how often do you format?

How often do you guys think I should format and start over? I have a lot of stuff on this computer so I could back it up. I haven't formatted since I put xp on here about one 6 months ago. how often do you reformat and start over?

 

I'm on the same build I've had for about 3 years running. Still runs like a champ I don't reformat unless I have to. Like MA said.. an image is the way to go.

 

It's very subjective as to "how often to format" and something only the user can tell.

If you do regular "housekeeping", you would rarely need to.

If your system is running fine, then it's unnecessary.

As above, I only format if I have no choice.

 

what does an image actually do ? i reformat every time i do a reinstall and i always do regular cleaning. what software do you use for this

 

LIke the others I image if things go wrong but fortunately it is not very often.

I also have Goback for errors spotted quickly and it has helped a couple or 3 t.imes

 

me once years when i upgrade....

And for the image you can uses norton ghost or acronis true image
but you have to have seperate partition on your hard disk to work for norton ghost, not for acronis true image 8.0

hope this help.....

 

Acronis True Image.

Do an install and get it to where you want it. Then make an image. if your machine goes belly up or it's that time to reformat, just use the image instead and you're up and running in no time. That image will only work with the hardware configuration that it was made with.

 

I'm with Kodo, MA, & Insomniac a "do over" shouldn't be part of your normal computer upkeep. Spend that time preforming proper maintence defrag, etc.and then making sure you have a complete back up should something catastrophic happen.

 

I have been running on the same format for 3 months, and that is only because I upgraded to WinXP Pro. Before that I went more than a year w/o a hitch.

Relatives and friends that I help out here and there, most have gone 3 years w/o a reformat or restore.

Now, that doesn't mean that their systems do not crash....it just means it has not been severe enough to reformat. All Windows systems crash eventually.....

In my opinion, only Apple computers and Linux servers are rock solid.

 

so as i understand it : i should set up from a clean reformat, install all needed software and update the drivers with 3/4 partition in the beginning.then create an image off the whole computer. does this also include the registry?

when needed i just use the image disc and it will put the computer back to when i first created the image.

 

Yes. The image includes EVERYTHING.

 

thanks ! what software do you use

 

I only reformat when i cannot fix the problem, or a major hardware change.

 

Doesn't include temp files like pagefile.sys

 

just purchased acronis true image is there any tips that i should do before i install and set up

 

I think if you got a good AV & Firewall and something like Norton System Works to keep registry clean, and you clean out internet history/cookies after every internet episode, you well away not to format.
I also use Norton Gost top clone disk.

The only drawback is if you have not a cloned disk and your disk start messing up your files, that is bad news.

Instead of reformatting to solve problems, I tried uninstalls/reinstalls via device manager. So far I uninstalled/reinstalled just about any component, from HAL,Interrupt manager, Processor, chipset, right down to disk, and still survive, without using my cloned disk and reformatting, but this is XP-PRO.

 

Thanks for the feedback guys. I have never had to reformat in my life because of a problem, so I don't think I will ever. My dad on the other hand. I can't count how many times he has had to reformat because of problems. I will tell him about Norton Ghost right away. Thanks.

 

Some other good advice:

Try to use:
1-Norton AV...or other
2-Norton Internet Security...To see where each visit to Internet takes you...You'll be surprised....
3-Norton System Works...To clean out registry, to clean out Internet cache etc...
4-Norton Gost 2003, or later To clone disk, I do it with the PC DOS.
5-Spybot 1.3
6-AdAware SE 1.5
7-Startup Monitor...To notice if some program register to load at next startup, If you think it's crap, say no, but then the fun begin..You have to take note of it, search it on C-Drive, deletes it's directory, do same in registry if you can, then run Norton SW....To delete other loose ties...If a program register for startup, you must realise, crap has already been placed on C-Drive....Must say Norton 2004 keep crap pretty well away.
8-Popup & Privacy Defender....A small program to clean out internet crap quickly.

You see if you re-format easily, thats what you learn, to be a boffin at re-format, but you will rob yourself of getting a good feel for problem search in the process.I feel sorry for people that know nothing deeper about PC, like my wife as example........

This is just my defence......

 

One of the handiest applications I have used is Go-Back.

It's similar to System Restore, but loads before and independently of Windows, so isn't affected by any crashes as well as being able to restore individual files.

Apart from a dead hard drive, very few things affect it.

 

HI, As I said before Goback is good for a Quick Fix but even then might let you down as it's hisotry only lasts for a couple of days.

Image is the better idea but I suggest imaging every so often if you are installing programs all the time. That way you have the latest image and True image will write incremental back ups.

 

My friend reformats about once a month, and he keeps real good care of his computer. Anti-virus, anti-spyware, adware, anti everything. He also defrags and keeps his registry clean, and keeps those temp files from collecting dust by destroying them! I'm slightly lazyer, I reformat when I get major problems. If anyone read my post about the annoying blinky icon, that is one of the problems. Infact, that is the ONLY problem that I can remember.... I'm going to stick with this Windows instalation for as long as I can. I want to know how long it can last with regular maitnance. Is there anything other I should be doing besides keeping it free of those nasty unwanted files, defragging, cleaning out the registry and temp file folders? I think I pretty much got it covered.... System Mechanic 4 Pro is what I owe the registry clean outs and such too. Disk Keeper 8 for the defrags, Ad-Aware, AVG, Spybot, and Spywareblaster for the viruses and adware and such.

 

"it's history only lasts for a couple of days"

Go Backs history lasts much longer than that.

It uses an adjustable 10 % maximum of your hard disk capacity, at least all the versions I have ever used did.

Imaging is better, but it would be ideal to have both.

To the above author, your friend formats once a month??

Each to their own and whatever works for him, but that is overkill.

I can't think of any situation that would require that much formatting, not to mention the unnecessary wear and tear on the hard drive itself.

 

Only when I run across a problem that I can't fix or find a solution for, and for new operating systems, and major service packs. The service pack thing may be overkill on my part, but I like to make a slipstreamed CD and do a fresh install.