One type of installation that you can perform is referred to as a clean install. When you perform a clean install you are basically starting over right from scratch. All data and programs are erased and your hard disk is formatted.

The advantages to performing a clean install are that it cleans up your computer by getting rid of all the old files and programs that you no longer use and gets rid of problems you may have been experiencing under the old setup. In other words, your computer is returned to pristine condition as if it had never run an OS before. Generally, performing a clean install results in a more reliable computer.

Aside from the amount of time that it takes, one of the downsides to this installation type is that you have to reinstall applications and restore any data that you backed up.

Tags: windows, xp, diana huggins, restore, reinstall, clean install