Should I clean install Windows 10 or upgrade

[Technefy]

I am primarily using this PC for gaming and wondering if I should upgrade or clean install it Windows takes about 2 minutes to boot in a western digital blue if I clean install will it damage my hard drive because some people say that if I reformat my hdd too much it will break it. Will I see a faster boot time? Thank you

 

[USAFRet]

some people say that if I reformat my hdd too much it will break it

Don't listen to those people. Unless you're doing it 5 times a day, every day for years...

How old is this current install? Often, a clean install makes a world of difference.

 

[Darkbreeze]

That's nonsense. I format drives regularly, without issue. You would need to do full reformats repeatedly, over and over again, for a very long period of time before it could even possibly cause damage from wear.

As to the Win10 installation, you need to do the upgrade first, then you can clean install. You can download the media and perform the necessary upgrade using the methods outlined here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/faq/id-2728769/upgrade-windows-windows.html

 

[gangrel]

It won't break the drive, but obviously all the data goes POOF.

Try running a defragmenter. After that, look to see how much is getting loaded at startup. You can consider an SSD, but I would suggest that AFTER upgrading to Win 10. It may be a causing some problems if you migrate the system then try to upgrade. Doesn't entirely make sense to me, but I'm kinda leery.

 

[Technefy]

Oh alright thanks both of you guys. You guess that was a rumor then xD the real question is what happens when you delete a file or something how does it exit out the drive that's what confuses me.

 

[Technefy]

Like for example wouldn't the file be in there somewhere degrading the drives performance

 

[Darkbreeze]

When you upgrade, the necessary and relevant files are replaced. The old files are deleted, while the new file takes it's place. Some files may not even change.

For a clean install, you want to delete ALL the existing partitions, unless you have a system restoration partition that you wish to keep in case you want to clean install back to your previous windows version, in which case, delete all the OTHER partitions, but leave that one alone. You will have the option to do this when you get to the point in the installation where it asks where you want to install windows. I recommend deleting all partitions and installing to the unpartitioned, unallocated space. Windows will create the necessary partitions and perform any necessary formatting of partitions.

Alternatively, not to send anybody away from OUR website, but if the above tutorials don't work for you, specifically AFTER you upgrade, have installation media ready and are ready to do the clean install, you can use this guide as well:

http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/1950-windows-10-clean-install.html


Deleting the existing partitions deletes ALL the information that was on the drive. It will essentially be blank. The biggest reason to do this is that it allows you to:

start fresh

remove previous boot partitons that may interfere with the smooth operation of the existing OS installation

recover drive space

make certain there is only one boot partition and that it's of the type required by the version of windows you're currently installing.

Probably some other reasons too, but I'm getting too tired to think of them right now.

 

[Technefy]

Oh ok thanks once again for the clarification

 

[USAFRet]

Probably some other reasons too, but I'm getting too tired to think of them right now.

Gets rid of whatever old junk is in Startup
Gets rid of whatever old junk lives in the Registry, from partially failed uninstalls.
And other stuff too.

 

[Darkbreeze]

^^^Yep, stuff. That's what I thought. Heh.

 

[Technefy]

Alright thank you

 

[Darkbreeze]

No problem. Good luck.