How many programs before reinstalling?

I have been getting ready to get a second PC. This made me look at
how much stuff I have got on my present system. Despite lots of
tweaks and cleaning my current system is getting bloated and tangled.
Performance is not bad but could be better. Here are some statistics
on what I found:

Using 'MyUninstaller' http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/myuninst.html
I can see I have 511 installed programs!

In addition there are those programs which didn't need any
installation. I reckon I have about 100 of these ready and
waiting to be used from a shortcut link on my menus.

And then there are all those programs which were so unimpressive
that they got uninstalled. I don't know how many of those there
were. 50? 100? 150?

Adding together my figures of 511 + 100 + approx 100 then I see my
XP system has had about 700 or maybe even 800 programs.

That is going to take a lot of customizing when I put together a
replacement system!

-------------

Other background info is :

Based on the creation date of the 'WINDOWS' folder, my WinXP is
about 30 months old (installed in Jan 2003).

The C drive, which also contains no substantial data, is 14 GB of
which 10 GB is used up.

The Program Files folder, which contains *no* substantial data
files, is a bit over 5 GB.

If I sort by size the installed programs list on MyUninstaller or
Add/Remove then the middle size is about 1.7 MB.
Largest program at 357 MB is MS hotfix KB896727 (Aug 2005).
Largest user application is Photoshop at 189 MB.

What sort of data do other people have?

On avergae how long (or how many programs) do you wait for before
(re)installing a new XP system?

Franklin

If you just keep the computer tidy, there is no set point for re-installing
XP.. I would only recommend re-installing if all else failed anyway..

I really don't see a problem for you.. all that you have to do is install
whatever you want on the new system, regardless of what is on the old one..

--
Mike Hall
MVP - Windows Shell/User


"Franklin" <> wrote in message
news:96AF7CEC2335071F3M4@204.153.244.156...
>I have been getting ready to get a second PC. This made me look at
> how much stuff I have got on my present system. Despite lots of
> tweaks and cleaning my current system is getting bloated and tangled.
> Performance is not bad but could be better. Here are some statistics
> on what I found:
>
> Using 'MyUninstaller' http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/myuninst.html
> I can see I have 511 installed programs!
>
> In addition there are those programs which didn't need any
> installation. I reckon I have about 100 of these ready and
> waiting to be used from a shortcut link on my menus.
>
> And then there are all those programs which were so unimpressive
> that they got uninstalled. I don't know how many of those there
> were. 50? 100? 150?
>
> Adding together my figures of 511 + 100 + approx 100 then I see my
> XP system has had about 700 or maybe even 800 programs.
>
> That is going to take a lot of customizing when I put together a
> replacement system!
>
> -------------
>
> Other background info is :
>
> Based on the creation date of the 'WINDOWS' folder, my WinXP is
> about 30 months old (installed in Jan 2003).
>
> The C drive, which also contains no substantial data, is 14 GB of
> which 10 GB is used up.
>
> The Program Files folder, which contains *no* substantial data
> files, is a bit over 5 GB.
>
> If I sort by size the installed programs list on MyUninstaller or
> Add/Remove then the middle size is about 1.7 MB.
> Largest program at 357 MB is MS hotfix KB896727 (Aug 2005).
> Largest user application is Photoshop at 189 MB.
>
> What sort of data do other people have?
>
> On avergae how long (or how many programs) do you wait for before
> (re)installing a new XP system?

"On avergae how long (or how many programs) do you wait for before
(re)installing a new XP system?"

As long as your computer is free of malware and well maintained, there is
never a need to reinstall XP. Do so for your own reasons.

I think there are a few newsgroups you missed.

--
Ted Zieglar
"You can do it if you try."

"Franklin" <> wrote in message
news:96AF7CEC2335071F3M4@204.153.244.156...
> I have been getting ready to get a second PC. This made me look at
> how much stuff I have got on my present system. Despite lots of
> tweaks and cleaning my current system is getting bloated and tangled.
> Performance is not bad but could be better. Here are some statistics
> on what I found:
>
> Using 'MyUninstaller' http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/myuninst.html
> I can see I have 511 installed programs!
>
> In addition there are those programs which didn't need any
> installation. I reckon I have about 100 of these ready and
> waiting to be used from a shortcut link on my menus.
>
> And then there are all those programs which were so unimpressive
> that they got uninstalled. I don't know how many of those there
> were. 50? 100? 150?
>
> Adding together my figures of 511 + 100 + approx 100 then I see my
> XP system has had about 700 or maybe even 800 programs.
>
> That is going to take a lot of customizing when I put together a
> replacement system!
>
> -------------
>
> Other background info is :
>
> Based on the creation date of the 'WINDOWS' folder, my WinXP is
> about 30 months old (installed in Jan 2003).
>
> The C drive, which also contains no substantial data, is 14 GB of
> which 10 GB is used up.
>
> The Program Files folder, which contains *no* substantial data
> files, is a bit over 5 GB.
>
> If I sort by size the installed programs list on MyUninstaller or
> Add/Remove then the middle size is about 1.7 MB.
> Largest program at 357 MB is MS hotfix KB896727 (Aug 2005).
> Largest user application is Photoshop at 189 MB.
>
> What sort of data do other people have?
>
> On avergae how long (or how many programs) do you wait for before
> (re)installing a new XP system?

