How often to re-install XP?

[Jeff]

I've had this installation of XP since I got this computer back in mid 2006. Never formatted it since. Just curious how often should you format it? Some say never. Some say whenever something bad happens, but how often do you think someone should re-install XP?

[Jiminator]

whatever feels right for you. xp is tremendously stable compared to prior systems. it mainly depends on what you mean by format/reinstall. if you are talking about wiping all your data, well, i'd never do that. If however you want to do a reinstall over the current OS, that is workable. You will have to reinstall all your apps and import your current profile into your new profile. A bit of a pain, but is usually worthwhile. I don't know that windows deletes the XP directory. For the cleanest possible install i'd suggest installing to a new boot drive. You can keep the old one to boot from if it ever goes bad.

[Jeff]

I've heard of people doing it with Norton Ghost and can have it back up in running in 5 minutes (bloated with stuff, to clean). How does that work?

[Scotty]

I usually only installed Windows XP clean if I made major hardware changes, had reason to suspect a virus/worm/etc, or sometimes if a major service pack was released. If you look at your Windows Update history, you'll see dozens, sometimes hundreds, of updates over the years. A clean install blows all that crap out and replaces it with the latest service pack.

As for using Ghost, there are a few options: You can reinstall Windows, install your drivers, apply the latest service pack, install Office and other core software, install and activate Ghost, and then make a Ghost image. In the future, if you need a clean install, you can boot the Ghost CD and restore this image, and it will be pretty close to a clean install, but much faster.

If your XP installation holds up as well as mine did (July 2005 to January 2008, when I upgraded (clean install) to Vista) you can just Ghost the whole computer every week (Recovery point set, base recovery point at beginning of month, incremental recovery point every week) and if something takes a dump, just restore the latest Ghost image. I try to keep the recovery point sets for the previous month and current month, in case some sort of bug/corruption/problem creeps in without being noticed for a few weeks.

I back up important stuff like my Outlook file and Money file to a USB thumbdrive a few times a week, so that if my system craps out between backups (or worse, I lose my computer to theft/flood/fire) I'll at least still have that data.

[NutWrench]

Windows XP is incredibly stable. I think I've re-installed it perhaps 3 times in the last several years. When I had Windows 95/98, one misbehaving program could screw up your entire OS and force you to reboot. That almost never happens to me with XP.

If you have an older Windows XP install CD, make sure you slipstream a copy of Service Pack 2 into a it and make an updated copy. (An old Windows XP CD won't reinstall over a newer version of Windows XP)

[Scotty]

A pre-SP1 copy of XP also won't recognize volumes larger than 137 GB.

My XP CD was Dell OEM, so I couldn't slipstream it. It is SP1 though, so the volume size limitation isn't an issue.

[Inanimate Carbon Rod]

Once every two years seems about average.

[Scotty]

Windows 95 (retail, not OSR): Once a week to once a month. :mad: :mad: :mad:
Windows 98: Once a month to 2-4 times a year. :mad: :mad:
Windows ME: Once or twice a year. :mad:
Windows 2000/XP: Once in a blue moon to blow out the cobwebs, or if there were major hardware changes, or a virus/worm/etc. :D

[Jeff]

As I am looking at my Ghost thing here, I have it back up every week, and there is a limit of 3 recovery points per set. A new recovery point base is created monthly. I'm not sure if I've set it up properly. I know how to recover my system and all, but these backups are a bit weird. I usually have it back up my whole drive (RAID array, otherwise if it wasn't RAID I'd back up folders). Also it's set up to have backups with incremental changes at least from what I remember.

As I look at my backup drive, I have roughly 2 sets, but there's 102 files (broke them up for easy defragging). One is around 35 GB; the other is 25 GB.

Think that's how it's done. Correct me if I'm wrong. Just trying to make sure I've got it set up right.

[ZuljinRaynor]

Windows ME: Once or twice a year. :mad:
It probably shouldn't even be installed in the first place. :p

[Scotty]

Backing up only files/folders (RAID or no RAID) means you would have to reinstall Windows from scratch before you can recover your files/folders. You're also unprotected if you use EFS or DRM-protected media.

I've always just done the recovery point sets, and deleted the oldest sets when I ran out of room. As I'm now 1-2 months into using Windows Vista, I could probably free up a ton of space by deleting my old XP recovery point sets. There is still 3 years worth of data in there that I have to decide if I want or not, but fortunately I have 1 TB of internal hard drive space and 1.8 TB of external hard drive space.

I think Norton added the file/folder backup option so that users would have some protection in between recovery points/sets.

I don't bother defragging my Ghost backup volumes anymore, as they generally don't get used, and get deleted every few months. I originally used the 4589 meg file size option, in case I ever needed to burn DVDs, but for me that would be 50-60 DVDs (not going to happen), but I've been too lazy to change it to something else.

