Windows Help & Advice - USA (2019-11)

(Antfer) #1

Windows 10


OS refresh


November 2019 | |^11


WINDOWS


REFRESH


o, youuseWindows.
You’rein a slowly
shrinkingbutstill
three-quarters
majority,soit’snota
surprise:Windows
usersareubiquitous.Almostas
ubiquitousaspeoplecomplaining
about Windows, because macOS
and Linux users do that, too.
Whatever your gripes, the
thought of reinstalling Windows has
likely crossed your mind at some
point. Perhaps you’ve even gone
ahead without thinking of the
consequences. You might even have
been left with a half-functioning
machine that’s missing many of your
FULWLFDOÀOHVDQGSURJUDPV/HW·VEH
clear at the start of this feature (one
that’s ostensibly about reinstalling
Windows): Reinstalling Windows is
generally a really bad idea.
Hear us out. Windows 10 is a
much cleaner and more stable OS
than its predecessors. There’s no
good reason to reinstall it unless
you’ve managed to mess with its
V\VWHPÀOHVWRWKHSRLQWRIREOLYLRQ

oryou’vefallenvictimtosome
seriousmalwarethatcan’tbe
expungedin anyotherway.If you’re
in thelatterbracket,it’sprobably
WRR ODWH IRU \RXU ÀOHV– unlessyou’ve
takenthecorrectprecautions.With
a properprocessbuiltintoyour
everydaycomputeruse,reinstalling
is trivial and safe. Mostly pointless,
but clean enough.
So, you could reinstall Windows,
and we’ll talk about it in detail, but
we’ll also show you other options.
Before you throw everything away
and start over, perhaps you’ll want
to clean everything up manually, or
use Windows’ own refresh tools, to
leave your current installation in a
better state. Maybe you’d like to try
an innovative (and slightly silly)
dual-boot, putting a clean Win 10
alongside your dirty one. You could
be moving machines, and want to
turn a fresh install on your new
hardware into something akin to
your current PC. It all sounds easy,
but following the proper procedure
is essential if you want to keep
everything precious.

S


Ready to reinstall Windows? Are you


really? Let’s look at your options...


By Alex Cox and Nick Peers

Free download pdf