clean install or factory reinstall?

xxsicknessxx

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The only bonus of factory install I can see beside fixing windows issues (update issues) is it comes with Norton... which I hear isn't even as good as basic Microsoft essentiall?

Will I be seeing a huge speed boost with clean install? I mean is it possible extra running procces could be bogging down my cpu more then I know? Factory restore leaves computer slow thats for sure so would clean install be worth it?

I been debating it for awhile its just now the computer seems be running a lot better minus odd issues has with updating and with restarts which I can't be sure are not hardware what do you think :)

any worth to factory restall I a tiny bit worried of a missing driver thats not on there page if I were to clean install .... maybe I tend worry though so maybe im wrong and it go just fine and computer will stop with its very broad spectrum of errors
 

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windows7 64bit
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windows7 64bit
If you already have a clean install, and it's a happy one, then the re is no point in changing to a factory install.

Factory installs contain optimised drivers, but may also contain fluff,and things that could be considered malware - online games, and Norton for instance.

Norton (finally) uninstalls reasonably cleanly nowadays - but it's always a good idea to run the removal tool afterwards (similarly for all pre-installed AV's, always run their own removal tool afterwards)

Drivers aren't as much a problem as they used to be - most manufacturers now use drivers that are cut-down versions of the device manufacturer's own drivers, rather than the custom re-writes that used to be the case, so the device manufacturer's drivers are likely to be pretty much identical to the set in a factory install, and will probably be much more recent than either those, or any available of the computer manufacturer's site.

Note that Graphics drivers always tend to be 'special cases' - so I'd tend to use the computer manufacturer's drivers, rather then AMD or nVidia's, unless there's a problem which I know an update could solve.
If the machine is an Intel i-series using on-chip graphics, then use the Intel drivers, as they willl be fully compatible.
 

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Win 7 x64 Home Premium (and x86 VirtualBox VM...i3 370M/i7 6500U8GB - finally :)/8GBit's an i3, dude!/dual Intel&nVidia
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Laptop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Asus K52F or Lenovo B51-80
OS
Win 7 x64 Home Premium (and x86 VirtualBox VM)/Win10
CPU
i3 370M/i7 6500U
Motherboard
Asus/Lenovo
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8GB - finally :)/8GB
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it's an i3, dude!/dual Intel&nVidia
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onboard
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750GB Seagate internal
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n/a
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as much as I can get - usually on a dongle/phone, so <1MB/s
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MSE/Defender
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IE11/12/Edge/Chrome/FF(if I must)
Personally, I'd always go for a clean install.

It's unbelievable some of the garbage that gets loaded with a factory installation, but it's done because manufacturer's profit margins are low, so getting a kickback from third-party software increases their profit on each computer sold.

When I buy a computer I don't want Norton, Skype, Roxio Starter, Cyberlink Starter and the other obscure applications that populate the hard drive.

Unfortunately, carrying out a clean install can invalidate your warranty, so it's always best to create recovery discs first in case the box has to go in for repair.
 

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Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-BitIntel Core i7 870 @ 2.93GHz8Gb Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 664MHznVidia GeForce GTX 460 1024MB dedicated RAM
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP Pavilion Elite 495UK
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-Bit
CPU
Intel Core i7 870 @ 2.93GHz
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MSI 2A9C (CPU1)
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8Gb Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 664MHz
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nVidia GeForce GTX 460 1024MB dedicated RAM
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Realtek HD Audio
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HP2310i
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1x1954GB Hitachi HDS22020ALA 330 (RAID), 1x1954GB Hitachi External for backup and storage
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460W
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HP Elite
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Air cooled
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Logitech K750 solar-powered keyboard
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Logitech Wireless M180 mouse
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2Mb
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I seem to recall quite a few threads you've started, looking for resolutions to problems relating to your installation. Are you still having all these same issues, or have you reinstalled and now have new problems? Or am I thinking of a different forum member?

Anyway, you cannot beat a clean install. The level of bloat varies amongst the different OEM's, some are chock full of it. If it was me, I wouldn't let Norton stop me, as there are a number of free, effective alternatives.

I would pay particular attention to the driver info in NoelDP's post, seavixen32's post about recovery discs, and follow the this tutorial written by gregrocker:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/219487-clean-reinstall-factory-oem-windows-7-a.html
 

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Windows 7 Ultimate x64
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
I was thinking the same thing sibbil, I'd asked the OP some questions in an earlier post they'd made but so far haven't received an answer but they are posting more problems.
 

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Windows 10 64bit/Windows 10 64bit/Windows 10 ...Intel Pentium J3710 @ 60GHz/Intel B820,1.7GHz...8.00GB DDR3 @ 1599MHz/8GB 2 x 4GB DDR3/8.00GB...Intel HD Graphics/Intel/512MB ATI AMD Radeon ...
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PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Acer Aspire XC-704 x64 bit/ Asus K55A Notebook PC/HP Envy x360 Convertible 15-bq0xx
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Windows 10 64bit/Windows 10 64bit/Windows 10 64bit
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Intel Pentium J3710 @ 60GHz/Intel B820,1.7GHz/AMD A9 Radeon
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Acer Aspire XC-704 (SOCKET 0)/Asus/HP 8312 (Socket FP4)
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8.00GB DDR3 @ 1599MHz/8GB 2 x 4GB DDR3/8.00GB Dual-Channel
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Intel HD Graphics/Intel/512MB ATI AMD Radeon R5 Graphics (HP
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Realtek High Definition Audio/Onboard/AMD High Definition Au
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Acer LCD K222HQL /Asus 15.6/Generic PnP Monitor (1920x1080@6
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1920x1080@59Hz/1366 x 768/1920x1080@60Hz
Hard Drives
1863GBWesternn Digital WDC/Asus/119GB SanDisk SD8SN8U-128G-1006 (SSD)
931GB Hitachi HGST HTS721010A9E630 (SATA)
Keyboard
Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000 (UK)/Inbuilt/Inbui
Mouse
Microsoft Optical Wheel Mouse/Same plus Touchpad/Same + Pad
Internet Speed
Infinity 2 up to 76 Mbps
Antivirus
MSE/MSE/MSE and all 3 have MalwareBytes Premium
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Edge, Firefox/Edge, Firefox/Edge, Firefox, Chrome
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Seagate Expansion 500GB External Desktop Drive
Seagate Expansion Portable Drives 500GB and 1TB
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