Re-install Vista pre-installed on PC

[Abi]

Can anyone tell me the best and easiest way to re-install Vista which was
pre-installed on my PC when purchased. I'd like to re-install because of
performance problems. I have the business edition.

 

[Gordon]

Can anyone tell me the best and easiest way to re-install Vista which was
pre-installed on my PC when purchased. I'd like to re-install because of
performance problems. I have the business edition.

And what makes you think that a re-installation will solve performance
problems?

 

[Alias]

And what makes you think that a re-installation will solve performance
problems?

With Windows, even if it's running "well", you always have better
performance if you reinstall.

To the OP: is it a Dell, HP or what? Did you get a recovery disk or do
you have a hidden restore partition? Did the computer come with a
manual? If so, read it to find out how to restore your computer to
factory condition.

Alias

 

[Gordon]

With Windows, even if it's running "well", you always have better
performance if you reinstall.

You mean like the Acer "techie" I was having an argument with over failed
Restore disks who swore blind that he re-installed Windows once a month? ;-)

 

[Alias]

You mean like the Acer "techie" I was having an argument with over
failed Restore disks who swore blind that he re-installed Windows once a
month? ;-)

Once a month is overdoing it. It takes about a year for Windows rot to
really settle in and make itself at home.

Alias

 

[Gordon]

Once a month is overdoing it.

That's what I told him. He wouldn't have it.......

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Can anyone tell me the best and easiest way to re-install Vista which was
pre-installed on my PC when purchased. I'd like to re-install because of
performance problems. I have the business edition.

If you have performance problems, you should find out what's causing
the performance problems and fix it. Reinstalling is a poor thing to
do, and will very likely get you back to the same situation in a short
time.

Here's my standard post on the subject, and then I'll answer your
question at the end of the message:

Why do you want to reformat and reinstall? In my view, it's usually a
mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to
reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0,
3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP,
Windows Vista, and now Windows 7, each for the period of time before
the next version came out, and each on two or more machines here. I
never reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than
an occasional minor problem.

It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical
support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost
any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and
reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the
phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to
do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't
possess in any great degree).

But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. You have to
restore all your data backups, you have to reinstall all your
programs, you have to reinstall all the Windows and application
updates, you have to locate and install all the needed drivers for
your system, you have to recustomize Windows and all your apps to work
the way you're comfortable with.

Besides all those things being time-consuming and troublesome, you may
have trouble with some of them: can you find all your application CDs?
Can you find all the needed installation codes? Do you have data
backups to restore? Do you even remember all the customizations and
tweaks you may have installed to make everything work the way you
like? Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve
that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and far
between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for
troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only after all
other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person have failed.

And perhaps most important: if you reformat and reinstall without
finding out what caused your problem, you will very likely repeat the
behavior that caused it, and quickly find yourself back in exactly the
same situation.

If you have problems, post the details of them here; it's likely that
someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required.

But if you disagree with me and want to reinstall anyway, go ahead.
It's your choice, not mine. How to do so depends on what computer you
have and what manufacturer it's from. They either gave you a DVD to
reinstall from or they created a recovery partition (which you should
have burnt to a DVD yourself) to reinstall from. To find out what to
do, read their instructions, check their web site, or contact them.

 

[Charlie Tame]

That's what I told him. He wouldn't have it.......

Actually the Vista system the grandkids use here slowed to a crawl but
after removing some dubious software I made a backup with Acronis,
restored the backup to a bigger drive (The original was > 80% full) and
it is just fine. The same procedure did not work well with XP, never did
seem to work with XP. Of course malware might have done something I did
not find...

So yes a reinstall is sometimes the answer but not always necessary, at
least not with Vista.

 

[Charlie Tame]

If you have performance problems, you should find out what's causing
the performance problems and fix it. Reinstalling is a poor thing to
do, and will very likely get you back to the same situation in a short
time.

Here's my standard post on the subject, and then I'll answer your
question at the end of the message:

Why do you want to reformat and reinstall? In my view, it's usually a
mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to
reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0,
3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP,
Windows Vista, and now Windows 7, each for the period of time before
the next version came out, and each on two or more machines here. I
never reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than
an occasional minor problem.

It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical
support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost
any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and
reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the
phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to
do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't
possess in any great degree).

But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. You have to
restore all your data backups, you have to reinstall all your
programs, you have to reinstall all the Windows and application
updates, you have to locate and install all the needed drivers for
your system, you have to recustomize Windows and all your apps to work
the way you're comfortable with.

Besides all those things being time-consuming and troublesome, you may
have trouble with some of them: can you find all your application CDs?
Can you find all the needed installation codes? Do you have data
backups to restore? Do you even remember all the customizations and
tweaks you may have installed to make everything work the way you
like? Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve
that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and far
between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for
troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only after all
other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person have failed.

And perhaps most important: if you reformat and reinstall without
finding out what caused your problem, you will very likely repeat the
behavior that caused it, and quickly find yourself back in exactly the
same situation.

If you have problems, post the details of them here; it's likely that
someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required.

But if you disagree with me and want to reinstall anyway, go ahead.
It's your choice, not mine. How to do so depends on what computer you
have and what manufacturer it's from. They either gave you a DVD to
reinstall from or they created a recovery partition (which you should
have burnt to a DVD yourself) to reinstall from. To find out what to
do, read their instructions, check their web site, or contact them.

Also, some tech support people have the attitude that the owners of
spyware infested computers need to be taught a lesson...

I don't disagree with you per-se, but I have seen XP machines go bad
over time and been unable to recover performance short of a re install.
I have not had to re install Vista except for occasions when I have
broken it (and of course on those occasions I knew I'd broken it
properly) but that was not on production machines

 

[webster72n]

The OP is well advised to heed your advice, Ken, because it is 'right on the
money' and corresponds exactly with my experiences.
The above pertains to Windows Vista, not XP.
Thank you for such valuable contribution.

