ReFormatting my pc - a good idea?

danmanchester

This may seem like a strange question as I am not experiencing any problems with my pc, but I have read somewhere else on here that "blowing out" or formatting one's pc every 4 to 6 months is a good idea and a performance booster?? My pc (AMD Athlon 1900 XP running XP Pro SP2) is 3 and a half years old now and I've never reformatted before so was wondering if I should? Also, don't know if this is significantbut a couple of weeks ago after installing Nero Reloaded when I rebooted I got a Windows message along the lines of "your pc has significantly changed since activation" etc etc so I had to reactivate my XP - is this normal? Thanks in advance for any ideas/opinions.

criminal_smile

No real idea about having to reactivate windows, but reformtting is no bad thing. Think how many files, installation programs etc are sitting on your comp from the last couple of years. If you're like me, you probably have no idea what half the files you've downloaded are. I recently defragged the hard drive, but there was no real improvement. After backing up all the files I needed, reformating with XP was a breeze. Insert the dvd, start the machine, and click yes. 15 mins later.....like the machine was fresh out of the box.
Just make sure you save all your bookmarks, and all your password details. And make sure you have all your BB details, as you'll need to reinstall it after reformatting the drive.
HTH

DVB_3

Reactivation request - you must've added new hardware (or upgraded something already in place).

Chippy_Minton

Yes, reformatting your hard drive is a quick and easy way of clearing out the accumulated junk, plus you'll find that Windows does run faster as the registry will be less cluttered.

Make sure you have installation CDs for XP and SP2, and other programs you want to reinstall, copied anything you want to keep (downloads, My Documents etc.) to CD. If you've used My Documents as MS intended, backing it up will save all your personal files, documents, bookmarks etc.

newfoundglory

Yes, I recently formatted my new laptop (only had it about 3 months)... but it had a failed SP2 upgrade on it and I wanted to install FreeBSD along side it.

It had XP Home on it, but someone gave me a license for XP Pro.

On a side note, if you don't have an OEM or recovery disk, but a full CD of windows XP I recommend you slipstream your copy of Win XP up to SP2 before you reinstall if the disk isn't SP2... there are instructions on how to do this on the net. It means you can patch a Windows CD with SP2 before you install it; saving you the hastle of installing SP2 after you install windows. You will need a CD burner and blank CD to do this though.

I wouldn't worry about activation; you should be allowed to format and activate XP as many times as you like!

VH

Why bother with the hassle?

If you're not experiencing problems with your PC then there's little point in reformatting it. I certainly wouldn't say it's quick, you have to mess around reinstalling drivers, programs, restoring backed up files etc.

It's the 'sledgehammer to crack a nut approach'. If there is a nut in the first place!