Your OS Philosophy a.k.a. "Maintaining Clean Install"

A

atreidesgoldenpath

Gawd
Joined
Jul 20, 2008
Messages
525
So just an open ended question...

What's your philosophy on how rigidly you maintain a "clean install"?

Personally, it bugs me every time I want to install a new program on my Windows 7 machine. I like to use portable software if available. Have been playing around with VMs as the platform for some of the crappier-ware that I sometimes want to try.

It just pains me to think of the potential registry orphans that I leave behind every time I install and uninstall a program (even using Revo Uninstaller!). Am I OCD with this? ;)
 
Probably, but I'm a big fan of portable software anyway, not so much because they don't make registry writes but because they don't demand any kind of installation or configuration after you've reinstalled Windows (this, to me, is a big deal). Besides which, if there are fewer application installations, there are fewer installations to go wrong, right?

I maintain a "shortcut folder" that's essentially just a collection of shortcuts to my portable applications. Drag the folder as a shortcut into your program group and they're marked in the Windows Search index as applications you can access via Start Search. Next to self-contained application packages, this is the best way to go in my opinion.
 
Yes, you are OCD.

Unless of course you have proof that whatever is left behind after an Advanced uninstall with Revo is actually detrimental to the performance of your PC.
 
I always shut off auto-updaters, except on beta level software. I also delete most start-up entries that things such as Adobe and Java enter. Some non-windows services that Nvidia and other programs add are also disabled.

As for Windows itself, I may decrease the size of the system restore usage (via the slider) but otherwise, leave Windows alone (outside of UI customization).

I do prefer portable apps over the installed version because it's nice to not have to keep reinstalling them for updates and such. Plus you can run them immediately after an install or off a usb drive.

I also Revo remove everything. Advanced uninstall does leave some things behind though but I don't go tracking them down. As long as it gets most of it I'm happy.
 
I do regular 'spring cleans' of my system every couple of months. This involves major virus/malware scans using various tools. Updating immunisation profiles. Uninstalling software i never use (i'm one of those that tries multiple freeware programs for video encoding. Havent found a stable solution yet.)

CCleaner is an essential piece of software for me.

Other than that. I consider a clean install to be a well maintained c: drive regardless of what i have installed.

My definition of a 'proper' clean install includes the following

1: The OS itself (including drivers and windows updates etc)
2: MSE, AVG, Spyware Blaster, Spybot Search and Destroy, CCleaner, Diskeeper
3: Foobar 2000, Winamp, Zoomplayer, Power DVD (Blu-ray), Total Media Theatre (HD-DVD)

Those are my essentials. The absolute minimum amount of software i need before i consider my pc to be 'useable'.
 
i have VMs for crap-ware...

i also have a few ghost images that i have for regular formatings i do (every 2 months or so) of all the apps i ever need and all my settings put just-so.

I am anal about how my computers preform and how they look so regular formats (or re-ghosts) are standard for me.

i have a NAS and 2 1.5tb externals i use for "real" file storage.
 
I have severe OCD in this aspect. :)

I use Total Uninstall for monitoring/tracking all changes to the system. Take a snapshot, install software or make some kind of change, then TU takes another snapshot and compiles a list of all changes based on the particular scanning profile.

I hardly ever install any software without first testing it on a test partition with a cloned instance of my installation, or in a virtual machine. If someone wants to use my computer, they can use the cloned instance and trash it for all I care because it's completely isolated from my other OSes on hidden partitions on other drives.
 
I refuse to fall prey to OCD. Leftover stuff in the registry....although many people lose lots of sleep over it and bite their fingernails in worry, there's really no reason to. A few leftover traces in the registry means nothing. A registry that grows in size over a few years means nothing..the overall size is actually still very tiny. You're really talking about a couple of extra bucketfulls of sand poured on a big beach....the net result is nothing. A larger registry with a few leftover entries does nothing to harm the performance of a computer. registry optimizer programs and registry compacting programs are snakeoil...created for suckers.

What do I do? I don't install a lot of junk all the time. I'm not "click/install" happy. And my primary gaming rig, probably 6 years old now on its current XPp install, still runs like a champ, brutally fast, rock ass stable, runs 24x7.
 
I use VMs to test out software that I've never used before, and once I'm satisified with how it works, and how it behaves, I'll install it on my main system. CCleaner also helps me keep the junk out if I were to remove and app or driver. Other than that, Widows 7 just keeps on rolling.
 
I spend most of my day automating os and app deployments so when I come home I don't really feel like dickin with stuff anymore. Install and forget.
 
