Thank you for being a valued part of the CNET community. As of December 1, 2020, the forums are in read-only format. In early 2021, CNET Forums will no longer be available. We are grateful for the participation and advice you have provided to one another over the years.

Thanks,

CNET Support

General discussion

?Vista Basic to Premium Questions?

Oct 21, 2007 5:24AM PDT

I have a Vista Basic (Acer Aspire 3690) laptop. Here are my specs:

Celeron CPU 1.73 GHz.
1.5 GB of RAM (I upgraded it from 512 MB!)
80 GB Hard Drive
DVD/CD-R Player
And an Intel 945 GM Chipset w/ Intel GMA 950 graphics

So here are my questions. I bought Windows Vista Home Premium the month after it came out. It didn't work on one of my old computers, and I just bought this laptop. I upgraded the RAM on the laptop to 1.5 GB so I could upgrade it, and my Windows Experience Index shows that my laptop can run Aero with no problem. But, should I do a clean install? I've heard that clean installs are better for your computer, is this true? And, what are the advantages of doing a clean install?

Discussion is locked

- Collapse -
Oh, that depends...
Oct 21, 2007 8:09AM PDT

A clean install lets you start fresh, erasing all of the 'buildup' since you got the computer. Plus, in the case of XP to Vista, you don't have the leftover XP files taking up space. Going from Vista to Vista, though means the latter doesn't really apply. Personally, I'd just upgrade to save the hassle of copying out your personal files and reinstalling all your software, but that does depend on the copy of Home Premium you bought...if it's OEM you can only clean-install, and conversely if it's an Upgrader's license you can't clean-install.

John

- Collapse -
So...
Oct 21, 2007 8:47AM PDT

I bought my copy at a Costco, so it is not an OEM. I won't do a clean install, now knowing that I will have to reinstall all of my software and media. Thanks for the info!!!