Worth it to reformat?

[DeusDeus]

I've got 93gigs out of 223 free right now. After backing up all my stuff into a folder, the folder itself is 48 gigs. Would it be worth it to reformat windows if I'm going to transfer that folder back over + install a few games (bf2, wow, Steam)?

 

[Alienwho]

I find myself reformating with the seasons. Summer is coming and i'm ready for a fresh start. So i'm going to buy some new shirts, cut my hair, and format my computer.

The answer is yes.

 

[MrChad]

Do you value your time that little?

Properly maintained, a Windows XP install should last for years, not months. The only reasons I would reformat are a virus infection or a major hardware change (such as a brand new motherboard, and even then you can pull it off without reformatting).

 

[jjones]

I see no need to reformat unless I'm installing a new and completely different mobo. Even then it's not absolutely necessary. Never had a virus bork my computer so bad it needed a reformat, but that would probably be about the only other reason.

 

[Noema]

Originally posted by: MrChad
Do you value your time that little?

Properly maintained, a Windows XP install should last for years, not months. The only reasons I would reformat are a virus infection or a major hardware change (such as a brand new motherboard, and even then you can pull it off without reformatting).

Agreed.

I personally hate reformatting and avoid it at all costs. I recently got a new video card (went form ATI to Nvidia) and briefly toyed with the idea. However, if it works, why fix it? So I dediced not to.

Treat your install well and there should not be any need for reformats. Mine is running at 14 months old and counting, still as stable as the first day.

 

[ForumMaster]

Originally posted by: Alienwho
I find myself reformating with the seasons. Summer is coming and i'm ready for a fresh start. So i'm going to buy some new shirts, cut my hair, and format my computer.

The answer is yes.

qft. i reformat atleast twice a year. i installed windows at the end of janurary cause i felt it was time for a fresh start.

 

[LiquidIce1337]

Yea I honestly reformat my computer twice a year, not that I screw things up, I just get lazy to clean up the desktop and I usually store all my important files on my external HD, so anything on my OS drive can be dropped and freshly installed again.. I love the quickness of a fresh install it's a warm fuzzy feeling inside knowing how clean all the folders are and registry are again. I hate installing 3rd party programs reg cleaners etc.. just more bloatware to me. Anywho reformatting isn't too bad if you have a custom dvd version of windows that silently installs everything.. go do some laundry and it's done

 

[pkme2]

You can do a complete reformat or just clone to a larger harddrive. HDDs are getting so cheap, getting them makes good sense.

Or, reformat and add all your important programs to another disk (slave) or use mobile racks for separating programs.

I believe in having a independent boot drive and install programs on second. Now storage goes on mobile rack hdds.

Although this may not work for everyone, it's a possibility.

Cleaning out the bloat is important and speed is restored.

 

[timswim78]

I'd say go ahead and reformat. I think that it is a pretty fun thing to do. Here is what I do, maybe this will help you.

I formatted my hdd and installed windows, patched it, and installed Antivirus software. I also installed my favorite applications. (Office, Firefox, DVD player, and etc.) Then I made an image of that installation with Ghost. I store all of my documents, favorites, and emails on another drive (My Documents folder was mapped to the other drive before making the image).

Whenever I feel like Windows needs a fresha start, all that I have to do is restore that ghost image to the Windows drive. It takes about 5 minutes. After that, I apply any new patches, and I am ready to go.

 

[Lord Banshee]

I try to reformat once to twice a year as it is nice to have a fresh install of windows.. But like the above said.. i use a ghost software (Driveimage) as it only takes a couple of minutes to boot up to a reformat of all my apps i need always...

I store all my personal files and work files on a different harddrive so it doesn't get affeced by my twice a year reformat..

 

[magomago]

no, its not worth it. Reformatting is just that...a "feeling"

 

[Smilin]

Originally posted by: Noema

Originally posted by: MrChad
Do you value your time that little?

Properly maintained, a Windows XP install should last for years, not months. The only reasons I would reformat are a virus infection or a major hardware change (such as a brand new motherboard, and even then you can pull it off without reformatting).

Agreed.

I personally hate reformatting and avoid it at all costs. I recently got a new video card (went form ATI to Nvidia) and briefly toyed with the idea. However, if it works, why fix it? So I dediced not to.

Treat your install well and there should not be any need for reformats. Mine is running at 14 months old and counting, still as stable as the first day.

Double agreed.

My current install started back when I was running an Athlon 1.33ghz. It's been through 3-5 motherboards and I think about as many processors. Couple mass storage controllers yada yada.

keep drivers up to date, stay away from spyware and "junk" and you're fine.

If this was 1995 I would agree with the seasonal reformat mentality.

 

[thereaderrabbit]

It's so nice outside today- so no, I would not reformat. Reformating every few months is a pre-Win2k thing.

 

[PorscheMaD911]

Originally posted by: thereaderrabbit
It's so nice outside today- so no, I would not reformat. Reformating every few months is a pre-Win2k thing.

Not so for me! I've formatted my Win XP installs more than my Win 98SE installs. Now there's probably a confounding variable in there, ie my main PC after I became more interesting with mucking around with the guts of the OS was running XP.

Since I've switched to Linux I've formatted probably at least a hundred times in the last 6 months or so. Mostly experimenting with new distros, sometimes due to accidental disaster, and sometimes due to hardware changes. In fact I formatted three times yesterday. Once with Ubuntu Dapper Beta 2, then once again with Ubuntu Breezy, then again with Ubuntu Dapper Beta 2. Many of my formats are probably unnecessary, but there's nothing like the smell of a nice fresh new install!

I know this is really a waste of time, but I *think* I enjoy it. I say think because it's getting pretty old now. Perhaps I'll stick with this install and just let it ugrade itself to stable in the fullness of time. If only I hadn't lent my Debian Sarge DVDs out to my friend last week, I might build a nice fast minimalist XFCE desktop ...

So yes. Format. It's fun. But probably not worth the time involved unless your machine is cactus.

 

[Nothinman]

Many of my formats are probably unnecessary, but there's nothing like the smell of a nice fresh new install!

You're right on both counts, but on the second one for the wrong reason. The smell of a fresh new install is frustration or annoyance because of all the work required to get it back into a usable state. I've had this Debian installation for over 6 years, I don't know what I'd do if I had to start over from scratch.

 

[corkyg]

Originally posted by: jjones
I see no need to reformat unless I'm installing a new and completely different mobo. Even then it's not absolutely necessary. Never had a virus bork my computer so bad it needed a reformat, but that would probably be about the only other reason.

:thumbsup: Absolutely! With proper care and regular maintenance, i never reformat until changing mobos. That seems to be a gaming kid's routine.