I make a clean "image" after my initial setup using Windows Complete PC Backup. If I feel like my computer is getting slow, I image back, then update definitions/drivers/programs. That image contains MSE, Mircrosoft Office 2010 Professional Academic, Trillian, iTunes and VLC Player.

This is why I redirect all the user folders (Documents, Videos, Downloads, Music and the like) to a separate partition. That way if Windows dies or needs re-imaging for some reason, I lose nothing.
 
Sovereign said:
This is why I redirect all the user folders (Documents, Videos, Downloads, Music and the like) to a separate partition.
Click to expand...
I don't even bother with redirecting, and never understood the need to do so. I keep folders on my data drive for Music, Photos, Documents, etc for the very same reason, but I don't bother configuring the redirection.
 
YeOldeStonecat said:
registry optimizer programs and registry compacting programs are snakeoil...created for suckers.
Click to expand...
Do you know what snake oil is? There are several registry cleaners that are absolutely, 100% free, CCleaner being the most popular. Snake oils were never given out for free — it would totally defeat the purpose of the scam.

DeaconFrost said:
I don't even bother with redirecting, and never understood the need to do so. I keep folders on my data drive for Music, Photos, Documents, etc for the very same reason, but I don't bother configuring the redirection.
Click to expand...
The issue is that many apps insist on writing configuration data to My Documents as opposed to writing within their own install directories. Games do this as well, writing config data and save files to My Games or what have you. So I prefer to move the various user documents folders to a drive on which Windows doesn't reside (which is actually an incredibly tedious process) so I don't have to concern myself with backing that data up before doing a clean Windows reinstall.
 
phide said:
Do you know what snake oil is? There are several registry cleaners that are absolutely, 100% free, CCleaner being the most popular. Snake oils were never given out for free — it would totally defeat the purpose of the scam.
Click to expand...
Buuut, time isn't free. :p
 
With Windows Vista/7... Leftover stuff really doesn't matter.

Now I'll go through on occasion and uninstall stuff I don't need anymore, but past that... Win 7 is pretty maintenance-free.
 
I wonder how much time it takes to install/restore a clean OS installation versus how much time is spent on OCD to keep the system clean. I felt similar to the OP, although not as bad, but like others have suggested, I just restore my perfect Windows 7 installation from a backup drive two or three times a year, (ok well maybe a few more times than that). It takes about two hours after all of the patching, settings, drivers, etc and thats if I am taking my time...
 
Yea but WHY are you restoring it several times a year?

I guess if you install alot of stuff you don't use, it's a quick way to nuke it. But I'd think keeping uninstallers ran would use less time than a re-image every few months.
 
You are totally OCD on this :p

If it /really/ bothers you that much, do what I did. Grab an SSD, realize that any performance decrease from that extra stuff now takes less time than your monitor takes to refresh an image and STOP WORRYING ABOUT IT.

I clean out temp files every once in a while for space, but that's about it.
 
phide said:
The issue is that many apps insist on writing configuration data to My Documents as opposed to writing within their own install directories. Games do this as well, writing config data and save files to My Games or what have you.
Click to expand...
Hmmm, I will remember this when I get back into gaming. Hello StarCraft II! I'm assuming it is best to do this right after the install is complete, or doesn't it matter? I always keep two physical drives in my system, one as C and one for storage as D. I thought it was as simple as creating a Documents folder on the secondary drive, and then right-clicking the original one and choosing Properties > Location > Move.
 
I just install only what I need to when I need it. I did a fresh install of Windows 7 a little while back and instead of loading it up with apps off the bat(like I used to back in the day) I just waited until I needed that app and installed it. I also stick with apps I have used in the past and know what to expect. I only download programs from the developers site and try to stay away from mirror download sites. If i'm trying a new app I will fire up it up in a VM. I also create images every week or two.

If you start obsessing about every little thing you will drive yourself nuts. It also snowballs and get's worse the more you give into it and you worry about stuff that is not based in reality. Best thing to do if you find yourself wanting to reinstall, uninstall, redo or recheck things 15 times, step back turn the computer off and wait until your anxiety comes down. In most cases the next day you won't give a shit. I know people that when they do a clean install if they do one thing out of order they wipe and reload because they feel the installation is "not right" in some way because things were out of order. It's just the brain sending a false signal.
 
ob1 said:
I wonder how much time it takes to install/restore a clean OS installation versus how much time is spent on OCD to keep the system clean.
Click to expand...
Depends on your configuration. I can do a fresh re-install and be ready to rock within a couple hours. I install graphics drivers, Steam (which technically doesn't need to be installed and can be run portably), Security Essentials and Chrome. These are all part of Ninite now, which makes that process somewhat quicker when Ninite doesn't fuck up catastrophically. The rest of my applications are portable. Address various file associations and Windows configuration preferences and you're looking at two, maybe two and a half hours. In usage you can tackle the rest of it on an as-needed basis.

