How often do you reformat your PC?

Ernimus Prime · Jul 11, 2022

It's pretty easy for me. My rig is gaming mainly. So, not a big lose to format. Especially after installing and uninstalling games. Probably good for it.

Haydon · Jul 11, 2022

Bree said:
System One in my specs below is running an OS that started life as Windows 7 on an older machine, got the free upgrade to Windows 10 in August 2015, then took every W10 upgrade up to 21H1. I then used Macrium Reflect to take a system image and restored that to a new machine, where it then got offered the upgrade to Windows 11.

How did you transition the permanent licenses of paid for software from the old computer to the new one?

Bree · Jul 11, 2022

Haydon said:
How did you transition the permanent licenses of paid for software from the old computer to the new one?

The only paid for license was Macrium itself. I removed the license key from old machine before making the image, downgrading it to the Free edition. Then I reinstalled the Macrium key after transferring the OS to the new machine. A Macrium license is very simple to transfer from one machine to another.

The real headache is not my licensed software, it's software that cannot be reinstalled because it was only ever supplied by the OEM. In that class is my Office Starter 2010 which was only available with an OEM pre-installed Windows 7. Still works fine in Windows 11, but would be impossible to install after a clean install.

iPanda032 · Jul 11, 2022

I generally don't resort to that unless necessary. Macrium backup saves the day again, lol. :) But also I'll install fresh if there's a major update/change to the OS and I also happen to be ready to upgrade my PC. Then I'd rather start fresh. Like going from Win 10 to WIn 11. Most of my data is on secondary drives. So then it's just a matter of reinstalling the apps and software. And if there are profiles and other things I need to retrieve I'll get them from the macrium backed up files. Or export the profile and then reimport them to the new OS.

Haydon · Jul 11, 2022

Bree said:
The only paid for license was Macrium itself. I removed the license key from old machine before making the image, downgrading it to the Free edition. Then I reinstalled the Macrium key after transferring the OS to the new machine. A Macrium license is very simple to transfer from one machine to another.

That saves a lot of configuration work, if you have apps that require a lot of configuration.

The downside is that crud accumulated on the old machine gets restored on the new machine.

It is in any case a worthwhile option to consider to get your new machine up and running

Bree · Jul 11, 2022

Haydon said:
The downside is that crud accumulated on the old machine gets restored on the new machine.

Thhe only real 'crud' was OEM utilities and drivers from the original (Intel based) machine's OEM W7 that were no longer appropriate for the new (AMD based) machine. Most could be uninstalled before making the transfer image, the rest Revo took care of after the transfer.

The main reason for prefering to transfer the OS and all it's installed apps was that some of them would be impossible to reinstall. Plus I had been using Win10 my old 'main machine' since 2015 and had everything configured just how I liked it. It would have taken months of fiddling to recreate that 'at home' feeling after a clean install. With the transfered OS everything was where I had left it and I could carry on using it just as I had done before - only faster.

I did get another machine about the same time, one to run all my VMs on. That one was simpler to configure, I could export the VMs fron the old machine and import them to the replacement. So for that one I did a clean install of Windows 11.

Having used both for nine months now, I can honestly say that there's no real difference between the way their respecitve OS perform. Whether I arrived at Windows 11 through serial upgrades or a clean install, both seem to be working perfectly.

cereberus · Jul 12, 2022

TraderGary said:
I really can do a fresh, clean install and be up and running with all my apps and data in less than an hour. I log in to Windows and all my OneDrive data is instantly there, no "restore" required. Microsoft 365 subscription auto installs Microsoft Office. Microsoft Edge loads my LastPass, so I now have all my passwords. Microsoft Store auto loads my store apps. Dell recognizes my computer and auto installs needed drivers, software utilities, etc. LastPass logs me in to Adobe and Adobe recognizes my Photography Subscription and installs Lightroom and Photoshop. LastPass enters my login and ID in Microsoft OutLook, and I have my email. I log in to my broker, my account is recognized, and I install Interactive Brokers Trader Workstation.

Start to Finish in under an hour!

It also helps that I have a brisk 700Mbps Internet.

I do not believe you are really taking into account the real time to get restored BACK TO STATE before reinstall.

I have around 60 apps or so and that alone takes time (particularly apps that only download a stub installer i.e. they install an installer that then downloads rest from Internet.

