I read in another forum one good way to get rid of junk is to reinstall the
OS, say once a year. Since my OS (Vista Ultimate) came pre-installed how can
I do this?
--
Martin

Martin wrote:

> I read in another forum one good way to get rid of junk is to reinstall
> the OS, say once a year. Since my OS (Vista Ultimate) came pre-installed
> how can I do this?

It really isn't necessary to reinstall the OS if nothing is wrong and you
maintain your system well. I can't remember the last time I reinstalled one
of my Windows machines and even then it was because the hard drive died.

However, if you wish to return your computer to factory condition, refer to
the manual that came with your machine or look on the mfr.'s website for
instructions.

Malke
--
MS-MVP
Elephant Boy Computers
www.elephantboycomputers.com
Don't Panic!

Backup personal data & settings, use Factory restore. But doing a
once a year reinstall is not needed. It's the "Placebo" effect you get
from a Fresh install. Windows is a platform, so when it's unloaded
with 3rd-party apps and profile data it runs faster. Actually doing an
OEM factory reinstall brings along all the "Crapware" that most of
the OEMs get paid to install on their images - so you don't even get
the "Fresh Install" effect.

Junk as you call it can be controlled or prevented by doing routine
maintenance.

"Martin" <Martin@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:585CB074-86D2-4A21-A6EC-3C1D49EEFB7A@xxxxxx

>I read in another forum one good way to get rid of junk is to reinstall the
> OS, say once a year. Since my OS (Vista Ultimate) came pre-installed how
> can
> I do this?
> --
> Martin

Thanks R McCarty for your reply. Would you mind telling me in more detail
please about what the routine maintenace would include.
--
Martin


"R. McCarty" wrote:

> Backup personal data & settings, use Factory restore. But doing a
> once a year reinstall is not needed. It's the "Placebo" effect you get
> from a Fresh install. Windows is a platform, so when it's unloaded
> with 3rd-party apps and profile data it runs faster. Actually doing an
> OEM factory reinstall brings along all the "Crapware" that most of
> the OEMs get paid to install on their images - so you don't even get
> the "Fresh Install" effect.
>
> Junk as you call it can be controlled or prevented by doing routine
> maintenance.
>
> "Martin" <Martin@xxxxxx> wrote in message
> news:585CB074-86D2-4A21-A6EC-3C1D49EEFB7A@xxxxxx

> >I read in another forum one good way to get rid of junk is to reinstall the
> > OS, say once a year. Since my OS (Vista Ultimate) came pre-installed how
> > can
> > I do this?
> > --
> > Martin

>
>
>

Either Disk Cleanup or manually cleaning up Temp folders, Browser
caches, Keeping drivers updated, along with software patches and
updates. Occassionally running a Chkdsk to verify the drive/volume
is "Clean". Defrag in Vista mostly looks after itself, but I prefer to use
a 3rd-Party defrag tool Perfect Disk. Probably most importantly I use
an Imaging program, Acronis True Image and have it scheduled to
run weekly. This is important because if a recent change or update
causes problems you can restore the last Image with little or no time
or effort. System Restore is OK for short term rollbacks but isn't a
reliable way to take the system state back more than a few days.

Not so much maintenance, but to help performance & stability try
to keep Startups & Watchdog apps to a minimum # and resist the
temptation to install every "Freeware" application available on the web.
This includes new machines where it's good to review what the OEM
installed and purge/uninstall the stuff you don't want or need. No point
in having a bunch of applications installed that will never be used.


"Martin" <Martin@xxxxxx> wrote in message
news:0D9D13F5-402E-4096-824C-51A22EC5A026@xxxxxx

> Thanks R McCarty for your reply. Would you mind telling me in more detail
> please about what the routine maintenace would include.
> --
> Martin
>
>
> "R. McCarty" wrote:
>

>> Backup personal data & settings, use Factory restore. But doing a
>> once a year reinstall is not needed. It's the "Placebo" effect you get
>> from a Fresh install. Windows is a platform, so when it's unloaded
>> with 3rd-party apps and profile data it runs faster. Actually doing an
>> OEM factory reinstall brings along all the "Crapware" that most of
>> the OEMs get paid to install on their images - so you don't even get
>> the "Fresh Install" effect.
>>
>> Junk as you call it can be controlled or prevented by doing routine
>> maintenance.
>>
>> "Martin" <Martin@xxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:585CB074-86D2-4A21-A6EC-3C1D49EEFB7A@xxxxxx

>> >I read in another forum one good way to get rid of junk is to reinstall
>> >the
>> > OS, say once a year. Since my OS (Vista Ultimate) came pre-installed
>> > how
>> > can
>> > I do this?
>> > --
>> > Martin

>>
>>
>>

On Thu, 14 Feb 2008 06:03:02 -0800, Martin wrote:

> Thanks R McCarty for your reply. Would you mind telling me in more detail
> please about what the routine maintenace would include.

I should've included this in my earlier response :-)

"So, you didn¢t patch the system and it got hacked. What to do?
Well, let¢s see: ..."
"The only way to clean a compromised system is to flatten and
rebuild. That¢s right. If you have a system that has been completely
compromised, the only thing you can do is to flatten the system
(reformat the system disk) and rebuild it from scratch (re-install
Windows and your applications)..."
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/com...mt/sm0504.mspx