Windows 7 - Does Reformatting Kill Your pc?

does reformatting make your computer slower? I recently reformatted my computer to see if it will eliminate my crackling/popping audio. But I think I notice my computer is a bit slower. I reformatted my old computer many times and now it's slower than when it was first bought.

Do your mean format or defrag. If you format everything will be gone.

No,, reformatting will not slow down your PC. If by Reformatting, you mean format the drive wiping it out and reinstalling everything.

What is most likely the cause is,,,,, Something did not install properly, OS, Driver, Software, something...
Or the PC is that old and can't handle any recent updates you have done, again, OS, Drivers, Software, something else...

A defrag could cause a problem if a problem already exists. It won't create problems. Nor will formatting.

If there is a problem with the Hard Drive, this could be another cause.

There are a lot of variables. But Running Defrag, or Formatting on their own will not cause/create problems.
Only exasperate the ones that already exist

Always test your HD when you format it to be sure of its condition. You can extend the life of a HD by running the full diagnostics/repair scan: Hard Drive Diagnostics Tools and Utilities (Storage) - TACKtech Corp.

Use the opportunity to also test your memory using Windows Memory Diag Test (built in) or memtest86.

If you have performance issues, check the Event Log and Performance-Diagnostics log to research repeat errors, Generate a System Health Report, give it a good cleaning (including Registry) with CCleaner, and defrag using Auslogics Disk and Registry defraggers.

Why did you completely reformat your hdd to fix an audio issue. What did you try prior to that decision?

The only way I think a Windows machine would run slower after a reinstall is if you had it tweaked for performance prior to the reinstall.

Reformating and reinstalling is usually what people do to get all of the performance back on their PC. There must be a driver issue if it's significantly worse now.

Fomatting will not slow up your PC. It will stay the same or even get faster, if you had a virus or other nasty. As other posters have mentioned, there is another cause. I lean toward drivers, as already mentioned. Go to device manger up date drivers and make sure no yellow warning makers are shown, indicating problems.

I try updating my audio drivers, use different speakers, use different audio outputs etc. and it didn't solve the problem. So I said to myself I either reformat my computer or I buy a sound card. So I decided to reformat, it didn't completely solve my problem but it's a big improvement than when not reinstalling.

A reinstall is always a good thing, especially if you'd originally done an in-place Upgrade from Vista, or had all the factory bloatware that comes with pre-installed Windows 7.

If sound issues persist then try uninstalling and reinstalling Sound driver, and/or different drivers from the Support Downloads webpage for your exact model from the Acer and Realtek websites. After trying any Windows 7 drivers, try Vista drivers, then try Vista drivers installed in Compatibility Mode.

Next watch the Event Viewer and Performance logs closely to see repeat errors relating to Realtek chip or driver. While at the Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Performance Information and Tools\Advanced Tools link for Performance log, look for cued issues at top, and Generate a System Health Report.