John wrote:> Scott wrote:
>> I have tons of apps installed on my pc too. It's really not that difficult to
> re-install
>> most of them. Most take just a minute or two.
>
> Reinstalling apps is easy. Copying over settings is not. That was my point. I
> have everything configured the way I like it. It would take me hours or days to
> get my PC back to how it is now if I refreshed and started over.
>
> Granted, I probably have a bit more "integrated" or "configured" apps than most people,
> I guess.
Yeah I was including configuration in that. Looking through the apps I use, only a couple have any configurations that are particularly complicated or would take a while to complete. For most, the settings I want are selected during install, or just take quick minute after the install, in the settings/preferences window. I suspect that would be the case for most average users.
>> I'm honestly surprised you don't see the benefit of a clean install. PCs just
> get
>> bogged down and slower over time, even if you're making an effort to take care
> of
>> it and keep it clean.
>
> Yeah, they really don't. I mean, they do, but this is usually easily cleaned up.
> I guess that is my thing -- my PCs don't get bogged down because I don't let them
> get that way.
Exactly, we're a couple of IT guys who can keep things running well. But an average users' PC gets bogged down and slow, no question.
> In any case, we can just agree to disagree.
Of course
> I work with businesses all day long
> who we upgrade from HDD to SSD on a regular basis. Except for a few businesses who
> are 100% cloud, people would lose their minds if we wiped a machine and then reinstalled.
> They all have their Outlook set just the way they want the view to look. They have
> their Word and Excel ribbons customized. They use some Line Of Business app (like
> dental software) where they've customized the calendar layout just the way they like
> it. On the rare cases where we need to start them over, they absolutely HATE it.
I know exactly what you mean, and if this had been a business asking, my answer would have been different. But for an average users' home pc, I think doing a clean install is fine.