When we buy a new computer, or install Windows 10 from scratch on our hard drive, the computer works perfectly: fast, without errors, without problems … Unfortunately, over time, the PC no longer works as well as before , and we began to notice some details that annoy. And the more time passes, the worse the computer starts to work until a moment comes when it is clear: we need to format the PC .
How often do you have to format the PC? This is one of the most frequently asked questions on the Internet. And the truth is that he only has one possible answer: when necessary. There is no rule that says that the computer has to be formatted every 6 months, once a year or every two years … Modern versions of Windows, especially Windows 10, do not even require formatting, since they offer us tools to correct problems, and a restoration function, which will make us forget about this classic process.
However. What tells me that the computer needs to be formatted? Let’s see some of the clearer clues.
PC takes a long time to start
Surely as time has passed we have been able to see how Windows takes longer to start up . This can be due to many factors: many installed programs, a fragmented hard disk or an error that causes the boot to hang for a while until you can continue with the boot process.
Therefore, if our PC takes a long time to start, and by much we mean “minutes”, then it is time to start a clean slate. A newly installed Windows on a hard drive should boot in well under a minute, and one on an SSD in a few seconds.
Very frequent blue screens: clear track to format
With the passage of time, and more as we use it, Windows is saving files and settings, and replacing system files with other versions. And this, in the long run, ends up taking its toll. As time goes by we come across more errors . Some of them appear when you open a certain program, or simply out of nowhere, in the form of a window. But others are critical errors in Windows, in the Kernel or the drivers, that indicate that something serious is happening.
If the number of blue screens is triggered and repeats all the time, then there is no other choice: format. And if the blue screen appears during Windows startup, things couldn’t be clearer.
Internet, and Windows, are very slow
Similar to what happens when the PC starts up, the more time passes the computer begins to slow down . We noticed this because programs take longer to open, and seem to be “heavier” than usual. There are more and more things loaded into RAM, and processes that consume CPU, and all that ends up taking its toll.
This is also very noticeable on the Internet . With the passage of time, the processes and services loaded in RAM gradually consume bandwidth, to the point that our Internet begins to slow down. And even the two concepts may be mixed and that as the computer is slow, the Internet is also slow.