Keeping Windows fresh.

D

Dew

2[H]4U
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Jun 23, 2003
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I just thought I would share with others my methodology for keeping my WindowsXP install always nearly new using Acronis True Image Home 11.

Here is what I have:
WD320GB: C:\ = 268GB, Acronis Secure Zone = 30GB
C: Has Windows and normal applications (8GB used currently)
My Documents is mapped to my fileserver
C:\Games is mapped to my 160GB Raptor

So, every two weeks I restore from my fully updated post-setup image (XP + Applications + Games (for the registry entries)), update everything(and re-install anything new I want to keep on my image from now on), and create a new, incrimental. This keeps me from having to uninstall anything and keeps my Windows partition in top shape and I can go back to any period in the past. The whole process takes 30 minutes, and I think it is worth it.
 
I'd use that system of backing up if your computer takes a shit and you get a virus or something... but "every two weeks" so you can keep your "partition in top shape"?

:confused: Don't waste your time dude.
 
colinstu said:
I'd use that system of backing up if your computer takes a shit and you get a virus or something... but "every two weeks" so you can keep your "partition in top shape"?

:confused: Don't waste your time dude.
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Well, its not religiously every two weeks. Usually between restores I'll end up installing a few programs that I need for one-off ventures. This takes care of them. But, for reference, I used to format every six months just as a general maintenance. While this may be more work in the long run, spreading it out over time makes it seem less so. So yeah, no one ever complains about the speed of my computers when they use them. They're always like, wow, this is fast. :)
 
I have Documents, Pictures and all random crap (non essential programs and the like) mapped to my dad's file server over 1Gb/E and it works pretty well. But that just seems like a lot of work and it wouldn't have that many benefits. I do that and then update every 2-3 months and that seems to work well.
 
I restore every month, let everything updates itself, like windows updates, antivirus, antispyware, etc and redo my image backup, takes only like 20 minutes
 
Every time I reinstall, I tell myself that I'm going to make a good image. Then I get in a hurry and do something stupid that ruins a pristine install and it's too late.

Every two weeks? I say go for it if you have the time and patience. The only bad thing is the MTBF on your HDD.
 
XP, and even more so with Vista, will run perfectly fine overtime if you use your head and don't do anything to screw it up. Keep it clean form malware, keep your data on a separate drive (makes backing it up easier), and run the usual clean up tools and RegScrubXP every so often. If some of my users at work can use a system for 2 years and keep it running well, I would hope readers of this board could do it as well.

I've always been told the saying, "work smarter, not harder". The goes for this as well. Instead of some scheme that involves a paranoid level of work, just keep the system clean.
 
DeaconFrost said:
XP, and even more so with Vista, will run perfectly fine overtime if you use your head and don't do anything to screw it up. Keep it clean form malware, keep your data on a separate drive (makes backing it up easier), and run the usual clean up tools and RegScrubXP every so often. If some of my users at work can use a system for 2 years and keep it running well, I would hope readers of this board could do it as well.

I've always been told the saying, "work smarter, not harder". The goes for this as well. Instead of some scheme that involves a paranoid level of work, just keep the system clean.
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I'd have to disagree...

XP has always slowed down over time for me. I think it is more vulnerable to corruption.

Work machine is 8 months old or so. Vista machine is as old as it is since RTM... quite a bit difference. The Vista runs a ton better. The XP was needing a reinstall 6 months after the fact.
 
I've been able to keep XP running very well for a long time. My wife's PC was running for two years and she uses it almost every day. We upgraded it to Vista Home Premium, but I didn't see any degradation on it over time. She also loaded a ton of games on it, but it was just a matter of keeping it clean and organized. XP won't degrade over time if taken care of.
 
DeaconFrost said:
I've been able to keep XP running very well for a long time. My wife's PC was running for two years and she uses it almost every day. We upgraded it to Vista Home Premium, but I didn't see any degradation on it over time. She also loaded a ton of games on it, but it was just a matter of keeping it clean and organized. XP won't degrade over time if taken care of.
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True, but most folks don't know how... I just think Vista doesn't have issues with this. XP takes maintenance in this area, Vista doesn't.
Being a work machine:
1) I don't care
2) Install/Uninstall tons of software for testing and whatnot

I still install/uninstall tons on Vista, and it runs just fine.
 
I totally agree about the fact that most users wouldn't know how to do that. To me it is like a car. With proper work, it will run just fine. But, if you let it go, or don't keep up with it fully, it will degrade.
 
The nice thing about Acronis True Image, it only takes 2-5 mins to restore it fresh, so 5 minutes every two weeks to keep things tip-top is not an problem at all.

On the negative side, that's quite a bit of wear and tear on the hard drive, I wouldn't bother. I have Acronis myself and I do a clean refresh every 6 months or so.
 
How would a drive imaging program put extra wear and tear on a system's hard drive?
 
ashe said:
The nice thing about Acronis True Image, it only takes 2-5 mins to restore it fresh, so 5 minutes every two weeks to keep things tip-top is not an problem at all.

On the negative side, that's quite a bit of wear and tear on the hard drive, I wouldn't bother. I have Acronis myself and I do a clean refresh every 6 months or so.
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5 minutes? What the hell are you using to make it go that fast?

I can only do 100GB or so in a few HOURS.
 
TechieSooner said:
5 minutes? What the hell are you using to make it go that fast?

I can only do 100GB or so in a few HOURS.
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What compression level are you using?

Save a few hours and loose a couple gigs of space on your backup device, pick the lowest compression.
 
My way of keeping an install fresh is to simply not fuck it up to begin with. XP doesn't just degrade on its own like 9x did. If you go around installing half-assed developed software or beta-labled alphas, then yeah, you're going to get something screwed up But this is what virtual machines are good for.
 
TechieSooner said:
5 minutes? What the hell are you using to make it go that fast?
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He's probably just backing up his OS and applications like me. All of my data and files that would bring it to 100 GB is kept on a data drive, and copied to an external drive with SyncToy.
 
DeaconFrost said:
He's probably just backing up his OS and applications like me. All of my data and files that would bring it to 100 GB is kept on a data drive, and copied to an external drive with SyncToy.
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Ahhhh... I still would love to see the 5 minutes in real life though.

But copying over 100GB would still take some time... The OS restore may take 5 minutes (I still would like to see it happen, I just don't see TrueImage being that fast) but copying data would take quite some time.

I image 100% all the drives/partitions on my Server, and restoring THAT takes 3-4 hours (just on test restores I've done on a separate machine)
 
TechieSooner said:
Ahhhh... I still would love to see the 5 minutes in real life though.

But copying over 100GB would still take some time... The OS restore may take 5 minutes (I still would like to see it happen, I just don't see TrueImage being that fast) but copying data would take quite some time.
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It takes 10 minutes to do a full restore on my setup, but that is because the restore partition is on the same drive. When on a separate drive, it took 4 minutes. Then again, it is only restoring 8GB of data.
 
What's RegScrubXP? I use ccleaner and it keeps the registry clean. I don't know any speed increase using it, though.

I use acronis to image my XP installation after all the basics have been install. to image everything takes just too much time.

I've started doing the ol' winRAR \documents type of backing up, although it's on another drive. I really have to back up stuff to DVDRWs again too though.
 
TechieSooner said:
I image 100% all the drives/partitions on my Server, and restoring THAT takes 3-4 hours (just on test restores I've done on a separate machine)
Click to expand...
If I had the space to back up my server, I'd add it to my server's RAID array :p
 
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