>I have been getting ready to get a second PC. This made me look at
> how much stuff I have got on my present system. Despite lots of
> tweaks and cleaning my current system is getting bloated and tangled.
> Performance is not bad but could be better. Here are some statistics
> on what I found:
>
> Using 'MyUninstaller' http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/myuninst.html
> I can see I have 511 installed programs!

Frank,

If you're spending any time "tweaking and cleaning" your system, I'm simply
astonished at the number of programs you still have installed--really, how
many are you actually using? My previous XP machine had been running
without a reinstall for roughly 3 years (a record for me) and I had maybe
50-60 apps, a significant portion of which I found out over time I didn't
really need but I was hanging onto "just in case".

Unless that utility displays more than just "programs"...that's just bloody
amazing.

> Adding together my figures of 511 + 100 + approx 100 then I see my
> XP system has had about 700 or maybe even 800 programs.
>
> That is going to take a lot of customizing when I put together a
> replacement system!

Better yet, only reinstall the stuff you know you need. The previous XP
machine I'm referring to above recently died, and I didn't reinstall
*anything* on the new machine beyond what I know I used on a weekly basis.
Things are slowly creeping back up over time (it's been roughly a month
now), but I skipped a *lot* of programs I had on my other machine I thought
I was going to have a use for "later". Don't start off with the thought
that you're going to have to duplicate your current machine--this as an
opportunity to start clean again. If you're unsure about a particular
program, burn its setup program to CD/DVD or bookmark the web site you got
it from. Don't reinstall it simply because you have it available. You'll
find out you really don't need an awful lot in your day-to-day use.

> The C drive, which also contains no substantial data, is 14 GB of
> which 10 GB is used up.

I'd say that's par for the course, at least on my machines.

> The Program Files folder, which contains *no* substantial data
> files, is a bit over 5 GB.

Program Files shouldn't contain *any* data. In fact ideally drive C: itself
shouldn't contain any data. I always try to get my system in a state where
if I have to nuke the OS and reinstall in a hurry, I don't have to backup
*any* data file. Use different partitions (or different physical drives)
for My Documents and the like. My general rule of thumb is, anything that
needs to go through an installation process after rebuilding the OS, put it
on drive C:. Any data file that is still usable simply by copying it from
one location to another, put it elsewhere. If you follow this basic scheme
and use backup software, don't bother backing up drive C: at all as it will
only contain program files that will be copied back from the original media
when you reinstall anyway.

> If I sort by size the installed programs list on MyUninstaller or
> Add/Remove then the middle size is about 1.7 MB.
> Largest program at 357 MB is MS hotfix KB896727 (Aug 2005).
> Largest user application is Photoshop at 189 MB.
>
> What sort of data do other people have?

Development and debugging tools, and their corresponding documentation, will
eat away gigabytes in a single installation. As far as data goes, if you're
into video editing at all, you can expect hundreds of megabytes, if not
gigabytes, per file. I keep ISO images of CDs on a separate partition so I
don't have to dig them out every time I wanna fire up a game that requires
the media to be in the drive. Then there's the download leeches and the MP3
whore types. :-)

> On avergae how long (or how many programs) do you wait for before
> (re)installing a new XP system?

There's no point in reinstalling any OS based on a fixed schedule or the
number of programs you have installed. I only do it after the system
develops too many quirks I can't get rid of. As mentioned, in XP's case,
it's been over 3 years for me, and the motherboard gave up before the OS
itself became unusable (it developed quirks over time, but nothing bad
enough to force me to reinstall). Back in the Win9x days, I was
reinstalling quarterly if not monthly (good riddance!)...

Of course if you're the type who constantly ends up with hard-to-get-rid-of
spyware, you might be reinstalling more often...but by no means should you
follow a schedule or wait for X number of programs to be installed. I've
been maintaining my machines for nearly 20 years now, and I'm a *huge* pack
rat. But I don't move old programs over to new machines unless I have a
need for them. Otherwise things become unmanageable.

