Oct 11, 1999
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IMO, nuking the current install and repartitioning/reformatting is the only proper way to go.

I stated my opinion and have been told this is the "noob" way of upgrading an OS.

So, I'd thought I'd poll the rest of the community and see what the concensus is.

amish
 

MDE

Lifer
Jul 17, 2003
13,199
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81
The best way is to format the drive with the old copy of Windows and start fresh, although the repair\upgrade option usually works.
 

InlineFive

Diamond Member
Sep 20, 2003
9,599
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Nuke that baby! In my experience the Upgrade option can lead to more problems and slow downs in the long run.

-Por
 

dullard

Elite Member
May 21, 2001
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I guess it depends on which type of Windows you are installing. At school we can install an unlimited amount of Windows software on any school computer. The only requirement is that the computer you are installing to ALREADY has Windows installed. You cannot buy a Linux machine and install the Windows software - it won't install. Same thing if you format - you cannot get any of the Windows CDs to install. So for me it is always the upgrade option.

At home, I've never upgraded the operating system. If I were to purchase Windows and do the install, I'd format first (nice to get rid of any Malware, old registry entries, or other things that may be slowing down the computer).
 

corkyg

Elite Member | Peripherals
Super Moderator
Mar 4, 2000
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I believe in work efficiency. If the upgrade works perfectly, and the result has no problems, why engage in the masochism of a clean install.

I always "prep" my system before upgrading - and that includes a thorough registry scrub. If there are problems with the upgrade, then it is very easy to nuke and do a Clean Install. Especially if you are highly customized (desktop, icons, etc..)

If you do not have the knowledge base with which to prep a system for upgrade, then you are better off with a clean install in most cases
 

bigpow

Platinum Member
Dec 10, 2000
2,372
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one problem with clean install:
- windows activation

My XP pro cannot be reinstalled anymore, Microsoft said it's been installed too many times.
 

SocrPlyr

Golden Member
Oct 9, 1999
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Originally posted by: bigpow
one problem with clean install:
- windows activation

My XP pro cannot be reinstalled anymore, Microsoft said it's been installed too many times.
As long as the hardware doesn't change then you should have no problems reactivating the system...

Josh
 

Amused

Elite Member
Apr 14, 2001
57,133
18,677
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Originally posted by: bigpow
one problem with clean install:
- windows activation

My XP pro cannot be reinstalled anymore, Microsoft said it's been installed too many times.

Call them. They'll activate it. There is no limit on the amount of times you can install XP on the same machine.
 

rbV5

Lifer
Dec 10, 2000
12,632
0
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one problem with clean install:
- windows activation

Shouldn't be an issue at all, re-activation will be triggered with some hardware changes anyway. Really, if are reformatting/reinstalling so much, you should wait the entire 30days before activating to avoid uneccissary activations. As far as which is the "best" way, I'd say it depends. I recently changed the HAL to standard PC on one of my PC's due to my KT133a board not being 100% ACPI compliant which caused an irritating, hard to diagnose crashing problem <fixed>, a full reinstall would have been a PITA and totally uneccissary. Normally, I would do a fresh install...something I've not had to do often with XP or Win2k, but quite often with Win9x (thank god for NT!)
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
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Originally posted by: bigpow
one problem with clean install:
- windows activation

My XP pro cannot be reinstalled anymore, Microsoft said it's been installed too many times.
Time for you to buy Ghost or Drive Image, both can image a fresh, activated install then restore it later to exactly that state.

Upgrades have always been a roll of the dice, at least before XP, so fresh format and install for me. Or for the same OS, restoring an image of a fresh install.
 

JBT

Lifer
Nov 28, 2001
12,094
1
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I always do fresh installs when I plan on upgrading I ussually just do it when I feel I have screwed my system up enough=)
 

InlineFive

Diamond Member
Sep 20, 2003
9,599
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Originally posted by: bigpow
one problem with clean install:
- windows activation

My XP pro cannot be reinstalled anymore, Microsoft said it's been installed too many times.

I love my Windows XP Corporate Edition! :D

-Por
 

EeyoreX

Platinum Member
Oct 27, 2002
2,864
0
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one problem with clean install:
- windows activation

My XP pro cannot be reinstalled anymore, Microsoft said it's been installed too many times.

