Does Reformatting Kill Your pc?

imeem

New member
Member
VIP
Local time
5:17 PM
Messages
387
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.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Acer M802
OS
Win 7 & 10 x64
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q8400 @ 2.66GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.7GH
Motherboard
MB.SCQ07.002 MB KIT G43 ICH10R HMII EUPLOT6 ECS R
Memory
8GB DDR2
Graphics Card(s)
HD 6970 2 GB
Sound Card
Realtek ALC 888s
Monitor(s) Displays
AOC
Screen Resolution
1920x1080 60hz
Hard Drives
WD Black 1 TB

WD My Book Essential 1 TB external HDD
PSU
Corsair TX650m
Case
CM 690 II Advanced mid tower
Cooling
fan
Do your mean format or defrag. If you format everything will be gone.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell XPS 420
OS
Windows 10, Home Clean Install
CPU
Intel Core2 processsor Q8200(2.33Ghz 1333FSB) Quad Core Tech
Motherboard
Dell
Memory
6 gb
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Radeon 256MB HD3650
Sound Card
Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell SP2009W 20"
Hard Drives
640 GB Serial ATA Hard drive
Cooling
Fan
Keyboard
Dell USB Keyboard
Mouse
Dell Premium Optical USB
Internet Speed
DSL 2.85
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
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self Built
OS
Win 7 Ultimate 32bit
CPU
C2D E6600 2.4Ghz
Motherboard
Intel D965WH
Memory
4G Kingston KHX5400D2
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA GTX 570 HD SC (012-P3-1573-KR)
Sound Card
On-Board
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung 226BW
Screen Resolution
1680 x 1050
Hard Drives
2 x 250 Seagate Barracuda
2 x 500 Seagate Barracuda (Raid1)
PSU
Corsair TX750W
Case
In-Win C589
Cooling
Stock Intel Cooling
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.
 
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.

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

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Build
OS
Windows 7 Pro 64bit build 7601 SP1
CPU
Intel Core I5 3570K 3.4Ghz w/ Zalman CNPS9900NT RT
Motherboard
MSI Z77A-G45 Gaming
Memory
G.Skill F3-12800CL9D-8GbXL ; 4Gx2
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA Geforce GTX 770 Superclocked
Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster Z
Monitor(s) Displays
Dual ViewSonic VX2770Smh-LED Black 27"IPS-Panel
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
Kingston Hyper X 240GB SSD Win8 Pro 64bit 6GB/s Sata III
Intel 335 Series SSD 240GB Win8 Storage 6GB/s Sata III
Intel 320 Series SSD 600GB Storage 3GB/s Sata II
Western Digital Scorpio Black 1TB - Docked via Esata
PSU
Coolermaster GX 750W
Case
Corsair Vengence C70
Cooling
Coolermaster 120mm and Enermax 140mm
Keyboard
Corsair Vengence K70
Mouse
Logitech G500
Internet Speed
22mbps+
Browser
Firefox, Chrome, IE
Other Info
Swan M50W 2.1 speakers
APC UPS
Thermaltake BlacX HDD Dock
Samsung BD Optical Drive
Netgear WNDR4500
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.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Toshiba L505
OS
Windows 7 64x
CPU
AMD Turion II Dual-Core Mobile M520 2.30 GHz
Memory
4GB
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Radeon HD 4200
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.
 

My Computer

Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Self-Built in July 2009
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
CPU
Intel Q9550 2.83Ghz OC'd to 3.40Ghz
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3R rev. 1.1, F12 BIOS
Memory
8GB G.Skill PI DDR2-800, 4-4-4-12 timings
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA 1280MB Nvidia GeForce GTX570
Sound Card
Realtek ALC899A 8 channel onboard audio
Monitor(s) Displays
23" Acer x233H
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
Intel X25-M 80GB Gen 2 SSD
Western Digital 1TB Caviar Black, 32MB cache. WD1001FALS
PSU
Corsair 620HX modular
Case
Antec P182
Cooling
stock
Keyboard
ABS M1 Mechanical
Mouse
Logitech G9 Laser Mouse
Internet Speed
15/2 cable modem
Other Info
Windows and Linux enthusiast. Logitech G35 Headset.
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.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Dell XPS 420
OS
Windows 10, Home Clean Install
CPU
Intel Core2 processsor Q8200(2.33Ghz 1333FSB) Quad Core Tech
Motherboard
Dell
Memory
6 gb
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Radeon 256MB HD3650
Sound Card
Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell SP2009W 20"
Hard Drives
640 GB Serial ATA Hard drive
Cooling
Fan
Keyboard
Dell USB Keyboard
Mouse
Dell Premium Optical USB
Internet Speed
DSL 2.85
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.

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

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.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Acer M802
OS
Win 7 & 10 x64
CPU
Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Quad CPU Q8400 @ 2.66GHz (4 CPUs), ~2.7GH
Motherboard
MB.SCQ07.002 MB KIT G43 ICH10R HMII EUPLOT6 ECS R
Memory
8GB DDR2
Graphics Card(s)
HD 6970 2 GB
Sound Card
Realtek ALC 888s
Monitor(s) Displays
AOC
Screen Resolution
1920x1080 60hz
Hard Drives
WD Black 1 TB

WD My Book Essential 1 TB external HDD
PSU
Corsair TX650m
Case
CM 690 II Advanced mid tower
Cooling
fan
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 Win7.

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 Win7 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.
 
Now that I think about it a computer I built for my dad had excessive noise from the onboard sound. It was the fan motor bleeding into it. My samsung stand alone bluray player does the same thing when I plug headphones in. The cooling fan motor noise bleeds into the sounds. On the pc I solved it by adding a separate sound card.
 

My Computer

Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Build
OS
Windows 7 Pro 64bit build 7601 SP1
CPU
Intel Core I5 3570K 3.4Ghz w/ Zalman CNPS9900NT RT
Motherboard
MSI Z77A-G45 Gaming
Memory
G.Skill F3-12800CL9D-8GbXL ; 4Gx2
Graphics Card(s)
EVGA Geforce GTX 770 Superclocked
Sound Card
Creative Sound Blaster Z
Monitor(s) Displays
Dual ViewSonic VX2770Smh-LED Black 27"IPS-Panel
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
Kingston Hyper X 240GB SSD Win8 Pro 64bit 6GB/s Sata III
Intel 335 Series SSD 240GB Win8 Storage 6GB/s Sata III
Intel 320 Series SSD 600GB Storage 3GB/s Sata II
Western Digital Scorpio Black 1TB - Docked via Esata
PSU
Coolermaster GX 750W
Case
Corsair Vengence C70
Cooling
Coolermaster 120mm and Enermax 140mm
Keyboard
Corsair Vengence K70
Mouse
Logitech G500
Internet Speed
22mbps+
Browser
Firefox, Chrome, IE
Other Info
Swan M50W 2.1 speakers
APC UPS
Thermaltake BlacX HDD Dock
Samsung BD Optical Drive
Netgear WNDR4500
Back
Top