[Phayzon]

If you have an older Windows XP install CD, make sure you slipstream a copy of Service Pack 2 into a it and make an updated copy. (An old Windows XP CD won't reinstall over a newer version of Windows XP)

How does one do this? All my XP CDs are pre-SP1 even :o

[Jeff]

I found this program called N-Lite which can install your XP files, service packs, custom drivers (for SATA/RAID, so you won't need a floppy to install them), windows updates, and a few other things such as shrinking the installation so it takes less time. Zip it all together, burn it to a CD/DVD and you're set.

[Superczar]

How does one do this? All my XP CDs are pre-SP1 even :o


http://www.helpwithwindows.com/WindowsXP/winxp-sp2-bootcd.html

It's really quite easy...

[Wamplet]

No sense in reinstalling it unless you screw it up or it's just acting like crap.

[avatar_58]

No sense in reinstalling it unless you screw it up or it's just acting like crap.

Thats how I see it. I've had installs last over 3 years. Also windows doesn't just crap up on it's own, it needs help from the guy sitting in the chair.

[peoplessi]

Yeah, like me with the help of SP3 :) I didn't reinstall, instead I installed fresh copy of Vista 64-bit.

[NutWrench]

How does one do this? All my XP CDs are pre-SP1 even :o

AutoStreamer! (http://forums.3drealms.com/vb/showthread.php?t=11038&highlight=autostreamer) :)

The really nice part about it is that it compiles a burnable ISO disk image for you. You just need to supply your original Windows XP CD and the Service Pack 2 download and this program will do the rest.

[IwantMORE]

I used to do windows once a year and have continued it with the Macs too. Does seem to be a healthy thing to do at least once a year.

It's much easier to do with OS X than windows, less questions during the whole install process easier archiving and re-importing software and quicker too especially updating after the install.

Then again 10.4 seems quite good at the mo. A few little issues have built up but on the whole still boots up quickly even after the punishment I put it through.

I my opinion though a clean install is go from time to time no matter what OS unless you are very good at de-junking all the stuff that builds up over time.

[Phayzon]

AutoStreamer! (http://forums.3drealms.com/vb/showthread.php?t=11038&highlight=autostreamer) :)

The really nice part about it is that it compiles a burnable ISO disk image for you. You just need to supply your original Windows XP CD and the Service Pack 2 download and this program will do the rest.

Cool, thanks! Will there be any issues with CD keys? I remember at work installing from an SP2 CD and trying to use an original 'SP0' key and it didnt take :confused:

[crunchy superman]

When I change hardware. So that works out to be every 2-3 years anyway.

[NutWrench]

Cool, thanks! Will there be any issues with CD keys? I remember at work installing from an SP2 CD and trying to use an original 'SP0' key and it didnt take :confused:

Your original serial will work on the slipstreamed CD. Just make sure you write the key down. (You could just write it on the new CD with a Sharpie.)

[Steve]

With the amount of hardware I test out in my "test\benchmark" machine I format a lot. Although, that's not my main computer.

[Wamplet]

Thats how I see it. I've had installs last over 3 years. Also windows doesn't just crap up on it's own, it needs help from the guy sitting in the chair.

This is very true.

I think i am up to 2 or 3 years on my last install. I really cut down on game demo installations and that has really helped me out a lot.

[Jeff]

The only time mine slows to a crawl is when I'm doing maintenance and I have Adaware, Spybot, Avast, Defraggler, and Advanced Windows Care running at the same time , but that's to be expected. It runs suprisingly fast after two years. I thought eventually over time it would get slower.

[Wamplet]

You really shouldn't need all of those running in the background. :o

[avatar_58]

I thought eventually over time it would get slower.

Why? The only things that slow down a PC would be programs running in the background or a hard drive that needs defragmenting. Windows doesn't just "get" slower. So if you take care not to get spyware, regularly monitor your startup/services for added programs and perform general cleanups here and there your PC should be fine for as long as your hardware will last.

[JMB]

Never--I installed Linux, nuked my Windows partitions and reformatted as XFS, and there's no looking back. :)

But... when I did run XP, I formatted and re-installed a lot. A Windows install can get incredibly messy, extremely fast, depending on usage. To the extent that I had a separate partition containing all my programs' installers and I even had to call Microsoft to get another key because I reinstalled so many times. Oooh, what fun [sarcasm].

Windows' clumsy way of managing applications (each app having its own--usually crappy--installer/uninstaller) pretty much forces you to if you do a lot of trying out new software. Otherwise, there's gonna be a *lot* of manual cleanup to do. Add to that the fact that a lot of Windows programs try to set themselves or their services to start up with the computer any way they can, whether it's the startup folder, registry, the services control panel, etc., and some of them fail to uninstall completely (or in some cases, at all) when you want to get rid of them. Nasty.

I just don't trust *any* program or un/installer these days--especially after what I've seen "security" programs do to people's computers, that expect people to rely on (yet, surprisingly, they do) for keeping your computer safe. I'll just say, give me a virus over Norton any day (though with common sense, viruses and other malware are a non-issue to begin with).

