Windows users... How often do you format and reinstall?

[LoudTIGER]

they break if you SUCK at using them

 

[Special1Sauce]

I reformat About once every six months

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: EpsiIon

Originally posted by: SonicIce
If it ain't broke, don't fix it. 😛

That's the thing. With Windows installations, they break just because you use them. In the past year and a half, my boot times have gone from about a minute to 4 minutes, and I run a tight ship. If I don't use it immediately, it doesn't start when Windows starts. If I'm not currently using it, I close it. I visit Windows Update regularly, run updated anti-virus software, and am positive that no adware is running. There's absolutely no reason my boot times should be this bad.

That happens due to clutter, piles of drivers, utilities, installled this and that. If you want to cut down on Boot times, don't Shutdown or Restart, works for me. 😉

 

[MDE]

I only formatted because I moved my RAID drives from an Nvidia based board (NF7-S) to an Intel based board (IS7). I only format when needed by hardware or when weird things start happening software-wise.

 

[CeilingHoles]

I format my drive when I get that "I need to format my drive" feeling in my gut.

 

[compudog]

I redo my main rig about every 6 months. Usually folowing a big upgrade. I have 1 box here running XP since it was released that has never been reloaded. (Patched repeatedly but not formatted etc...)😉

 

[DyslexicHobo]

I've NEVER reformatted. But then again, I've never had a computer for more than a year.

 

[iwantanewcomputer]

every time my comp gets herpes too bad...usually about 6-10 months

 

[imported_whatever]

every couple months on average
get too much hdd corruption doing overclocking, itll probably get to every couple weeks once i manage to get an a64

 

[gwai lo]

Everytime I make a major hardware upgrade..or software upgrade. So it depends...last time for me was a couple weeks ago because I got a new mobo.

 

[GoSharks]

i have not formatted my main desktop in 1.5 years. i have no reason to (and actually would not, since i dont have a cd drive or OS media here at school)

 

[thegimp03]

Every 6 months or so...

 

[edro]

~6 months... After I have about 15 or so new large games, and a bunch of stupid tiny apps that I forgot I installed. It's more of a "spring cleaning" type deal, to get everything clean and new, not so much that certain things crash or don't work.

 

[Jeff7]

According to Everest, WinXP was installed on this system 10-21-2003.
I reinstall whenever something gets seriously screwed up, or if I have a lot of time available (like a few days with nothing to do, which is rare), and I feel like clearing out all the old junk.
WinXP does a pretty fair job of keeping itself from getting screwed up, at least better than Win98SE could ever manage. That, and a few good registry cleaners.

 

[dullard]

I'd say I average a reinstall every 3 years or so. Basically one of two things has happened. (1) I decided to put a new OS on it or (2) since I don't use a firewall at home and don't update the virus scanner enough I get a virus. Either way I reinstall.