|
View Full Version : Ahh...that new Windows smell... MonorailMan 06-12-2003, 10:20 AM It's time for my bi-annual Windows reinstall on all of my computers. Time to backup, and clear things out. :) (AKA: A easy way to kill time 'till tomorrow's DL trip.) :D Lani 06-12-2003, 10:45 AM Originally posted by MonorailMan It's time for my bi-annual Windows reinstall on all of my computers. Time to backup, and clear things out. :)Every two years, or every six months? Having to do a regular reinstall (versus a version upgrade) might be a good reason why it might not be my preferred OS... JeffG 06-12-2003, 10:53 AM Originally posted by Lani Having to do a regular reinstall (versus a version upgrade) might be a good reason why it might not be my preferred OS... I don't ever do Windows re-installs unless I am upgrading to a new version or I have had a catastrophic hardware failure. It really shouldn't be necessary, assuming you make a reasonable effort at maintenance and system protection. As long as you maintain anti-virus and firewall software and routinely use clean-up utilities to get rid of temp files and other similar garbage, you really aren't going to gain much of anything by a reinstall other than a lot of wasted time. -Jeff Andrew 06-12-2003, 11:38 AM DOS-based Windows (95, 98) really did need at least an annual format and reinstall. I've found that 2000 Pro is the most stable Windows I've ever used and will happily run for days without requiring a reboot, and (so far) two years without needing a format and reinstall. My new PC at work has XP Pro preinstalled--I'm looking forward to finding out if and how much the visual goodies have compromised 2000 Pro's stability. JeffG 06-12-2003, 11:47 AM That is a good point, Andrew. I was talking about the current versions of Windows, not the older versions. The versions through Windows 98 did tend to be less stable and would benefit from periodic reinstalls. I've been using various versions of NT (first NT4 and now Win2000) on my office PCs for years and have never had to do reinstalls other than for upgrades or disaster recovery. At home, I've been using XP since shortly after it was released and have also found no need for reinstalls. -Jeff Bill Catherall 06-12-2003, 12:42 PM What about the registry in NT based versions? Especially for someone who does a lot of beta testing (like MonorailMan)? Couldn't these modern OSes benefit from having a cleaned out registry occasionally? Andrew 06-12-2003, 12:47 PM Originally posted by Bill Catherall What about the registry in NT based versions? Especially for someone who does a lot of beta testing (like MonorailMan)? Couldn't these modern OSes benefit from having a cleaned out registry occasionally? Yes, and Microsoft has (had) a utility (http://download.com.com/3000-2094-881470.html?tag=list) to do just that. It's no longer supported on 2000 and later OS', but I haven't experienced any problems in using it. It even saves backups of the orphaned keys it removes, so you can easily merge them back in if there are real problems. MonorailMan 06-12-2003, 03:14 PM I don't really re-istall for speed, or for any other gain. I only do it to "restart". I find this good, because, that way, I can easily un-install old programs, or clean out documents. It's easier than picking and choosing and having to find stuff. :D I do it because I can. :D |