What takes the time is setting up and customising each app to be exactly as you wish. That takes hours, unless you have an eidetic memory of every setting change you made.

I once had to reinstall ONE complex PDF editing package (best around) app on my company pc (we have no access rights to use image backups) and it took me about 4 hours alone to reconfigure it as I wished.

Even allowing only 10 mins average per app to check running ok, all updates doen etc, it would take me at least 10 hours to go through them all. Ok some take seconds, others 20+ minutes.

All those registry tweaks as well to redo.

I can get up and "limping" in a couple of hours but I reckon at least one day to be "running", and a further prolonged period where I find some setting needs to be changed with associated google time to remember what to change.

To me, a clean install is the absolute last resort if something has seriously broken e.g. you cannot update Windows, and even a repair install does not fix issue.

SlicEnDicE · Jul 12, 2022

cereberus said:
I do not believe you are really taking into account the

Yes, for me it takes from 14-30, 8h days to get everything setup...so no, won't format and clean install unless I absolutely must.

TraderGary · Jul 12, 2022

cereberus said:
I do not believe you are really taking into account the real time to get restored BACK TO STATE before reinstall.

I have around 60 apps or so and that alone takes time (particularly apps that only download a stub installer i.e. they install an installer that then downloads rest from Internet.

What takes the time is setting up and customising each app to be exactly as you wish. That takes hours, unless you have an eidetic memory of every setting change you made.

I once had to reinstall ONE complex PDF editing package (best around) app on my company pc (we have no access rights to use image backups) and it took me about 4 hours alone to reconfigure it as I wished.

Even allowing only 10 mins average per app to check running ok, all updates doen etc, it would take me at least 10 hours to go through them all. Ok some take seconds, others 20+ minutes.

All those registry tweaks as well to redo.

I can get up and "limping" in a couple of hours but I reckon at least one day to be "running", and a further prolonged period where I find some setting needs to be changed with associated google time to remember what to change.

To me, a clean install is the absolute last resort if something has seriously broken e.g. you cannot update Windows, and even a repair install does not fix issue.

I've been at this since my first IBM PC in 1981. I used to have myriads of apps to customize too. Quite honestly, the few apps I just talked about are about the only apps I install today. Everything else I use is already there in Windows or is Dell supplied.

4 hours to install a PDF package? Wow. I use the PDF reader built into Microsoft Edge, and it does everything I want. Whenever I buy anything, I download the PDF manual and throw the paper manual away. I have hundreds of PDF files in my PDF Folder. My use for a PDF reader is only for reading. Edge is installed when I install Windows and I'm done.

Redo all those registry tweaks? I have no need to do registry tweaks, so I have none to redo.

I do customize Lightroom and Photoshop a bit, but for me it's easy enough, and even enjoyable, to redo those few things as needed.

I'm a self-employed stock market trader and have been for more than 25 years. I'm a short-term technical trader. I highly customize my Interactive Brokers Trader WorkStation, but whenever I shut down, Interactive Brokers save my customizations. Nothing to redo there.

I really do like to do a clean install several times a year and I really am back up again in less than an hour as if nothing ever happened.

SlicEnDicE · Jul 12, 2022

Hehe...installing Visual Studio, putting back all templates, customizing views, adding all the SDKs and then testing that everything works as expected, alone takes me a few days. That is only one of tens of tools I use.

hdmi · Jul 12, 2022

For those specific settings that cannot easily be copied, exported-imported or replicated another way, I use Microsoft Power Automate (former Softomotive WinAutomation).

Microsoft acquires Softomotive to expand low-code robotic process automation capabilities in Microsoft Power Automate

Today, we are announcing the acquisition of Softomotive, a world-leading provider of robotic process automation (RPA) provider with over 15 years of experience and the creator of WinAutomation.

powerautomate.microsoft.com

I mean, I still also create an image file (and one or two incremental images) of my Windows system partition by using the bootable ISO of Acronis True Image 2021, but not more frequently than really is necessary, as a lot can be achieved faster with automation─or the combination of both techniques.

kjlkjadfasdfasd · Jul 13, 2022

At this stage in the evolution of Windows I never do, I just keep doing in-place upgrades as new releases come out. It's such a tremendous hassle to reinstall all the software I use and configure things the way I want, so I'm only doing it if I have no real choice (crashing, etc.). I have two main home PCs I use daily, one built in 2016 & still going and the other from November 2020. I don't install beta software and I don't install random third-party software out of curiosity. I work from home and live off these two PCs so stability is key for me. I have another PC down in the living room that dates back to 2011 and it has gone from Win7->Win8->Win8.1->Win10 thru the various releases up to 21H2 and all have been in-place upgrades. It's as solid as any PC you'll find.

kjlkjadfasdfasd · Jul 13, 2022

I'll also add that the OS on the computer that I purchased in November 2020 dates back to probably Windows 8 days. My previous PC's processor failed, and so I was forced to get a new one. But I took the SSD from the old one & just plopped it into the new one. Windows handled the hardware differences (old one was i7 3550K, new was 10700K) without issue.

