Crazy Long Start Up Time

[Shaid]

have you ever reloaded windows? I personally do it every 6-9 months just because you inevitably have some corruption within the system files. If that doesn't appeal to you then you could run setup and do a windows repair instead. I'd still advise backing up your system before you did that though.

I also like this program which cleans your registry and will also clean startup items. I've used it for a while now and it is a nice small program that does a good job preventing things you don't want from installing.

http://www.yac.mx

[hometeam]

Originally Posted by Shaid

have you ever reloaded windows? I personally do it every 6-9 months just because you inevitably have some corruption within the system files. If that doesn't appeal to you then you could run setup and do a windows repair instead. I'd still advise backing up your system before you did that though.

I also like this program which cleans your registry and will also clean startup items. I've used it for a while now and it is a nice small program that does a good job preventing things you don't want from installing.

http://www.yac.mx

This is wrong.

You do not 'inevitably have corruption in system files' - The only time 'system files' would be 'corrupted' (im not even sure what this means) is if you did something to cause it. Not to mention, if you truly had system file problems, they would show up as much more than slow startup.

Now, sometimes you can get some redundant registry entries and the like, but they aren't going to cause any startup slowing, or really any ill effects at all. And you can take care of anything like that with CCleaner, which you should be using as anyway.

[Shaid]

Originally Posted by hometeam

This is wrong.

You do not 'inevitably have corruption in system files' - The only time 'system files' would be 'corrupted' (im not even sure what this means) is if you did something to cause it. Not to mention, if you truly had system file problems, they would show up as much more than slow startup.

Now, sometimes you can get some redundant registry entries and the like, but they aren't going to cause any startup slowing, or really any ill effects at all. And you can take care of anything like that with CCleaner, which you should be using as anyway.

No, it's not wrong. You uninstall and reinstall programs which changes and resets files. Some will remove a file you might need etc. So unless you're a grandma who just runs a computer as is and never connects to the internet, you will inevitably need to reload at some point. Ask any tech who's worth a shit and they'll tell you the same.

[DaneMcCloud]

Originally Posted by Shaid

No, it's not wrong. You uninstall and reinstall programs which changes and resets files. Some will remove a file you might need etc. So unless you're a grandma who just runs a computer as is and never connects to the internet, you will inevitably need to reload at some point. Ask any tech who's worth a shit and they'll tell you the same.

Who uninstalls and reinstalls programs on a regular basis? Why would anyone need wipe their drive then reload Windows from a DVD, then download and install hours of updates? That sounds like a major waste of time, especially if you require a shit ton of programs.

If you believe you'll need to reinstall at some point, wipe your drive, install Windows, update it, install your programs, then make a safe Desktop Image using a program like Paragon or similar. Save the image on an external drive and re-image as necessary.

[Fish]

Originally Posted by Shaid

No, it's not wrong. You uninstall and reinstall programs which changes and resets files. Some will remove a file you might need etc. So unless you're a grandma who just runs a computer as is and never connects to the internet, you will inevitably need to reload at some point. Ask any tech who's worth a shit and they'll tell you the same.

Sorry, but it is wrong. Uninstalling doesn't change or reset files other than what was included with the program. The way the Windows Uninstaller works, is that the registry records every single installed file and its location during the install process. So when you uninstall, it knows exactly what to remove and can remove every file initially installed. In the old days when memory and HD space were limited, you sometimes had programs that would share some files like drivers. That's not the case anymore. But even when it was back in the days of XP, the system noted any shared files, and would ask you before removing a file that was shared. These days an uninstaller will not remove a file you might need. That just doesn't happen.

There are legit reasons for doing a rebuild, but that's not really one of them.

[hometeam]

Originally Posted by Shaid

No, it's not wrong. You uninstall and reinstall programs which changes and resets files. Some will remove a file you might need etc. So unless you're a grandma who just runs a computer as is and never connects to the internet, you will inevitably need to reload at some point. Ask any tech who's worth a shit and they'll tell you the same.

Yep, its wrong.

Sorry bro, I mean nothing by it, but your windows files do not 'inevitably' lose integrity or become corrupted or anything else. There is no accidental deletion of files upon removing programs that might cause slow startup.

And you never need to reload windows unless you have a problem.

[Shaid]

Originally Posted by hometeam

Yep, its wrong.

Sorry bro, I mean nothing by it, but your windows files do not 'inevitably' lose integrity or become corrupted or anything else. There is no accidental deletion of files upon removing programs that might cause slow startup.

And you never need to reload windows unless you have a problem.

No, it's not wrong.

I was a Technical Team Lead for a major computer manufacturer and have built my own PCs for 15 years. I got that promotion after being with the company for only 9 months. I'm really not trying to measure dicks here but I want to make it clear that I have an idea of what I'm talking about.

System files do get changed/replaced. The comments about no accidental removals/changes of system files is insane. You obviously don't remember the Myth II uninstaller fiasco that turned Bungie from an independent company to a Microsoft lackey. There's a slew of others but that's probably the most prominent example. Programmers make mistakes in their install/uninstall protocols all the time. Windows is much better now then they used to be about allowing the changes but it still happens. If it couldn't happen, no virus would ever work.

He also talks about needing to run a checkdisk on startup which could potentially point to bad sectors on his hard drive, another potential cause for system file corruption. A 5 year old PC very likely has bad sectors and very likely has some system files that have lost integrity. You can go into msconfig and edit the startup items or go directly into the run lines in the registry and make manual corrections that way but you are putting a band-aid on the problem. Why would Microsoft even have an option to Repair Windows on their disks if it couldn't happen?

The truth is it usually just depends on when you want to do a reload. I personally would choose to do it while I still had the option to back up files the easy way in windows and not wait until I no longer have that option.

That's my 2 cents, you can decide on what you choose to believe.

[jjjayb]

Originally Posted by Shaid

No, it's not wrong. You uninstall and reinstall programs which changes and resets files. Some will remove a file you might need etc. So unless you're a grandma who just runs a computer as is and never connects to the internet, you will inevitably need to reload at some point. Ask any tech who's worth a shit and they'll tell you the same.

I'm a tech that's worth a shit, and I'll tell you, you absolutely don't need to reload windows. In fact, a tech that isn't worth a shit will tell you to do that because they are too lazy or can't figure out whatever problem is slowing you down.