I love my Windows XP Corporate Edition! :D

-Por
Of course, a home/typical user doesn't have access to XP Corporate. Not legally at least. As has been mentioned, activation is a non-issue if you are installing legally. You can install XP up to 3 times every 120 days and activate online. More than that, and a simple call to Microsoft will get you set up. Again, so long as your install is legal (ie; on one PC). This is unlimited. Ghost or a similar application is another viable option. One that I use, though I have yet to ever need to restore. My backup is pretty old. ;)

Also, this really isn't "General Hardware".

\Dan

 

pandiebeer

Junior Member
Sep 22, 2003
23
0
0
After doing my first computer set up and trying to upgrade my existing HD from Win Me to XP, I found that reformatting and doing a fresh install was the way to go. I got a lot of advice from this board about doing it that way and haven't had any problems -THANKS-
:D
 

biostud

Lifer
Feb 27, 2003
19,746
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Complete reinstall, mostly because you get rid of a lot of junk hiding in the windows folder.
 

jdogg707

Diamond Member
Jun 24, 2002
6,098
0
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Ghost is the way I have done it for years and have had no issues...it's quick and pain free, plus it puts you at a place where your OS is already upgraded and with all the software you want on it (as long as you do a ghost image af5ter everything is installed). The only time I reformat and reinstall is when I am adding new hardware that would take advantage of a clean Windows install.
 

thorin

Diamond Member
Oct 9, 1999
7,573
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It's easier if you just get it right the first time and take care of it then you never re-install/upgrade.

Thorin
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
40,730
670
126
Originally posted by: thorin
It's easier if you just get it right the first time and take care of it then you never re-install/upgrade.
That doesn't protect you from installing a new app, upgrade, or badly-tested Microsoft security fix. I'd rather trust a friendly Ghost than an MS resore point :)

 

jdogg707

Diamond Member
Jun 24, 2002
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Originally posted by: thorin
It's easier if you just get it right the first time and take care of it then you never re-install/upgrade.

Thorin

Too bad this is a Windows setup and things go wrong...I mean with anything you do, for no good reason, your entire system could crash, leaving you in a bind and wishing you had that Ghost image waiting for you to replace the flawed Windows install. I believe there is no reason for anyone to completely trust the fact that their PC will never fail, because it happens, sometimes without warning, and if it happens to me I want to have a backup waiting to go so I can minimize down time and get back to being productive.
 

eLinux

Member
Mar 6, 2003
191
0
0
Originally posted by: bigpow
one problem with clean install:
- windows activation

My XP pro cannot be reinstalled anymore, Microsoft said it's been installed too many times.

That would make me absolutely furious...

At that point in time I'd actually begin searching for some type of key generator or crack as to make my windows work. I believe if you actually dish out cold hard cash for XP (as most people I know haven't paid for their copies), then you should be able to install it as many times as you want.
 

eLinux

Member
Mar 6, 2003
191
0
0
Like others, I prefer a fresh installation.

Actually I recently did a fresh install. Normally I restore my Drive Image image (haha, that sounded funny ;)) instead of actually completing a fresh installation. After I successfully complete a Windows XP install and have everything running, I immediately defrag, and then image the hard drive...

Amazingly, Drive Image 7 is one of the best products I've ever purchased. It takes about 15 minutes to image any partition (even the Windows active partition, while Windows is running!) and only about 15 minutes to restore the image. Amazing. I've used it about 4 times already... (I tinker a lot with my installations and mod my windows heavily sometimes, so restoring images is a common thing for me ;))
 

Electric Amish

Elite Member
Oct 11, 1999
23,578
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Originally posted by: thorin
It's easier if you just get it right the first time and take care of it then you never re-install/upgrade.

Thorin

Yeah, like that's ever going to happen with a Microsoft product. ;)
 

compudog

Diamond Member
Apr 25, 2001
5,782
0
71
Nothing n00b about doing it the best way Amish!

I back everything up first and then install the new OS on a nuked partition.
 

farscape

Senior member
Jan 15, 2002
327
0
0
Fresh and clean is the ONLY way to go about it. I've had too many hassles with over-writes.