To format or not to format??

[Guest]

I read in here from time to time, I learn some and laugh some!(sorry about the laughing part)
I was wondering though....someone had said a good tech doesn't need to format that all
problems can be overcome. I personally format maybe once a year....maybe longer but the reason I
do is because I install ad uninstall alot of stuff. This lead's to my question. I have built lot's of computers
and repaired even more but am self taught. How do the pro's deal with the registry getting so clogged
up? 99% of uninstall routines leave all kinds of registry entries. I know you all curse registry cleaner's.
(as do I) But does the registry getting so bloated slow the computer down? I have 25 processes running
which is very few but over time thing's do get sluggish.After a format and trimming down what's running
I do get some of the freshness back. Any thought's from the educated? Thanks...Ray

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I read in here from time to time, I learn some and laugh some!(sorry about the laughing part)
I was wondering though....someone had said a good tech doesn't need to format that all
problems can be overcome. I personally format maybe once a year....maybe longer but the reason I
do is because I install ad uninstall alot of stuff. This lead's to my question. I have built lot's of computers
and repaired even more but am self taught. How do the pro's deal with the registry getting so clogged
up?

I've never, ever seen a "clogged" registry.

99% of uninstall routines leave all kinds of registry entries.

Many do leave some residue, yes, but you haven't been using properly
designed programs if you're seeing that high a percentage.

I know you all curse registry cleaner's.
(as do I) But does the registry getting so bloated slow the computer down?

No one has ever provided any evidence that this is the case, and years
of experience certainly don't support such a claim.

I have 25 processes running
which is very few but over time thing's do get sluggish.After a format and trimming down what's running
I do get some of the freshness back. Any thought's from the educated?

Immediately after a format you haven't yet reinstalled all of the
programs that you had running beforehand. How could you expect anything
other than what you're seeing?


--

Bruce Chambers

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[JS]

If it's not broke, don't fix it, leave the registry alone.

JS

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I read in here from time to time, I learn some and laugh some!(sorry
about the laughing part)
I was wondering though....someone had said a good tech doesn't need
to format that all
problems can be overcome.

"All" is too strong a word, but reformatting and reinstalling is very seldom
necessary.

I personally format maybe once a
year....maybe longer but the reason I
do is because I install ad uninstall alot of stuff. This lead's to my
question. I have built lot's of computers and repaired even more but
am self taught. How do the pro's deal with the registry getting so
clogged

The registry doesn't get clooged.

up? 99% of uninstall routines leave all kinds of registry entries. I
know you all curse registry cleaner's. (as do I) But does the
registry getting so bloated slow the computer down?

No. Think of it as a filing cabinet in an office. If you have extra files in
it that you don't need, you could save some space by getting rid of them,
but keeping them wouldn't impact your ability to find what you wanted
quickly. In both cases (the registry and the filing cabinet), your access to
it is random. Only if you had to start at the beginning and go through all
of it one at a time until you came to what you want could there be an
improvement by getting rid of unused items.

And in the case of the registry, the extra space you could possibly save is
meaningless--a few pennies worth, at most.

I have 25
processes running
which is very few but over time thing's do get sluggish.

Look elsewhere for where the problem was (at the possibility of malware, for
example), and why reformatting and reinstalling improved it. It's not the
registry getting "bloated."