Harry.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Also, some tech support people have the attitude that the owners of
spyware infested computers need to be taught a lesson...

I don't disagree with you per-se, but I have seen XP machines go bad
over time and been unable to recover performance short of a re install.

There's no question that you're right; that sometimes happens. One
example is a system with multiple malware infections.

I certainly don't claim that nobody should ever reinstall Windows. My
point is that it should be a last resort, to be done only if other
attempts at problem-solving have failed.

Unfortunately there are many people who see it and use it as a first
step whenever they have a problem. Worse, there are some people who do
it periodically even if they have no problems. I completely disagree
with both of those points of view.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

The OP is well advised to heed your advice, Ken, because it is 'right on the
money' and corresponds exactly with my experiences.
The above pertains to Windows Vista, not XP.
Thank you for such valuable contribution.

Thanks for the kind words, Harry.

 

[webster72n]

Thanks for the kind words, Harry.

I do believe in the practice of giving credit where credit is due, hence my
comment and the 'explanation' you gave in reply, could easily be extracted
from your first response. But, better safe than sorry!

 

[Guest]

If you have performance problems, you should find out what's causing
the performance problems and fix it. Reinstalling is a poor thing to
do, and will very likely get you back to the same situation in a short
time.

Here's my standard post on the subject, and then I'll answer your
question at the end of the message:

Why do you want to reformat and reinstall? In my view, it's usually a
mistake. With a modicum of care, it should never be necessary to
reinstall Windows (XP or any other version). I've run Windows 3.0,
3.1, WFWG 3.11, Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP,
Windows Vista, and now Windows 7, each for the period of time before
the next version came out, and each on two or more machines here. I
never reinstalled any of them, and I have never had anything more than
an occasional minor problem.

It's my belief that this mistaken notion stems from the technical
support people at many of the larger OEMs. Their solution to almost
any problem they don't quickly know the answer to is "reformat and
reinstall." That's the perfect solution for them. It gets you off the
phone quickly, it almost always works, and it doesn't require them to
do any real troubleshooting (a skill that most of them obviously don't
possess in any great degree).

But it leaves you with all the work and all the problems. You have to
restore all your data backups, you have to reinstall all your
programs, you have to reinstall all the Windows and application
updates, you have to locate and install all the needed drivers for
your system, you have to recustomize Windows and all your apps to work
the way you're comfortable with.

Besides all those things being time-consuming and troublesome, you may
have trouble with some of them: can you find all your application CDs?
Can you find all the needed installation codes? Do you have data
backups to restore? Do you even remember all the customizations and
tweaks you may have installed to make everything work the way you
like? Occasionally there are problems that are so difficult to solve
that Windows should be reinstalled cleanly. But they are few and far
between; reinstallation should not be a substitute for
troubleshooting; it should be a last resort, to be done only after all
other attempts at troubleshooting by a qualified person have failed.

And perhaps most important: if you reformat and reinstall without
finding out what caused your problem, you will very likely repeat the
behavior that caused it, and quickly find yourself back in exactly the
same situation.

If you have problems, post the details of them here; it's likely that
someone can help you and a reinstallation won't be required.

But if you disagree with me and want to reinstall anyway, go ahead.
It's your choice, not mine. How to do so depends on what computer you
have and what manufacturer it's from. They either gave you a DVD to
reinstall from or they created a recovery partition (which you should
have burnt to a DVD yourself) to reinstall from. To find out what to
do, read their instructions, check their web site, or contact them.

"Reformat and reinstall" is the only tool most OEMs provide the user --
if that! When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

Bob

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

"Reformat and reinstall" is the only tool most OEMs provide the user --
if that! When all you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.

Exactly! As I said, quoted above, "It's my belief that this mistaken
notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger
OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the
answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for
them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and
it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that
most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree)."

 

[Guest]

Exactly! As I said, quoted above, "It's my belief that this mistaken
notion stems from the technical support people at many of the larger
OEMs. Their solution to almost any problem they don't quickly know the
answer to is "reformat and reinstall." That's the perfect solution for
them. It gets you off the phone quickly, it almost always works, and
it doesn't require them to do any real troubleshooting (a skill that
most of them obviously don't possess in any great degree)."

But I would think it would lead to at least a modicum of customer
dissatisfaction -- although OEMs may count on most customers expecting
computer problems to be difficult and time-consuming. I've often
wondered why Microsoft doesn't make automated recovery more accessible
to the average customer. It took me quite a while to find such tools
for Vista, but they did a fine job (in my particular case) in which I
was very close to just giving up and starting over.

Bob

 

[webster72n]

But I would think it would lead to at least a modicum of customer
dissatisfaction -- although OEMs may count on most customers expecting
computer problems to be difficult and time-consuming. I've often wondered
why Microsoft doesn't make automated recovery more accessible to the
average customer. It took me quite a while to find such tools for Vista,
but they did a fine job (in my particular case) in which I was very close
to just giving up and starting over.

 

[Spanketh Thy Monkey]

And what makes you think that a re-installation will solve performance
problems?

Err - It doesn't matter what you think. Err. He asked a question about the
best way to re-install. Err. Did you not understand the question? Err
<sigh>

Err. IDIOT.

 

[Spanketh Thy Monkey]

You mean like the Acer "techie" I was having an argument with over failed
Restore disks who swore blind that he re-installed Windows once a month?
;-)

Err - because you have no clue what to do with an Operating System. Err.
Now go play with your Net Cop badge. Err. Err. <sigh>

Did I say Err?

 

[Spanketh Thy Monkey]

That's what I told him. He wouldn't have it.......

Err - He wouldn't have what? Err. <sigh>

Did I say Err.