Reformatting POLL - share your thoughts

I alway reformat new computers(have all Dell), and do it again atleast once a year.

 

I don't think a format is really necessary, unless you're really pushed for space.

Uninstalling all the crap and then a good clean of the registry, along with cutting down on some of the less essential services and a few other tweaks, leaves my system in pretty good shape.

 

At first I uninstalled all the garbage software. With the programs I installed I had 69 processes running.

Later I reformatted and with the programs I installed I have 66 processes. The reformat/reinstall/data-transfer/solve-new-problems took me a total of like 10-12 hours.

I got more space on my hard drive, everything is now on C, but I still wonder if it was worth it....

 

I reformatted mine about 2 weeks after receiving it. Took that long because i had to phone Dell more than once to convince them to give me the OS/Software disks.

I have since lost my OS disk but purchased a new one, it should be here in the next few days and i plan on reformatting again because its been a while since the first time i did it.

I only encountered two problems when formatting.

1. The scroll part of my touch pad didnt work afterwards.

2. I partitioned it wrongly and ended up with everything on just the C drive.

Ill print out Southern Girl's guide before i format again though.

 

If re-formatting will take less time than cleaning all of the junk off of a computer, then I'll re-format. Backing up data and re-formatting/re-installing Windows is sometimes less time consuming than trying to fix it.

 

I was a little leery at first to try this, but Southern Girl's step by step guide gave me the courage to try it. It took a little longer than I thought, but all things considered, it was well worth it. I don't know if I improved the performance because I did it almost right out of the box. Still a comfort to know there is nothing on there that I didn't put there.

 

Statistically, you can't create a true assumption based on this fact. Only people that run into problems will post saying they have a problem. To put it into numerical perspective, for every 50 people that post because they ran into problems, there (theoretically) could be 100, or even 1,000 people that have successfully performed a "clean install" and ran into no problems what so ever, thus having no reason to post to claim they ran into no issues. Perfect example is this poll, there's 92 that say they have had no issues, and 4 that said they did.

Personally, I always reformat. I've worked at a company where we receive desktops from manufacturers with driver errors on ALL the PCs and then have to go through and install fresh chipset drivers to fix the issue. If you're going to go through the trouble of doing that, might as well reformat, wipe it clean, and then install all the up-to-date drivers.

 

If you buy a Dell, formatting is required.

 

If you buy a cheap dell, formatting is required.

I bought a Latitude D520 and it came sans most of the Garbage.

Deleted 3 or 4 programs, cleaned the registry and loaded it with only what i use.....2.5 hours maybe.

 

Okay, I have been debating this reformatting thing. I just got my 6400/1505. I am curious about a couple things. One is, I have about 25gb in a D drive. Is there anything wrong with having this there? Do I need to have it all in C? I'll probably be downloading a lot of music but can I just shift it over to D? Any problems with this?

Also, what is all the garbage that I should be taking out. I consulted a few threads and deleted a few things in Safe Mode without much trouble but everyone talks about the "garbage" without much specifics. Is there somewhere I can look for more info on this. I'd like to take out more crap if I can.

 

You shouldn't have any problems with having a C & D drive. I have both now and it just as easy having your media on the D drive instead of the C.

If you're going to reformat.... then all the garbage will be taken out anyway. Reformatting, as i understand it, is the only way to make sure all the crap that comes on your computer is completely wiped out.

Im no expert btw, just giving an account from my experience with formatting.

 

yep, first thing when i got this lappy, pain in the butt, but once done i just use norton ghost, even when there is the slightest issues.
putting on the drivers were horrible tho. the creative audigy wasnt easy to config, help dell can come out with a clean recovery soon!

 

I don't think I could ever not reformat a new system.

Got my 1210 in June. Uninstalled the bloatware, cleaned the registry. Installed Half Life 2. Was getting 20 or so fps. Clean install later, I get 35+. Almost the same # of processes too. Also, the Dell install rewrote it's security descriptors after a week and was uselss. Wouldn't even boot.

So maybe I just had a bad install, but I always do a clean wipe after I ghost the original (just incase) and then ghost the new install.

 

What do you use to create your backup images?

 

I'd like to when i get mine next week but i'm afraid i'll mess it up.. lol

 

You have to do it.

We're here for you. There's plenty of info here on how to do it.

You're leaving an obscene amount of performance on the table if you do no clean format the thing.

 

its very simple to do, and the reward is quite substancial, read SG's guide,download all the most recent drivers, put em on the media of your choice, format in the manner you choose, I prefer to delete all the partitions personally, slap on windows, update everything, install all your crucial apps, then get some good imaging software, and make your own backup of a clean up to date windows install, and if your confused about anything, you know where to go, good luck