how often do you re-install windows?

[like2program]

I reinstall every 2 years.
I try to avoid "junk" like free cursors.
Really though, Linux is waaaaaaaay better
:lupie:

 

[Smith6612]

Those free Cursor things are a piece of crap. Just go into GIMP and make yourself an ICO file if you really want a free cursor

 

[flare66]

WOW!! I've had the same machine since 2004 and I've never had to reinstall XP. Judging by the responses to this thread, some of you must be looking at me like I'm crazy right now. Anyways, my laptop is in constant use and it still runs very well...

 

[KentonBomb]

I never reinstall Windows. I don't use Windows

I reinstall linux maybe once every... Well I've been running off of 1gb of space (USB Drive running Linux) and when I keep my downloading to a minimum, I rarely find the need to reinstall.

 

[davidrs]

Personally, I tend to reimage my laptop with the original image on a semi-regular basis... about once a quarter does it for me. I find that it's the best way to remove c**p from the computer. And no, I don't know why it deteriorates with time... the best way to stop it though, is impossible. That would be not to use it at all.

 

[FalseHope]

I can't see how you guys remember all the links and passwords and urls. I accidentally removed my browsing history, and I still can't remember half the stuff. That's one of the main reasons I don't format it

 

[jason.claude]

Around 2 -3 times a year, usually my own fault as I tend to modify files I most probably shouldn't,the only other reason i have reinstalled was to improve performance and clean my computer of programs i don't use. (the whole process takes me about an hour and a half as I use multiset to reinstall all my applications

 

[iholla]

I can't see how you guys remember all the links and passwords and urls. I accidentally removed my browsing history, and I still can't remember half the stuff. That's one of the main reasons I don't format it

The browsers come with a nifty tool which allows you to export your favourites/bookmarks and cookies. What i do is everytime I stumble upon a website I think is cool and would probably like to visit it again some time then I add it to my favourites.

If you are the sole user of your laptop/pc, then I let the browser save my form inputs and passords. All this session info is stored in your cookies.

So, before every re-install or re-deployment of your backup, export the favourites and cookies and add them to your backed up ones. Once your system is powered up anew, import all cookies and bookmarks. this way you do not have to remember anything.

You could get roboform; which is software that automatically stores form information and websites that you visit in an encrypted safe which can be migrated with your pc.

 

[flixin]

when i get bugs...on windows then only i reinstall it...now a days it's running fine

 

[sonicpld]

Well - XP pc is installed on 05.02.2001 Clean XP,
updated nowdays up to SP2 and only one time reinstalled because i try some nasty manager on it.
I got 3 x 320 Gb HDDs full of info all the time ( lots of software installed ) , and i think if people manage Windows carefull - all shall be good and shall have no-problem installation.

Vista is on laptop - it's still not reinstalled ( buyed on 04.03.2007 ).
Very cool indeed , but some bit of preacceleration wont be much for asking

 

[coolnos]

well, for me i sometimes do it 3 or 4 times a week just for the fun of it!!! believe it or not even sometimes double format a day!!! LOL
between server 2003 on the main and linux+mac on the laptop...

but thats only on my computers, on the rest of the family's i just formatted one of them yesterday!!! the other two were never touched for the last 3 years!!! ofcourse its win98 so no doubt it won't break down...

 

[intheclutch]

I've had this computer for a few years now and haven't reinstalled Windows at all.

 

[winlux]

And no, I don't know why it deteriorates with time... the best way to stop it though, is impossible. That would be not to use it at all.

Generally that is easily explained by the way windows handles the registry. Just about anything you do adds to the registry and that after time leads to invalid pointers etc. that just hogs the system. Very often things like your Ipod would install programmes which always run as processes that really hogs memory as well. Copounding all this with a fragmented hard drive and hey look... it's a slow computer.

Another interesting things is that some seem to like the idea of having more icons next to the system clock. That is a big no no. Everything seen there is actively running and requires memory... so yes your word application may open in just 3 seconds but the rest of your machine crawls then add to that something like the new virus scanners which lately are so over bloated with all the extra bling and that is why things just keep getting worse with time.

 

[networker]

I have to re-install windows xp 2-3 times a year.Now I can only activate it by telephone.It makes me wonder what will happen when xp becomes non supported.

 

[HomerJ]

I have to re-install windows xp 2-3 times a year.Now I can only activate it by telephone.It makes me wonder what will happen when xp becomes non supported.

Windows 2000 doesn't need activation, just a valid key. That's what I use for my Windows needs. I also find it lighter than XP, but it does have drawbacks too.

 

[calvinvandermeer]

I find that as long as you have an antivirus and anti spyware software on your computer you won't have to reinstall windows until you do a major hardware change. Sure, they are hell on your system resources, but I prefer that than the hassle of continually backing up my files.

 

[mender42]

Well I just had to reinstall and rebuild myself. I must say I had a good run on what I have: Windows 2000. Oh about 2 years or more. With housekeeping.

My box is heavily loaded as well and usually performed well. Lately though the Windows Updates have broken key programs like Outlook, and IE. That may have something to do with some rogue virus out there :eek4: or not.

What I do is defrag regulary using the Systools from Microsoft. I highly recommend them. My two favorites among many others: For defrag; the contig.exe program is native, so it does not discomboble the file system.
For pagefile defragemntation I use is pagedfrg.exe and have it configured to run every time I boot. If you do go to Microsoft for the SysTools be sure to get the right versions for your Windows System.

Last but not least check out: http://www.3bsoftware.com/ for registry repair
their software is very powerful....be carefull and it will serve you well. You can download the free versions at:
http://www.3bsoftware.com/downloads/
Be aware though that sometimes it cuts out broken registry keys because the software is broken or on the verge of breaking. For instance my most common problem is I have to reload AdobeReader afterwards...well it was not working right anyway...

Most of the problems (barring virus and broken software) are caused by heavy frags in both file and pagefile systems. Defragging the registry is a bonus and once you realize how many cruddy registry entries you have, you can understand the performance sluggishness. The first time I ran RegCleaner I had 700+ errors referencing crud that no longer existed!! Slug. Once I cleaned it up it surprised me how fast it was.

 

[thezone1]

Sadly to say i am often reinstalling vista, i find its alot harder to fix when something major goes wrong err the last time i had to reinstall it was after a 5 month period wich is pretty long to be honest. I duel boot both my laptop and pc with xp and vista and have a small testing server with server 2003 installed. sadly to say i have never really tried linux so wouldnt know what it is like. i tend to like microsoft products because they tend to have the same user interface and thats why i think they have done so well

 

[winlux]

If you like all windows being the same, linux is able to offer that as well. But there are limitations.If you choose a desktop manager or environment they are likely to use different programmes to render windowns and so forth. Just to name two.. GTK and QT4 so as long as you ensure that the programmes you use are geared for one then all the appearances would be the same. Although generally you wouldn't have too much of a problem, most programmes may look a little different but just like windows there are the menu bars and they are pretty standard, so all options would look familiar.

 

[struni]

Usually I reinstall windows everymonth. Just to make it perform better. I like to download new softwares from internet and testing them. Most of them won't reach our expectations. So installing and uninstalling makes my system worse. Registry cleaning and defragmenting also not giving much results like reinstalling. So i reinstall windows ........just......for good performance.