In news:96AF7CEC2335071F3M4@204.153.244.156,
Franklin <> typed:

> I have been getting ready to get a second PC. This made me
> look at
> how much stuff I have got on my present system. Despite lots
> of
> tweaks and cleaning my current system is getting bloated and
> tangled.
> Performance is not bad but could be better. Here are some
> statistics
> on what I found:
>
> Using 'MyUninstaller'
> http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/myuninst.html
> I can see I have 511 installed programs!
>
> In addition there are those programs which didn't need any
> installation. I reckon I have about 100 of these ready and
> waiting to be used from a shortcut link on my menus.
>
> And then there are all those programs which were so
> unimpressive
> that they got uninstalled. I don't know how many of those
> there
> were. 50? 100? 150?
>
> Adding together my figures of 511 + 100 + approx 100 then I see
> my
> XP system has had about 700 or maybe even 800 programs.
>
> That is going to take a lot of customizing when I put together
> a
> replacement system!
>
> -------------
>
> Other background info is :
>
> Based on the creation date of the 'WINDOWS' folder, my WinXP is
> about 30 months old (installed in Jan 2003).
>
> The C drive, which also contains no substantial data, is 14 GB
> of
> which 10 GB is used up.
>
> The Program Files folder, which contains *no* substantial data
> files, is a bit over 5 GB.
>
> If I sort by size the installed programs list on MyUninstaller
> or
> Add/Remove then the middle size is about 1.7 MB.
> Largest program at 357 MB is MS hotfix KB896727 (Aug 2005).
> Largest user application is Photoshop at 189 MB.
>
> What sort of data do other people have?
>
> On avergae how long (or how many programs) do you wait for
> before
> (re)installing a new XP system?


I have *never* reinstalled WIndows XP or any other version of
Windows. Maintain your system well and reinstallation should
never be necessary. Reinstallation should be a last-resort remedy
to fix a problem, when all other efforts have failed.

Also note that the number of programs you have installed has no
effect on performance. What you have *running* effects
performance, not what you have installed.

It's like the performance of your car and the number of people in
your family. Have 18 children but leave them home when you drive,
and your cars's performance won't change. But put them all in the
car at once and performance will suffer because of the extra
weight.

I have no idea how many programs I have installed, and I don't
particularly care. Besides, the count would be different
depending on how you do it. If you count all exe files, you'll
get a much higher number than the number of products you bought
or downloaded, since many software products come with multiple
exe files. As a result, comparing one person's numbers with
anothers is almost certainly very misleading, because it's likely
that they will count differently.

--
Ken Blake - Microsoft MVP Windows: Shell/User
Please reply to the newsgroup

If you have sensitive info (banking for ex), reinstall every few months (6
at most) to get rid of malware. Better, plan what programs you need and know
that are safe, clean install XP, activate and image the system partition
(c. If you partition judiciously, a restoration of the system image would
take a few minutes (depends what machine you have) and you'll be able to run
as new. In fact, you can restore daily if you so desire. The idea is that
the hackers will eventually get through to your machine(s) no matter how
much protection you consider to run. Hence, I repeat, every 6 months at most
do a restoration or a clean installation - that is if you have sensitive
info on your machine.
Michael


"Franklin" <> wrote in message
news:96AF7CEC2335071F3M4@204.153.244.156...
>I have been getting ready to get a second PC. This made me look at
> how much stuff I have got on my present system. Despite lots of
> tweaks and cleaning my current system is getting bloated and tangled.
> Performance is not bad but could be better. Here are some statistics
> on what I found:
>
> Using 'MyUninstaller' http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/myuninst.html
> I can see I have 511 installed programs!
>
> In addition there are those programs which didn't need any
> installation. I reckon I have about 100 of these ready and
> waiting to be used from a shortcut link on my menus.
>
> And then there are all those programs which were so unimpressive
> that they got uninstalled. I don't know how many of those there
> were. 50? 100? 150?
>
> Adding together my figures of 511 + 100 + approx 100 then I see my
> XP system has had about 700 or maybe even 800 programs.
>
> That is going to take a lot of customizing when I put together a
> replacement system!
>
> -------------
>
> Other background info is :
>
> Based on the creation date of the 'WINDOWS' folder, my WinXP is
> about 30 months old (installed in Jan 2003).
>
> The C drive, which also contains no substantial data, is 14 GB of
> which 10 GB is used up.
>
> The Program Files folder, which contains *no* substantial data
> files, is a bit over 5 GB.
>
> If I sort by size the installed programs list on MyUninstaller or
> Add/Remove then the middle size is about 1.7 MB.
> Largest program at 357 MB is MS hotfix KB896727 (Aug 2005).
> Largest user application is Photoshop at 189 MB.
>
> What sort of data do other people have?
>
> On avergae how long (or how many programs) do you wait for before
> (re)installing a new XP system?

