New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Restore Vs Format

post #1 of 8
11/16/04 at 10:09am
Thread Starter 
Hey guys .. it dawned upon my newbieness that formatting a harddrive can be cut short with restore points... can it ??

Say ... we have ermx .. a computer *DUH* .. and ermx .. it gets screwed .. what are the benefits of restore vs format .. i mean format gets rid of all the crap .. but if u restore it to the point after a clean format ( provided u do save a point of restoration after your previous format ) ... wouldn't it be much better ?? it'd get rid of whatever problems u have such as viruses, spyware etc etc and its much much faster

Any expert opinions on this ?
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 8
11/16/04 at 10:54am
meh

I don't entirely trust system restore to do a good job. I'd rather to a full format just to be sure. Plus you have to waste that disk space with system restore.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 8
11/16/04 at 11:36am
If you're had your computer for more than 6 months, it's probably so filled with stuff, stuff ranging from Microsoft Office stuff down to the junk that's been in your Temp files, Internet files, and all sorts of baddies in your Registry.

I say a full-disk format should be done once every year, at least.

Most viruses / spyware / malware / electronically transmitted diseases find a way to stay in the (restore) folder, where your system restore files are put anyway, that's why the majority of the time when to do use System Restore, the virus/ETD is still there. That's also why Norton gives the instructions that I 5-year-old can follow to turn off System Restore.

If you do have to reformat, just be sure to back up everything, including your My Docs folder, and any game saves you might have. If you have access to an FTP server or a CD-R, or even a DVD-RW drive, a healthy backup of your info shouldn't be all that time-consuming.

The way I see it, you're better off formatting it and starting fresh, as if the machine came from out of the box.

Cheer up, grab a drink, back shit up, and watch blue bars.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 8
11/16/04 at 11:57am
Format Like the wind young one, restore is bullcrap and like previousely stated it comsumes space. I vote format.
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 8
11/16/04 at 1:02pm
I would always recommend a clean Format over a restore.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 8
11/16/04 at 1:07pm
I second that

But an easy way is to do a clean format, install all your drivers and windows, then use Ghost to create an image. Then restore that every time your comp gets backed up with junk and starts to slow down.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 8
11/21/04 at 11:25pm
I vote format HD
create primary partition 1 for linux swap, partition 2 for linux
partition 3 for windows

this setup has saved me in the past. When windows went down and could not get to my files even in safe mode, Linux saved my files.

System restore just buys you as much time as you put it back
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 8
11/22/04 at 12:10am
What i do is make 2 partitions. C is where all my programs are and my windows installation. D is where all my documents, music, videos, etc are kept, that way, i wont lose any data when i format my C drive.
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home