How often have you formatted reinstalled an OS?

[MrsWargamer]

Was reading a thread at Matrix Games. This person has 27 games from Matrix Games, and none of them seem to work long without crashing, and yet, he can do anything else on the same computer.

I am stumped.

But, I do know this much. If my computer was giving me the finger on playing all my best wargames, I'd be out there doing some hard core process of elimination.

I'd load them all on another machine, and prove my install files were ok.

I'd uninstall the whole lot and reinstall the whole lot and see if it mattered.

I hear of people that simply won't do this. They complain with comments 'but then I would lose my saved games' or words of a sort. Hey as it stands, you already have. If they won't run.

If I had to, I'd ditch the OS, reinstall it, and then check things out. Hey if you can't format and reinstall your OS, I'd suggest you learn eh. It's like basic car maintenance, not knowing how is not an option.

I simply don't have troubles, because I long ago learned how valuable a clean slate truly is with a computer. XP 7 8 they are all about the same eventually, like a garage that needs to be cleaned out. Learn to clean out your garage eh.

[VPaulus]

I can stay several years without reinstalling the OS. But maybe I'm not the best example, as I'm use to troubleshooter Microsoft OS since DOS 3.1.. and it has been my profession in the last 23/25 years, besides assembling PC and provide the usual hardware/software support.
But I know some people that in every six months, bingo... a clean install.
It's not a drama, and it's quite easy if we don't have many little applications to install. The worst part is when we discover that we forgot to backup something important... like the wife photographs....
The best part is that it really fixes every software conflicts you might had.

[shunwick]

I think the real problem is that he is in no way computer savvy. Not everyone is - especially the older gamers. I am lucky, I have been playing around with computers all my working life and they don't hold any terrors for me.

I used to do a small class at my local library to help people use their computers and I was surprised by how basic I had to get. One chap, was using his computer and Word to write a book on his experiences in the RAF during WW II. He was about half way though writing the book and I had to show him how to save his files in Word. Seriously, he wasn't even using the save function - he was using Open File and Word was actually saving the file albeit without a file extension. He had a small box full of flash drives and had a single file on each. He did not realize that he could save more than one file on each flash drive. He did not know how much data he could store on a flash drive or how to find out.

Most just wanted to know how to send emails to family.

There are many people like that. I had eleven in my class. And that was in a small village of around 2,500. Just telling people like this that they need to reformat their hard disk and reinstall the OS or update device drivers or disable UAC is worse than gibberish.

Best wishes,
Steve

[MrsWargamer]

Computer maintenance, it is like car maintenance.

Learn it or avoid the usage there of.

I still marvel at how we can actually get people to pay 10 bucks for Slitherine group to mail them a copy of the game they bought. What's the point? It's not special. It's a worthless disk, and a worthless case and an abbreviated manual not worth the effort to include. But people insist on having them mailed.

The best way to protect your game investment, is a handful of 2-4 gig flash drives. Copy the installer file to a few, and put them in a several boxes around the house. Unless your home burns to the ground, you are safe. I currently have a folder called Wargames. I have it stored on the laptop and on an external drive and on the desktop. I update it when I buy a new game or a patch file is released.

Anyone that can't master that, well I hope you take better care of your car eh.

Granted, the comical thing is, I have never driven a car, and at 51, I know nothing about them

[VPaulus]

There are many people like that. I had eleven in my class. And that was in a small village of around 2,500. Just telling people like this that they need to reformat their hard disk and reinstall the OS or update device drivers or disable UAC is worse than gibberish.

I too am used to teach and help the elderly, and I quite agree that is a challenge. Some don't even have a notion how to operate with a mouse. But I'm positively impressed with my experience at the helpdesk. Most people seem to follow well our instructions.

I still marvel at how we can actually get people to pay 10 bucks for Slitherine group to mail them a copy of the game they bought. What's the point? It's not special. It's a worthless disk, and a worthless case and an abbreviated manual not worth the effort to include. But people insist on having them mailed.

The ones that I praise most, still like to have a physical edition. I like to watch to their covers and their manuals. It's like books, some I still like to have them in paper, although I recognize once you get used to an e-reader like Kindle, it's though to get back to the heavy tomes... I only miss the smell of printed paper.

[MrsWargamer]

It's not an ideal analogy though.

