Re: Upgrade ME to XP

Ken,

The speed improvement is on my home system, well maintained, no spyware,
almost no non-Microsoft software. I can put back the EXACT same applications
and there most definitely is a speed improvement.

I do it every year or two, or after having installed and removed a lot of
software (for testing). I have never seen a program uninstall ALL the
components and registry entries it created.

OK, I'll give up now. I know what my experience has taught me, and deny it
as you may, the difference is real in my experience.

Thanks for your input!

Gregg Hill


"Ken Blake, MVP" <kblake@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OYzDebzMGHA.140@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Gregg Hill wrote:

Bruce,

If what you say is correct, then why would formatting and
re-installing the exact same OS and the exact same applications speed
up the system significantly? I have done that many times, going from
XP Pro to XP Pro, with all the same software, but the new install
ALWAYS outperforms the old installation of the exact same OS and
applications. Boot times are faster, programs open faster, etc.


I'm not Bruce, but I don't think he'll mind my throwing my two cents in.

When you reformat and reinstall, you are creating a brand-new installation
of the operating system, *without* all of the accumulated spyware,
autostarting applications, etc. that the old one may have. My guess is
that the improvement you are seeing is usually simply a result of the
reinstallation, not the changeover from an upgraded installation to a
clean one.

Of course if the machine had been well-maintained, all of this spyware
etc. wouldn't be there and you wouldn't see th improvement at all.
Unfortunatly computers are not always well-maintained.


I have seen several "properly operating" Windows XP Home Edition
systems cause bizarre behavior when upgraded to XP Professional.


I don't anybody, not Bruce, and certainly not me, will claim that *every*
upgrade results in a problem-free installation. However most upgrades do
go very well, and my recommendationis to at least try the upgrade, since
it's much easier than a clean installation. You can always change your
mind and reinstall cleanly if problems develop.



These were not home users, they were Home Edition on corporate LANs.


I don't have any statistics to back this up, but I suspect that in many
instances, corporate users are *more* likely, not less likely, to be
infested with viruses, spyware, etc. Those corporate lans can spread
things around the corporation very quickly.


As for the drivers, you are wrong. Several antivirus versions will
crash the new OS or prevent the installation if the old version is
not removed first. Upgrade Advisor does not always catch them.


What do antivirus programs have to do with device drivers? Two different
issues entirely.

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



I am one of those who learned from DOS 6 on up. I know every person
will have differing experience, but the experience I have had shows
that a fresh install beats an upgrade every time for speed and
reliability.
To each his own!

Gregg Hill




"Bruce Chambers" <bchambers@xxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:OLpolBqMGHA.2696@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Gregg Hill wrote:
Anna,

You stated that "there's no reason *not* to use the upgrade path as
Malke has recommended to upgrade your system."



And she's correct, unless the older OS is experiencing problems.


I heartily disagree. I have NEVER seen an upgraded system perform
as fast as a freshly installed system.


Then you haven't been upgrading over properly maintained and prepared
operating systems.



You inherit all the old OS's registry entries, many of which are not
needed by the old system and certainly not by the new
system.


That's not true, at all. Any applicable registry entries are
translated from the old format into the new, but superfluous entries
are not carried over.


Fairly often, the drivers written for the current OS will crash the
new OS.


Again, untrue. In fact, it's not even possible for device drivers
written for WinMe to function under WinXP.


Many times, the Upgrade Advisor has found incompatible software
that had to be removed, then reinstalled after the new OS was in
place.


That's not the fault of the OS, but rather the specific application.
And it doesn't occur all that often. Even so, that, in and of
itself, is no reason to avoid an upgrade; reinstalling one or two
applications is a lot less time consuming than having to needlessly
reinstall everything.
If you do an upgrade, you inherit all the old settings,


Which is precisely the point of doing an upgrade....


spyware,


Which would not exist on a properly maintained system....


bloated registry,


Flat out wrong.



Granted, I have not been doing this as long as others (only since
1992), but that has been my experience and the experience of all
the network consultants I know.



And it's completely contrary to my experience with WinXP. FYI, very
few network consultants are overly conversant with the technical
capabilities of workstation operating systems; they're outside their
area of expertise. Granted, there are many knowledgeable
"consultants" who learned their trade from the ground up, but there
are all too many who have nothing but a degree, some boot camp
certifications, and *no* hands-on experience. Many uninformed people do
recommend that one always perform a
clean installation, rather than upgrade over an earlier OS. For the
most part, I feel that these people, while usually well-intended,
are living in the past, and are basing their recommendations on
their experiences with older, obsolete operating systems or hearsay.
One would save a lot of time by upgrading a PC to WinXP, rather than
performing a clean installation, if there're no hardware or software
incompatibilities. Microsoft has greatly improved (over earlier
versions of Windows) WinXP's ability to smoothly upgrade an earlier
OS.

Upgrades are for people who are not concerned with maximum
stability or speed.



No, upgrades are for people with properly maintained systems who have
better things with their time.



--

Bruce Chambers

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Relevant Pages

  • Re: Upgrade ME to XP
    ... If what you say is correct, then why would formatting and re-installing the exact same OS and the exact same applications speed up the system significantly? ... There will be no perceptible difference in performance between a properly maintained two-year old installation and a fresh installation. ... Upgrade Advisor does not always catch them. ...
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  • Re: Going to Buy but heres a question I need answered to make my decision!
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    ... We go in and upgrade them to XP Pro. ... A lot of applications cause memory leaks and other problems, ... fresh installation. ... Why in the world would WinXP Home machines be on a corporate LAN? ...
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  • Re: Upgrade ME to XP
    ... re-installing the exact same OS and the exact same applications speed ... When you reformat and reinstall, you are creating a brand-new installation ... upgrade results in a problem-free installation. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Upgrade ME to XP
    ... exact same OS and the exact same applications speed up the system ... installation of the exact same OS and applications. ... new OS or prevent the installation if the old version is not removed first. ... Upgrade Advisor does not always catch them. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)