How often do you format your HDD?
I seem to be formatting mine every 3/4 months, there always seems to be loads of crap on here, but when I look for things to delete I can never find anything to get rid of...lol

So I just wondered am I the only compulsive formatter here or are others the same?

i never do it unless a big crash, i just keep everything updated, make clean uninstallation and i had systems runnung more than 3 years under xp, the point is to have a good antispyware and antivirus

I format it like once a yr, that's all, or only when necessary.

Same here, about once a year. Sometimes more often though.

I only format when something goes wrong.

I can manage what files I have in Windows, and if it's running slow I might defrag. Formattings always too much hassle - plus if you got XP pre-installed with your PC you can't.. (well, ligitimately anyway)

I dont use Defrag of Windows. It doesn't work properly and doesn't make speed any better also. I use Perfect Disk. It takes a bit longer than the Windows one, but it works real good.

I have formatted my secondary machine many times, and machines for other people, but I have never had to reformat my own primary machine, a P-II 400 with W-98.

I do clean it out rather frequently, but I have never had a serious problem with tjhis machine. However, awhile back I installed COPERNIC DESKTOP SEARCH, then removed it because I did not like the Toolbar additions. However, I believe it was this program that left a small problem that will probably require a reinstall of Windows. When my system boots, I have 2 each instances of QuickLaunch and another Toolbar I use, and the problem is not in the registry.

I will probably just save the current registry backup, Deletree C:\Windows, Rename C:\Program Files then re-install Windows, put back the old registry, delete the new C:\Program Files, and then rename the "renamed" C:\Program Files back to C:\Program Files. It should save me a lot of reinstall time since I probably have 6 or 7 hundred programs and utilities installed in my primary system.

Until then I just delete the duplicate toolbars during bootup.

Teddy

I defrag every month, clear my cookies and temp files every night, run
a good antivirus and I haven't had any problems with my pc.

I defrag like almost every day. So it makes my startup spped quite similar.

I used to be a tits up only gal... now I reformat at least three times a year. I'm downloading stuff all the time, uninstalling, etc. I think it's best to start completely fresh.

I don't exactly enjoy reinstalling all my progs and settings, but, I'm always happy once the process is finished and my pc is running SO much better than it was previously.