Now, if you set up XP and install all your programs in one shot, and rarely remove programs, only upgrade, the most you really need to do is defragment regularly (IMO, the best is PerfectDisk...). The less system-wide stuff you do (especially registry edits from un/installers), the less you should have to start over. Windows XP itself is relatively stable, especially compared to previous versions, but all it takes are two conflicting programs (or one poorly-designed software package) to screw things up. The OS still suffers from too much OS rot IMO, though.

Also, on Windows, CCleaner is an extremely useful tool--cleans junk like temporary files, web browser caches, recently-opened files history, etc., and cleans the registry. After uninstalling practically *anything*, I noticed it'll pop up in CCleaner's list of things to clean in the registry. That's truly sad, really--plus they usually leave their installation directories in C:\Program Files. Who knows what else is left behind. Either way, it's become a habit to run CCleaner on the registry after every app uninstall (there's likely to be new "unused registry extensions" to clean by then too).

But then... that's just my view of it. It's all choice, and how you use it. Some people don't care how *well* their system works. Some don't care that their installation is cluttered with junk, as long as it works and is not slowed to a crawl by malware. Some would rather *never* do a complete format, and just do a quick and dirty reinstall. That's fine too. But I'll take a nice, fresh, clean system any day.

I just got sick of it all, so I switched.

[Jeff]

You really shouldn't need all of those running in the background. :o

I can spend less time doing my maintenance and more time doing other things. However, it does slow it down unfortunately. That's the downside.

[boshem]

Heres an optional method (you may find ghosting more convenient),

Create a relatively small Windows partition for just the system and drivers (with some slack for upgrades and expansion) I think XP requires a minimum of ~1.2GB (not sure about post service pack) but you'll want more maybe 2 or 3GB.

Install Windows, install drivers and perform any additional tasks you would rather avoid repeating, configurations, etc.

Create a large persistent partition(s) for all your applications, data, page and temp files, etc. At least one should probably be a FAT partition larger than the system partition.

I usually create a small third and fourth partition for Linux, or another x86 compatible Unix. But, you could use a good bootdisk (http://www.toms.net/rb/) or distro CD (http://www.slackware.com/).

Use the dd (http://www.rt.com/man/dd.1.html) utility to save the system partition to your persistent FAT partition, optionally compressing it. If you wipe the partition to zeros prior to formatting (which a slow format may do) you'll probably get much better compression ratios on the image.

This works great with Windows 98, I keep a fresh image tweaked just the way I like it, drivers and all, and when the registry gets bloated and various applications have trampled all over my beautiful pristine installation, and defrag fails to produce adequate results, I boot Linux into single-user, overwrite the system partition with the backup image, and I'm back playing Shadow Warrior in less than a minute. (two tops) :cool:

Though, it generally breaks applications that rely on registry data or install dependencies to the system partition, also user settings may be lost unless you relocate them.

I haven't actually tried this with XP, but I've had some success with 2000.

Also, be sure to use Windows tools to manage it's own disk space. :dopefish:

[Mr.Fibbles]

I only re-install Windows when the computer craps out on me due to some virus or trojan I picked up clicking the wrong button on the web and not paying attention (not very often, but it has happened). I've also had to when I upgraded my computer.
In the end, a disk defrag and the usual cleanup (I like CrapCleaner) keeps the system running smoothly. I haven't done a disk defrag in a while, but I probably should since it seems that my system is taking a long time to load things.

[evanazzo]

My dad has to format his hard drive now. We picked up a virus somehow and it wasn't allowing him to update his virus checker. it spread all his quick launch icons at the bottom all across the task bar. his computer was lagging like crazy and we had a crap load of possesses running in the background. we had to do a system restore in order to navigate the computer. we now have to back up the C drive and then format it. :doh:

[boshem]

As a side note, (esp. in the case of Windows ...,95,98) all of this could be done from DOS with the proper tools (or programming skill), but the general premise remains.

[Yatta]

Once every two years seems about average.
Agreed, cause that's exactly how often I do it.

I also recommend Norton Ghost as mentioned above--I use it and it's great.

[evanazzo]

My dad has to format his hard drive now. We picked up a virus somehow and it wasn't allowing him to update his virus checker. it spread all his quick launch icons at the bottom all across the task bar. his computer was lagging like crazy and we had a crap load of possesses running in the background. we had to do a system restore in order to navigate the computer. we now have to back up the C drive and then format it. :doh:

scratch this. it wasn't a virus it was a hard drive and video card problem. so Dell is sending me a new graphics card and hard drive at no charge. plus a copy of vista. will i install vista? no i will re install XP :D

[Damien_Azreal]

I've only ever reinstalled an OS when I was left with no other options.

I was forced to do a WinXP reinstall on my parents PC because of virus, corrupted code and such. But they've had that PC for years.

Bon's PC is running of the original WinXP install from about four years ago and runs great.