DeaconFrost said:
I'm assuming it is best to do this right after the install is complete, or doesn't it matter? I always keep two physical drives in my system, one as C and one for storage as D. I thought it was as simple as creating a Documents folder on the secondary drive, and then right-clicking the original one and choosing Properties > Location > Move.
Click to expand...
That works, but I also move all other user folders just for the sake of 'completeness', which makes it tedious. And, yeah, some application installers like to refer to the absolute path of your My Documents folder, so if the location of that changes after an app's been installed, you may have some major problems.

You can also set up symbolic links and accomplish roughly the same thing, but symlinks, while straightforward to set up, can get rather confusing after a while if you can't recall how they've been set up.
 
Thanks for the comments everyone.
I think I am OCD, but at least I am not alone! :p

Just tonight I almost installed that dopey "Amazon Software Loader" because I bought a program off Amazon.com - then canceled - realizing, hey, I can throw this on my VM. It felt so good, not to have to load that crapware on my "real" computer. :D

I have a clean disk image of my PC, but I always procrastinate restoring it...When I built this computer I was saying I would reinstall Windows 7 after a couple months of testing, and do it "right" - but alas, can't find the motivation to do so....
 
Almost nothing.

I run spyware scans and CCleaner every once in a while, as well as scheduled MSE scans, and that is it. Runs just as good now if not better when I installed W7 Pro the day RTM hit MSDN.
 
hardBBQ said:
I have severe OCD in this aspect. :)

I use Total Uninstall

I hardly ever install any software without first testing it on a test partition with a cloned instance of my installation, or in a virtual machine.
Click to expand...

Do you use a boot manager to switch between bootable partitions? Which one?

If someone wants to use my computer, they can use the cloned instance and trash it for all I care because it's completely isolated from my other OSes on hidden partitions on other drives.
Click to expand...

I though that MS doesn't support booting from a drive other than Drive 0 (or Drive 1)? Or does your boot manager support that anyway.

Thanks,

x509
 
phide said:
The issue is that many apps insist on writing configuration data to My Documents as opposed to writing within their own install directories.
Click to expand...

And there is no way to override these defaults? In MS Office, you can specify the default directory for doc saves, etc.. I always specify D:\. My D:\ is on a separate drive, so if the OS drive gets hosed, I can re-install without losing any real data.

I don't care about all the update downloads that programs like Norton Internet Security store in Documents and Settings. If I re-install, then all that stuff gets auto-downloaded anyway.

x509
 
YeOldeStonecat said:
I refuse to fall prey to OCD. Leftover stuff in the registry....although many people lose lots of sleep over it and bite their fingernails in worry, there's really no reason to. A few leftover traces in the registry means nothing. A registry that grows in size over a few years means nothing..the overall size is actually still very tiny. You're really talking about a couple of extra bucketfulls of sand poured on a big beach....the net result is nothing. A larger registry with a few leftover entries does nothing to harm the performance of a computer. registry optimizer programs and registry compacting programs are snakeoil...created for suckers.
Click to expand...

I pretty much share the same feeling on the matter. You could drive yourself insane with being OCD about cleanliness/performance. I can't think of the exact phrase at the moment, but you can only do so much before the ratio of cleanliness will improve performance/free space will negate itself. If it's a 5 month old, moderately used system, then running CCleaner could probably help a little. But anything more than that and you'll see diminishing returns. I run CCleaner's registry cleaner every few months, then do a full scan with MSE, and maybe run Windows Defrag. I mostly spend time making sure programs/files are up to date, but even that isn't very time consuming.
 
x509 said:
And there is no way to override these defaults? In MS Office, you can specify the default directory for doc saves, etc.. I always specify D:\. My D:\ is on a separate drive, so if the OS drive gets hosed, I can re-install without losing any real data.
Click to expand...
Not always, no.
 
My OS has drivers, games, and "known" programs. I use CCleaner, for clean up's, MSE for AV, and always defrag once a week.

I have a VM for things I think I might wanna install on my host, so I try them on the VM first. I also use some organizational methods that I use I work. I am quite OCD lol.:p
 
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What's the best way to save off a "clean install"?

If I load up a new OS, apply all service packs and updates, then put on all the apps I normally use, that is one hella time-consuming chore. I would like to then save off a ghost of that and be able to restore it when wanted/needed. Is this something like an Acronis true image?
 
^ Depending on your versions of Windows (Vista Business or 7 Professional, and higher) there's already a built-in imaging utility.
 
