AudioBanter.com - View Single Post - - Echo / M-Audio / Lynx comparisons?

In article writes:

people are really adverse to fresh installs of windows and I
pretty much look at it as maintenance. It's been years since I've had the
same install on one of my own machines for more than six months. Windows in
particular degenerates as time passes.

Trust, mainly. I know that it's supposed to be possible to "reinstall
Windows" without changing anything else, but I don't want to try it
unless it's the last resort. I don't want it to fail and to have to
re-install all of my software, and then re-configure it for the
familiar paths and user interface preferences. I don't even remember
everything I have installed, there have been successive updates that
I'd have to find and perform.

Another thing is that while ever copy of Windows that I have here is a
legitimate, OEM-licensed version, all the copies all "restoration"
disks that, when you install from them, bring the computer back to the
original factory configuration. I'm not sure if you can do anything
but a complete installation. I haven't played with it. One of these
days I'm going to put together a fresh computer from parts, try
running one of those restoration disks on it, and see if it says "Go
to hell, this ain't a Dell!" Maybe if it doesn't, I'll have more
confidence in "reinstalling Windows" but until then, I don't want to
mess around with working computers. And you don't always learn the
right things by fixing a broken computer.

It would be better if Windows didn't "degenerate" as time passes.
There's no reason for this to happen on its own, it's a function of
installing other software (or at least it SHOULD be, if it occurs at
all). I have three computers here, one with Win98SE, one with Win2000,
and one with WinXP Home. So far I've not encountered any problems that
have tempted me to do a re-installation.

--
I'm really Mike Rivers )
However, until the spam goes away or Hell freezes over,
lots of IP addresses are blocked from this system. If
you e-mail me and it bounces, use your secret decoder ring
and reach me he double-m-eleven-double-zero at yahoo