i'm wondering how often you guys reformat your main hard drives. i just reformatted mine, and my computer feels all fresh and clean again. i love it and am going to start doing it regularly; probably a few times a year. what do you guys do?

a few times a year I reformat and load on a clean ghost backup. Takes only a few minutes.

The last time was a few months after Win2k SP4 was released.

ff123

I last reformated my drive when installing WinXPSP2 via slipstreamed CD ~ one or two month after it has gone gold.

if you are conscious about what you're doing with your system and try to shield yourself against viruses and malware there really is not much need of erasing your hd frequently (though DriveImage/Ghost etc is a comfortable and quick solution).
a defrag may really help though from time to time.

Only if I must.
I reinstalled my OS when Mac OS 10.4 arrived 3 weeks ago. My previous installation was one year old and still going strong!

only if i must... last time i did it was december 2003 IIRC

running WinXP SP2

I used to format a few times a year. Now I format when my system starts to go quirky. Recently formatted after probably around 10 months. Using Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005.

I keep good upkeep of the system, but I like to try out new things, programs, etc. so every once in a while the system starts to do funny things. Apple's status as a small time company (relatively) actually plays into it's favour here. To make it in the Mac software industry, you absolutely have to write good programs due to small end user market. Consequently, very few poorly developed application exist for Mac OSX

i have a fresh install and everything is going slow allready... (must be something to do with hardware )

Win98 System:
Once per year, or when it starts acting up to the point where troubleshooting will take longer than doing a full format and reinstall.

WinXP Pro System:
Got it in December 2003, and so far I haven't had to formatted yet. Since no viruses, or malware have been detected on it I'd contribute that to such a long duration. When encountering crashing/buggy software I immediately eliminate it.

I left periodic fresh reloads behind when I went to Win2k. Win2k and XP are stable enough to not experience the 'OS rot' described with Win9x.
Spyware, malware, viruses, and root kits would be the only reason I might reload. I aggressively protect against these anyway, and run a good firewall. I don't want people taking my personal information or trashing my system while I am in the middle of something important and don't really have the time to reload.

Edit: Grammar

I've started getting "delayed write error"s on a second disk so will try formating that soon.. I would go straight to a new drive, but it only happens on 1 out of 2 partitions on that drive and the partition, though ntfs, was not initially formatted by Windows, so could that have something to do with it?

I format only when I have to. No need to do it regulary, since I try to keep my PC free from virii or other malicious programs. I also install the things that I need - testing is done on a virtual PC which is not "connected" to the host PC via network.

wow, thats ironic, i just recently started experiencing these as well on my music hdd... its very annoying when it happens in the middle of a rip. i hadn't decided what to do yet, or even really what the problem was. let me know if reformatting solves it.

DonP, VCSkier: i had the same problems with external firewire/usb2 hd and there was no cure found (ok the cure was when i got a new system and that same housing now delivers), do you two have more than 512 megs of RAM?

i have 512 megs of RAM.

Reformatting a HD? "Why would you want to do that?"

The computer has 512 MB.

i know this is getting ot, but im becoming incresingly concerned w/ this "delayed write error" issue as it is continuing to occur. i have a usb 2.0 external hd, and its plugged into a usb 2.0 port, but after i get the delayed write error message, i am told that i have a usb 2 peripheral plugged into a usb 1 port, and that it could be running faster. then, untill i reboot, when i rip cd's to that external drive, my ripping speed is slower than normal. hope that makes sense. sorry, im in a hurry, im late to work.

Only if I have too....
When major programs in windows started to malfunction, things not working, that's when i reformat!

Every 8 or 10 months, though I think I'm approaching a year.

http://www.hydrogenaudio.org/forums/index....showtopic=15735

I've not "reformatted" my "main drive" in years. I've "reformatted" (meaning wiping my OS/Apps drive) exactly twice in about three years. First time was after I first got my 120GB hard drive, and the second time was after I got my 160GB hard drive.

Malware can be removed with enough persistence using freely available tools (Search Ask Slashdot for Malware to get a good listing of the options). I've never used either a firewall or a virus scanner. So, the only need I have for a reformat is to counteract OS rot, which is negligible in Windows XP anyhow. I still do it just to get a nice fresh start once in a while, but I generally just clean things up. You always lose something when you reformat, and I hate that.

i found this thread... it dosen't sound promising. im not ready to accept that my drive is dying though. it is just a couple months old, and it is a western digital. so im going to keep researching the problem, but admittedly, i dont know much about the issue. i dont know how to run these diagnostics or anything. again, keep me updated donp if you fing anything out. btw, after i get the delayed write error message, apparently my system reverts to a usb 1.1 connection (i get a second error message saying something like "you have a usb 2 device attached to a usb 1 port"). then, until i reboot, i dont have any problems, other than the slower interface...