"Phillips" <> wrote in message
news:uu6$...
> If you have sensitive info (banking for ex), reinstall every few months (6
> at most) to get rid of malware. Better, plan what programs you need and
> know that are safe, clean install XP, activate and image the system
> partition (c. If you partition judiciously, a restoration of the system
> image would take a few minutes (depends what machine you have) and you'll
> be able to run as new. In fact, you can restore daily if you so desire.
> The idea is that the hackers will eventually get through to your
> machine(s) no matter how much protection you consider to run. Hence, I
> repeat, every 6 months at most do a restoration or a clean installation -
> that is if you have sensitive info on your machine.
> Michael

One word: wow.

If I had a machine that contained information so sensitive that I'd have to
revert to reinstalling every 6 months, I'd go with an even simpler solution:
take the machine off the internet!

Go online with something else. Don't visit warez sites. I've yet to have a
single piece of spyware install itself on any of my boxes, much less my
primary machine which is totally isolated from the rest of the world (it
doesn't even have an anti-virus installed, and any file that gets copied to
it has already been scanned elsewhere).

Phillips

Why if you have sensitive info?.. is the sensitive info only present just
before one clean installs?

--
Mike Hall
MVP - Windows Shell/User


"Phillips" <> wrote in message
news:uu6$...
> If you have sensitive info (banking for ex), reinstall every few months (6
> at most) to get rid of malware. Better, plan what programs you need and
> know that are safe, clean install XP, activate and image the system
> partition (c. If you partition judiciously, a restoration of the system
> image would take a few minutes (depends what machine you have) and you'll
> be able to run as new. In fact, you can restore daily if you so desire.
> The idea is that the hackers will eventually get through to your
> machine(s) no matter how much protection you consider to run. Hence, I
> repeat, every 6 months at most do a restoration or a clean installation -
> that is if you have sensitive info on your machine.
> Michael
>
>
> "Franklin" <> wrote in message
> news:96AF7CEC2335071F3M4@204.153.244.156...
>>I have been getting ready to get a second PC. This made me look at
>> how much stuff I have got on my present system. Despite lots of
>> tweaks and cleaning my current system is getting bloated and tangled.
>> Performance is not bad but could be better. Here are some statistics
>> on what I found:
>>
>> Using 'MyUninstaller' http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/myuninst.html
>> I can see I have 511 installed programs!
>>
>> In addition there are those programs which didn't need any
>> installation. I reckon I have about 100 of these ready and
>> waiting to be used from a shortcut link on my menus.
>>
>> And then there are all those programs which were so unimpressive
>> that they got uninstalled. I don't know how many of those there
>> were. 50? 100? 150?
>>
>> Adding together my figures of 511 + 100 + approx 100 then I see my
>> XP system has had about 700 or maybe even 800 programs.
>>
>> That is going to take a lot of customizing when I put together a
>> replacement system!
>>
>> -------------
>>
>> Other background info is :
>>
>> Based on the creation date of the 'WINDOWS' folder, my WinXP is
>> about 30 months old (installed in Jan 2003).
>>
>> The C drive, which also contains no substantial data, is 14 GB of
>> which 10 GB is used up.
>>
>> The Program Files folder, which contains *no* substantial data
>> files, is a bit over 5 GB.
>>
>> If I sort by size the installed programs list on MyUninstaller or
>> Add/Remove then the middle size is about 1.7 MB.
>> Largest program at 357 MB is MS hotfix KB896727 (Aug 2005).
>> Largest user application is Photoshop at 189 MB.
>>
>> What sort of data do other people have?
>>
>> On avergae how long (or how many programs) do you wait for before
>> (re)installing a new XP system?
>
>

No, some sensitive info (info that you want to keep hidden from others such
as personal data that can be used to open a credit account, ) might
accumulate over time. Same way, your machine might get infected - some
friend using it occasionally for whatever web job or simply inadequate
protection. The general assumption is that, in long run, chances are your
machine will get infected - function of your work habits, who has access to
that machine (friends' kids on an occasional visit, for ex) etc. Then, you
do not want some keyboard spying malware lurking on your machine
indefinitely; you simply start clean.
Moreover, a lot of unnecessary files accumulate over time - testing/trying
various programs (firewalls, for ex , updated drivers etc. Then, instead
of running a bunch of cleaning utilities and investing some time into it,
you can simply start clean again - using the latest drivers, the programs
that you liked.
Of course, some advanced or experienced users might never need to go this
way, but for most, preventively, it is worth doing it.
Michael

