Historically, I've reinstalled Windows once a year. I haven't done it for two years, though, so I'm preparing to do it over the holidays. But is it really necessary anymore? My laptop has minor performance issues, but can I simply address those issues without actually reinstalling? I really don't want to go through it if I don't have to.
personal preference, I haven't really reinstalled since I upgraded from 8.
I have a Macrium Refelect image I install whenever major problems occur.
I have never had occasion to reinstall a windows system since I first started using them in 1997.
Windows 98, XP, Vista, 8.1, windows 10.
Not even once. YMMV...
No, I've never found it necessary since upgrading my W7 machine to W10. Remember, an upgrade is a complete new install and resets many of the registry setting to their defaults, one comes along every six month or so.
In fact, an in-place repair upgrade is a recommended method of fixing troublesome faults while keeping all you files and installed apps. You may like to try that if you can't find out what the issues are. There's a tutorial...
Repair Install Windows 10 with an In-place Upgrade
Hi.
If your system is working fine and things are tidy within the filesystem, save your time.
You might wish to purge your browser cache and allied things but that's about it.
Now...
What are the performance issues?
We can go from there.
As others have noted, it's largely a matter of preference. I have a machine that I use constantly (so it's not just sitting idle doing nothing) and I have not done a clean install in many years. It runs great.
On the other hand, I have other machines that I clean install every time a new major feature update is released. I do this because I have unattended installs configured so a new install is crazy easy for me.
Part of the decision process might involve looking at things like this:
1) Do you have any problems with your current installation that you cannot seem to resolve through normal troubleshooting?
2) Do you install or test a lot of programs that may be leaving "trash" behind?
3) Do you have a lot of customizations or apps installed that would be very difficult to reconfigure if you reinstall from scratch?
Consider also that you could always perform a full disk backup and if you have difficulties getting back to the state you want with a new installation, you can always restore your backup.
If you keep it in tip top shape, there`s no reason to reinstall unless you just want to.
And always create frequent images.
Starting with Windows 1903 there is an advantage with clean installs as compared to routine upgrades:
Reserved storage
Reserved storage: Reserved storage sets aside disk space to be used by updates, apps, temporary files, and system caches. It improves the day-to-day function of your PC by ensuring critical OS functions always have access to disk space. Reserved storage will be enabled automatically on new PCs with Windows 10, version 1903 pre-installed, and for clean installs. It will not be enabled when updating from a previous version of Windows 10.
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/win...0-version-1903
https://techcommunity.microsoft.com/...ge/ba-p/428327
"It will not be enabled when updating from a previous version of Windows 10."
Well that`s good to hear
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