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How does reformat help?

post #1 of 5
6/17/05 at 11:07pm
Thread Starter 
Sorry for being such a newb, but how would a reformat help? I know that it basically clears all of the crap that the OEMs put on the hdd. If I am going to get alot more ram than I need on a 9300, should I still do it?

Does the hard drive or ram get more affected by a reformat?

Also, is it hard?

Thanks,
jcll2002
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post #2 of 5
6/17/05 at 11:16pm
1: Yes, probably, if you have a clean version of Windows to install (or if you want to jump through the hoops to get the clean version from Dell). I'd say it's nice to know that anything on your computer was put there by your own free will.

2: The ram has nothing to do with a reformat, this is assuming that before the reformat you have no programs running behind windows upon startup (after a squeaky clean OS install).

3: Not especially difficult, if you can work deftly, you can get a reformat done with less than 5 minutes of actual work (there's a lot of wait time while the computer works with itself installing all the Windows files...). I'd say you should have someone with you if you don't know well what you're doing, because if you get somewhere that you can't pass, you'll be without a computer until someone can help, which is excrutiatingly annoying.
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post #3 of 5
6/17/05 at 11:26pm
I have had 5 laptops. I never formatted any of them. I just remove what I do not need and use a registry cleaner. I never run into any major problems doing this.
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post #4 of 5
6/17/05 at 11:30pm
get rid of all the preloaded crap that bogs down your system.
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post #5 of 5
6/18/05 at 2:07am
Quote:
Originally Posted by larryc2
I have had 5 laptops. I never formatted any of them. I just remove what I do not need and use a registry cleaner. I never run into any major problems doing this.
Sorry to rain on your parade -- your way is OK, but not the best way. A reformat is absolutely the best way -- hands down -- to "purify" and speed up your Microsoft OS -- regardless of what type of hardware it's on. And every MS OS -- including Win XP Pro -- needs to be re-installed every 12-18 months, if you really want to make your machine perform "like new". I've used all the registry cleaners there are (only slight hyperbole), and there's not a one of them that will approach giving you a "virgin" registry.

It's a pain in the ass re-installing all those applications, but I would argue every 18 months you're putting new revs -- or new products -- on anyway. If you're a computer pro, you will re-install. Period. Otherwise, we're talking entropy here. Your Microsoft universe WILL be running down and heading toward chaos -- a little every day.

End of soap-box.
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