"Mike Hall (MS-MVP)" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Phillips
>
> Why if you have sensitive info?.. is the sensitive info only present just
> before one clean installs?
>
> --
> Mike Hall
> MVP - Windows Shell/User
>
>
> "Phillips" <> wrote in message
> news:uu6$...
>> If you have sensitive info (banking for ex), reinstall every few months
>> (6 at most) to get rid of malware. Better, plan what programs you need
>> and know that are safe, clean install XP, activate and image the system
>> partition (c. If you partition judiciously, a restoration of the system
>> image would take a few minutes (depends what machine you have) and you'll
>> be able to run as new. In fact, you can restore daily if you so desire.
>> The idea is that the hackers will eventually get through to your
>> machine(s) no matter how much protection you consider to run. Hence, I
>> repeat, every 6 months at most do a restoration or a clean installation -
>> that is if you have sensitive info on your machine.
>> Michael
>>
>>
>> "Franklin" <> wrote in message
>> news:96AF7CEC2335071F3M4@204.153.244.156...
>>>I have been getting ready to get a second PC. This made me look at
>>> how much stuff I have got on my present system. Despite lots of
>>> tweaks and cleaning my current system is getting bloated and tangled.
>>> Performance is not bad but could be better. Here are some statistics
>>> on what I found:
>>>
>>> Using 'MyUninstaller' http://www.nirsoft.net/utils/myuninst.html
>>> I can see I have 511 installed programs!
>>>
>>> In addition there are those programs which didn't need any
>>> installation. I reckon I have about 100 of these ready and
>>> waiting to be used from a shortcut link on my menus.
>>>
>>> And then there are all those programs which were so unimpressive
>>> that they got uninstalled. I don't know how many of those there
>>> were. 50? 100? 150?
>>>
>>> Adding together my figures of 511 + 100 + approx 100 then I see my
>>> XP system has had about 700 or maybe even 800 programs.
>>>
>>> That is going to take a lot of customizing when I put together a
>>> replacement system!
>>>
>>> -------------
>>>
>>> Other background info is :
>>>
>>> Based on the creation date of the 'WINDOWS' folder, my WinXP is
>>> about 30 months old (installed in Jan 2003).
>>>
>>> The C drive, which also contains no substantial data, is 14 GB of
>>> which 10 GB is used up.
>>>
>>> The Program Files folder, which contains *no* substantial data
>>> files, is a bit over 5 GB.
>>>
>>> If I sort by size the installed programs list on MyUninstaller or
>>> Add/Remove then the middle size is about 1.7 MB.
>>> Largest program at 357 MB is MS hotfix KB896727 (Aug 2005).
>>> Largest user application is Photoshop at 189 MB.
>>>
>>> What sort of data do other people have?
>>>
>>> On avergae how long (or how many programs) do you wait for before
>>> (re)installing a new XP system?
>>
>>
>
>

Yup, that's the safest way... but it's not what I'd call "simple" since you
have to have at least two dedicated machines even three - one for general
web surfing, one for private/sensitive/business web activities, another one
in a vault
Michael

"Homer J. Simpson" <root@127.0.0.1> wrote in message
news:O%...
> "Phillips" <> wrote in message
> news:uu6$...
>> If you have sensitive info (banking for ex), reinstall every few months
>> (6 at most) to get rid of malware. Better, plan what programs you need
>> and know that are safe, clean install XP, activate and image the system
>> partition (c. If you partition judiciously, a restoration of the system
>> image would take a few minutes (depends what machine you have) and you'll
>> be able to run as new. In fact, you can restore daily if you so desire.
>> The idea is that the hackers will eventually get through to your
>> machine(s) no matter how much protection you consider to run. Hence, I
>> repeat, every 6 months at most do a restoration or a clean installation -
>> that is if you have sensitive info on your machine.
>> Michael
>
> One word: wow.
>
> If I had a machine that contained information so sensitive that I'd have
> to revert to reinstalling every 6 months, I'd go with an even simpler
> solution: take the machine off the internet!
>
> Go online with something else. Don't visit warez sites. I've yet to have
> a single piece of spyware install itself on any of my boxes, much less my
> primary machine which is totally isolated from the rest of the world (it
> doesn't even have an anti-virus installed, and any file that gets copied
> to it has already been scanned elsewhere).
>
>