To Defrag or Format

feelgoodinc27

I have a 6 year old computer which due to the amount of software installed and the lack of defragmentation over the last 6 years isnt operating at its best possible performance. Would formating the 2 hard drives and reinstalling only what I need give a better performance boost over uninstalling unwanted software and then defragmenting. Also is there anyway to stop programs starting up automatically when the computer is turned on. I'm running XP pro.

seanybiker

better off formating and only installing what ya need alright.

IrishTonyO

yeah mate be far better to reformat and do a fresh install

Dardania

Seeing as it's 6 years old, you're best off reformatting however when you do that a few tips to keep the pc running well:

Uninstall any unecesary software through control panel> add remove programs

disable programs from starting up by Start> run > msconfig and switching things off on thelast tabof the window that opens. A good way of knowing what you need is when you have a fresh install, see what items are there before you install any software

Try to use hardware drivers direct from windows update, and not from the manufacturer. They usually bundle resource hogging apps that ultimately aren't useful. When you reinstall windows your first port of call is windows update to get that running

Defraf, but before you do run disk cleanup from start> accessories

AlmightyCushion

Format all the way.

Terry

Before you do format, open the device manager and get the details of the drivers there.
Makes it easier to find the ones that don't automatically re-install.