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"To format or not to format?"

I'm thinking of formatting my computer, but i'm not sure if it's really worth it. I just want to get rid of all the rubbish and speed it up a bit, Steam seems to have disappeared so i'm gonna need to go through all that again. If i save all my documents to a dvd could i just restore it all after formatting, most concerened with all the internet setings and stuff, really cant be naffed to sort all the settings again! So... is it worth it? Thanks for your help guys

I will normally do it every major upgrade which means it will probably be June sometime. It’s not really that bad, drop all the files I need onto the network (sisters PC) and bring them back again after. It’s always a good idea to store all your downloaded exe’s, always a big waste of time finding and downloading them again.

Reformatting is great when you can be bothered. And if it's been a while since it was last done then the speed increase can be quite significant.

I took an old 15Gb drive from my last computer, which has now become a drive for documents an music. Hence when I have to format the main drive, all i have to install is Windows, and then start with the programs I want.

Pandaemonium wrote:
> I reformat probably once every 3 or so months.

Same. I've got my windows drive on a seperate 20Gb partition so reinstalling is a breeze.

I can reinstall to basic operating system / apps in about 4 hours. It's well worth it to get rid of all the junk and speed increases. Patches for stuff like counterstrike will take longer, and you're guaranteed to miss something.

I reformat probably once every 3 or so months.

Rebuilt my pc in a couple of hours a month or so ago. It really isn't as daunting as you'd think and its nice to get rid of those niggling little errors it developed over the last year.

One thing I did do was create an automated Windows Xp SP2 install cd though which meant I didn't have to sit around changing regional settings and stuff during the install. And I added some extras like Nero,AV, Acrobat & Photoshop to reduce the time it would take.

Also put ghost on and imaged it as soon as it was configured (email settings etc) so if it crashed and I was short on time I could just restore it.

No complaints here and I'd certainly recommend it.

*Shudders at the thought of a full format*

Good decision. Glad to be of service.

OK cheers mate, i just thought of all the stuff i would have to re-install, no way can i bothered with that! Simple, problem solved!

Pros:

Will get rid of some crap you dont use and allow you to start a blank page, as it were.

Will make a bit of free space



Cons:

You'll have to reinstall all software and hardware including your operating system which will take a lot of time

It will not make your computer much faster

If your computer has a decent size hard drive then it's probably not worth trying to make the extra space.



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My advice, dont bother. You can remove stuff you dont need in the add/remove progs menu in control panel if you're intent on making space. To improve the speed of your computer try defragmenting it (accessories>system tools). Your call at the end of the day though mate. If you DO choose to wipe it then backing up documents and files on a dvd will do fine, but you cant back programs up on it, you'll need to re-install them.