It should go without saying that I hate installing Windows & apps.

Ed Tittel · Jul 14, 2022

I have 10 or 11 PCs (4 desktops, the rest laptops) here at Chez Tittel. Every once in a while (once or twice a year, max) I'll run into some problem that DISM, SFC, Macrium Reflect, and/or an in-place upgrade repair install can't fix. Usually, it's because I've been experimenting with some hardware or software and know that trouble is possible, if not likely. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen sometimes. Wish I could be more precise or helpful about this, but there it is!
HTH,
--Ed--

Bree · Jul 14, 2022

Ed Tittel said:
....DISM, SFC, Macrium Reflect, and/or an in-place upgrade repair install can't fix. Usually, it's because I've been experimenting with some hardware or software and know that trouble is possible....

What? Not even a Macrium image? For my main machine I make a point of archiving a few images made months or even years previously. That has saved me once with an obscure problem that lay dormant and didn't make its presence felt until 6 months later.

Berton · Jul 14, 2022

Haven't had to yet on an ASUS Desktop I got from their business line back in 2016, came with Win8, updated to 8.1, Upgraded to Win10, can't Upgrade to Win11 due to hardware limitations.

firas465 · Jul 15, 2022

for me i dont care when ever i feel like pc is slow and apps are not working and so on even without backup

i format the hell out of my M.2

hdmi · Jul 16, 2022

Ed Tittel said:
I have 10 or 11 PCs (4 desktops, the rest laptops) here at Chez Tittel. Every once in a while (once or twice a year, max) I'll run into some problem that DISM, SFC, Macrium Reflect, and/or an in-place upgrade repair install can't fix. Usually, it's because I've been experimenting with some hardware or software and know that trouble is possible, if not likely. It doesn't happen often, but it does happen sometimes. Wish I could be more precise or helpful about this, but there it is!
HTH,
--Ed--

After I finish debloating my preinstalled (OEM) Windows, I just use the bootable ISO of Acronis True Image 2021 with Ventoy to create an image of my Windows system partition, just as a simple precaution. I tick the Verify checkbox after the image creation process has started. The desktop app of Acronis does not need to remain installed to achieve this, it is possible to just uninstall it after you use it to build the bootable ISO file, that you can copy to the Ventoy stick. There also exists a Linux based version of the bootable ISO, which does not need to be built and can therefore be downloaded, directly from Acronis official website─without further ado. On this webpage you can navigate to Acronis True Image 2021 for PC and look up the latest build number ( Build #39287 ). Next, when you go to the latest Linux based bootable ISO download link, you'll know what build number it will be. Or, alternatively, paste the build number you want in a link formatted either like so:

http://dl.acronis.com/s/AcronisTrueImage2021_39287.iso

...or like so:

https://download.acronis.com/AcronisTrueImage2021_39287.iso

So, the Linux based version gives the benefit of not having to build a WinPE/WinRE based bootable ISO. It means that you don't even need to install the desktop app to build the ISO, as this ISO has already been built so all you need to do is download the file directly onto your Ventoy stick, boot from the Ventoy stick, and voilà.

elbmek · Jul 20, 2022

just completed a full windows reset and now re installing the files that it told me it had left out. A couple of things went wrong yesterday including Photoshop 2019, that refused to run - I think it was because MS have removed all references to internet Exp 11. I even reloaded Edge and set it as Internet 11 mode, still didnt work. So I bought PS 2022 today and installed it after the reset, it worked perfectly. Thank you MS, you owe me.

Winuser · Jul 20, 2022

elbmek said:
Thank you MS, you owe me.

The check is in the mail.

How often do you reformat your PC?

When do you reformat your PC?

When there is a problem

Every 6 months

Once a year

Every 2 years

2+ years

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