On a completely new build I install everything I typically need, around 15 apps, and image the drive "just in case." Otherwise I try to use the same installation even if I upgrade the motherboard. I sync programming projects to my laptop (both also have full copies of Outlook PSTs) very often and back up less important data about once a month. Disaster recovery would be simple and quick: restore original backup, install any additional programs and patches, copy back up files.

In the last 7 or 8 years I've only needed the backup twice, once recently because I had too many Raptors on one wire set from the PSU (2: OK, 3: no) and one HDD had corruption. I generally don't reinstall Windows just because. It hasn't ever "degraded" or otherwise died, even after 2-4 years of continuous use.
 
coo-coo-clocker said:
If I load up a new OS, apply all service packs and updates, then put on all the apps I normally use, that is one hella time-consuming chore. I would like to then save off a ghost of that and be able to restore it when wanted/needed. Is this something like an Acronis true image?
Click to expand...

I use Acronis, I got it free as part of a Newegg combo.
 
number69 said:
I just install only what I need to when I need it. I did a fresh install of Windows 7 a little while back and instead of loading it up with apps off the bat(like I used to back in the day) I just waited until I needed that app and installed it. I also stick with apps I have used in the past and know what to expect. I only download programs from the developers site and try to stay away from mirror download sites. If i'm trying a new app I will fire up it up in a VM. I also create images every week or two.

If you start obsessing about every little thing you will drive yourself nuts. It also snowballs and get's worse the more you give into it and you worry about stuff that is not based in reality. Best thing to do if you find yourself wanting to reinstall, uninstall, redo or recheck things 15 times, step back turn the computer off and wait until your anxiety comes down. In most cases the next day you won't give a shit. I know people that when they do a clean install if they do one thing out of order they wipe and reload because they feel the installation is "not right" in some way because things were out of order. It's just the brain sending a false signal.
Click to expand...

re: second paragraph

I totally do this. repeatedly. also if anything gives an error during my updating-and-app-installing, I throw everything out and start over. I blame my job where sometimes I have to setup finicky build machines and document the process so the next person coming along can dupe it exactly. I am completely ocd about the shit, I have full install guides written for multiple linux distros as well, so I can always reproduce my environment.

furthermore I never type in an admin password from a user account. I always log out, log into the admin account, install/change whatever, then log back on to my user account.

just tonight I was thinking about starting over with a new win7 install. now that I read this thread, I am 100% certain I will do it soon since I am thinking too much about it now.

I use clozezilla a lot too :eek:
Posted via [H] Mobile Device
 
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I reinstall my OS several times per year. I'm about to do one, but I'm holding off until I get an SSD. My personal setup is always a sandbox, so I tend to clear it out every 3-6 months.

I've been keeping data on a second hard drive - Files, Games, Programs, etc.
When I reinstall, I merely have to wipe the drive & reinstall.
 
disclaimer : I only use CCleaner, MSE, and delete everything except the necessary (AV, keyboard&mouse software) from msconfig (startup&services). I know about the “all these cleaning/fixing/compacting …etc” tools is crap for fools and I think its partially true since my 3 years old XP install was running ok before this “cleaning” party and didn’t run any better after it.

but to shake things up here is what I did:
ran CCleaner (files+registry). then used other tools to see what CCleaner left…

2dqpyj7.jpg


285h61.jpg


21o8raa.jpg


from the same program:

2ikzhw1.jpg


then used another program:

(1644 errors)
9len1k.jpg


30wuhhd.jpg


anotherr one:
30ljxxv.jpg


and I’m sure other software will find more things to remove! (this is the work rig btw)
 
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I really hope I am not flamed or considered a troll for this post, but this is the sole reason I use a Mac.

OSX... I install by dragging and uninstall by dragging. No registry etc..

And im not trying to be righteous here, I have bad OCD too where I would Format and Clean install my windows machines every month or so, and defrag every time I installed a application... I just cant get over it I dont know why.

OSX fixed the problem for me lol :)
 
"The Kool-Aid... it's gotta be the Kool-Aid..." :p

With all seriousness, some folks just find Macs and OSX work better for them, which is fine - as I keep reminding people, while there can be a best or better <insert whatever here> for you, there is no such thing as a best or better <insert whatever here> for everyone, always.

We're all much too different for there to be a best or better for everyone so...

I don't tweak Windows 7 much at all after a clean install (or restoring my base image on any given machine). Some slight Registry edits, disabling of a few things (AutoPlay, etc), moving the Taskbar to the left side of the screen, and that's about it. Nothing like I would do with all previous versions of Windows (not Vista, however, never used that one at all as my primary OS).

Whatever squeaks yer sneaker, as a friend once said to me... ;)
 
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