Format and reinstall

[Paradoxdb3]

XP Pro SP2

I actually have two questions. The first is in regards to installing and
uninstalling several programs. Let's say that I download and install a
program and don't like it, so I uninstall it. Now, let's say I do this a
dozen times more or so with several other programs. Is this going to have a
negative effect of my system's performance? What about the performance of
other programs?

Secondly, in regards to the topic's title...what factors are considered when
thinking about a reformat and reinstall? That is, why does a person consider
taking such a drastic measure?

 

[Shenan Stanley]

XP Pro SP2

I actually have two questions. The first is in regards to
installing and uninstalling several programs. Let's say that I
download and install a program and don't like it, so I uninstall
it. Now, let's say I do this a dozen times more or so with several
other programs. Is this going to have a negative effect of my
system's performance? What about the performance of other programs?

Secondly, in regards to the topic's title...what factors are
considered when thinking about a reformat and reinstall? That is,
why does a person consider taking such a drastic measure?

If done properly - any remnants leftover will not affect performance (if any
are even leftover.)
- Take a Restore point, install the program, try it out, decide to keep it
or not, if not - uninstall and use the system restore point you had set to
go to the point right before you installed said application.
(Other options would be to utilize third party imaging applications, etc.)


As for why someone would consider formatting and installing anew...
- Severe virus/trojan/worm/etc infection/infestation...
- Hardware failure...

Otherwise - it's usually a lazy way out, the quickest/easiest method (that
takes no troubleshooting skills) or someone was just misinformed or does not
have the skills/money/time to consider other options...

IMHO.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

If the program installers are well behaved and uninstall properly you would
see no impact to performance. I suggest that you make an image backup of
your C: drive first in case something does goes haywire so you can restore
the system to the state before you started. Barring that, at least set a
system restore point before you do all this.

A format and reinstall is a last resort when the system is becoming
unstable. It is not a normal maintenance step.

If you have a spare copy of XP you might consider testing your software in a
virtual machine using Virtual PC 2007. That way none of the installations
will touch your hard drive and you can ditch the virtual machine when you
are done if you want. This is a much better method of testing and one I use
all the time.

 

[Paradoxdb3]

Thank you for the replies. I have installed a program called Vista
Customization Pack 3 and I'm not sure I'll use it anymore. However, I did
not create a backup or restore point and I've also installed several other
programs since which I do want to keep. I know I've been advised against
using registry scanners/cleaners, but I've had success with the one I'm using
now (TweakNow Reg Cleaner Standard) and it does create backups to reverse the
changes it makes.

Will using this registry cleaner to remove any left-behind entries help with
the issue of "unbehaving" uninstallations? And if an uninstallation leaves
behind actual files or folders that I cannot find, is there any harm in them
staying on the system?

In the future I will use a system restore point or image software! Is
Nero's SmartStart essentials "Copy entire hard drive" the same as an image?

 

[Anna]

XP Pro SP2

I actually have two questions. The first is in regards to installing and
uninstalling several programs. Let's say that I download and install a
program and don't like it, so I uninstall it. Now, let's say I do this a
dozen times more or so with several other programs. Is this going to have
a
negative effect of my system's performance? What about the performance of
other programs?

Secondly, in regards to the topic's title...what factors are considered
when
thinking about a reformat and reinstall? That is, why does a person
consider
taking such a drastic measure?

P...
In addition to the good info & suggestions you received from Shenan & Colin,
let me add the following for your consideration as well as for others...

Assuming one is working with a desktop PC (not a laptop/notebook) and has at
least one vacant 5 1/4" bay available...

Consider adding a removable HDD to your system in addition to your internal
HDD. These removable HDDs usually referred to as mobile rack affairs have
enormous advantages when installed in a desktop PC.

For your particular purposes, i.e., installing, testing, uninstalling, etc.
new programs & configurations, the removable HDD is a real blessing. You can
experiment with all these things to your heart's content, knowing that your
day-to-day working HDD will remain free from any possible OS corruption or
lessened performance because of some misbehaving program/configuration, etc.
And through the use of these "mobile racks" you have, in effect, an
*unlimited* source of HDDs at your immediate disposal should you need them
for one reason or another.

There are other important advantages of removable HDDs as well. If you or
anyone is interested in more details about them I'll be glad to post add'l
info. Again, bear in mind that the basic requirements for using this kind of
device is that the PC is a desktop machine with at least one available
vacant 5 1/4" bay (the type of bay that houses a typical optical drive).
Anna

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Since I don't recommend registry cleaners I can't comment on yours. Nero's
backup software is a file backup program, not an imaging program. However,
it would suffice for the purposes we are talking about here. A popular
imaging backup program is Acronis True Image Home which is not expensive.

 

[arokayraj]

WELL IT DOESNT MAKE BIG DIFFERENCE HOW MANY TIME U UNINSTALL OR REISNTALL A PARTICUAL PROGRAM..\IF U R GOING FOR CLEAN REINSTALL..IF ITS THE SAME OPERATING CD XP PRO 2
MAKE SURE U HAVE AL LIMPO RTANT DATA BACK UP
ALL SOFTWARE CDS THT U MIGHT WANT TO REINSTALL..C
CHECK IF U HAVE DRIVE CDS..COS ONCE U DO CLEAN INSTALL ..U WILL NEED TO INSTALL THE DRIVERS..
DISCONNECT ALL EXTERNAL DEVICE I,NCLUDING UR NETWORK CONNECTION .
WHILE DOING CLEAN INSTALL..LIKE CAMERA , PRINTER
.U JUST NEED TO HAVE U KEYBOARD ,MOUSE , MONITOR AND THE TOWER.. CONNECTED
AND THEN START UR INSTALLATION..ONE MORE THING
IF UR PLANING TO INSTALL THE VISTA OS
MAKE SURE THT U MEET THE SYSTMEM REQUIREMNTS.
800-megahertz (MHz) 32-bit (x86) processor or 800-MHz 64-bit (x64) processor
• 512 megabytes (MB) of system memory
Note On system configurations that use system memory as graphics memory, at least 448 MB of system memory must be available to the operating system after some memory is allocated for graphics.
• DirectX 9-class graphics card
• 32 MB of graphics memory
• 20-gigabyte (GB) hard disk that has 15 GB of free hard disk space
• Internal or external DVD drive
• Internet access capability
• Audio output capability
IF ITS NOT MET.U MIGHT FACE ISSUE WHILE INSTALLING..WISH U GOOD LUCK

 

[Bruce Chambers]

XP Pro SP2

I actually have two questions. The first is in regards to installing and
uninstalling several programs. Let's say that I download and install a
program and don't like it, so I uninstall it. Now, let's say I do this a
dozen times more or so with several other programs. Is this going to have a
negative effect of my system's performance?

Not normally, no. However, a poorly coded uninstall routine could
concievably do some damage, I suppose.

What about the performance of
other programs?

Same answer.

Secondly, in regards to the topic's title...what factors are considered when
thinking about a reformat and reinstall? That is, why does a person consider
taking such a drastic measure?

In what specific context? Without any background information, the
question is meaningless.


--

Bruce Chambers

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