I like being able to carry every book I ever owned on a single easy to carry device, but, I prefer to actually read a real book. I tool like the feel the smell.

Games though, digital games, not board games, do not require the same environment. The current debacle MS is facing over DRM, is really a non issue in some ways. I will NOT be allowing one in my home because of the intrusive nature of the hardware. Frankly the DRM is not the deal killer, the idea I have to pay 500 bucks so I can be spied on is.

I watch all my media via Netflix now. I no longer have any need of owning the media on a disk. I have a large library of movies, all of them currently stored in binders or a rather massive volume high number capacity suitcase looking 1000 disk storage solution. And I never really look at them any more. I turn on Netflix, find something to watch and go with it. And it is just too easy.

Now, if you could just turn on a game console, log on to a service, play ANY game that was there, well, owning a disc copy would mean nothing at all. Used games would go the same route movie rentals went here in town. There is no video rental here any more. None, none at all. Blockbuster was no longer needed.
Yes, some people have no broadband. Lets examine why they have no broadband. Poor, ok, if you are poor, is it not a fair response, shouldn't you be more worried about paying your bills and less time crying about not being able to play a game? Location. Hey, MS is not telling you where to live eh. It's not the fault of MS you live in the middle of nowhere. If I were able to 'go to the cottage' I think playing my games will dwindle in importance. I'd be going fishing, for real, not playing an online fishing game. I think some of the complaints are often people complaining for the sake of doing it.
I AM poor, but, the fridge is full, the rent is paid. I don't own a car, no where to go though and I can't afford a car. A car would suck the life out of my wallet. And there would be no broadband in my life, in fact, I would not be able to buy the games either. I go without a car, and I have broadband. It's called prioritizing.

I personally would like to be able to pay 5 bucks a month, to a service called Slitherine games, and play ANY game you have, and if I played Panzer Corps all the time, and nothing else, well the person that made the game, would sure know which games I liked the most. If I played all of them little bits all of the time, well I was still a steady revenue stream all the same. Maybe it would need to be 10 bucks a month to be financially viable to do this. I spend 8 on Netflix, and would not leave them if they upped it 5 bucks. But I regularly hear people scream and yell the second it is suggested they might need to do so. I don't get it. I have LOOOOOVED not paying 65 bucks a month to cable. I considered it a great day when I convinced the wife she could have the 65 bucks a month to spend elsewhere, if she gave up her obsession with The Young and the Restless and Cops.

I think people that follow the notion of a game is somehow better, if they bought the official copy, are a bit dim between the ears.
I have no real interest in people crying over requiring broadband. Hey if you can't get decent service, maybe you need a better provider. I am not with Bell Canada, because they suck. My service is a small operation, and yet they out do the major corporations all the same. It can be done.

I like that all of my Slitherine group games are sold as no strings attached installers, but, in truth, that is mainly as the alternative, is annoying requirements to install otherwise. I must say, I would rather not need to install the game at all, ever, and merely need to turn on the machine, log on, and play the game.

That may well be the future of gaming, and it might not be here in a year or 2 years, but, it happened to video rentals, so it is not possible to say it just can't happen. There COULD be a day when a used game is a thing of the past and game retail is not done from a game store. Hey, if I want to buy copies of movies, I have to sit online and buy them from Amazon, as stores selling them are almost gone too.

It would sure impact nicely, not needing to fret over patches to games, to permit them to install on our many convoluted arrangements of hardware and OS environments, if they were not required to be installed in the first place eh. I can't think of a game developer losing out, if they were not required to securely sell physical copies of the game installer, if the game was just a service fee based arrangement.

Now if Slitherine Group were to do what MS has done, and made it so all your new games needed to be run on a defacto surveillance machine able to spy on my life all day long, you can be assured, you would not be enjoying getting any money from me It would not matter how great the games were

[Wodin]

I reformat roughly once every 18months...

[Emmeric]

I was reinstalling Windows XP64 every 2-3 months. No manner of stability updates would help. But what I figured was that occasional disk-checks were showing 4kb of bad sectors - on solid state drives. Now, I had a good amount of saved games and such on that drive and was loath to do a total format. I would simply reinstall Windows over the old.

I suppose Windows just installed to the same areas.

After a total format, losing alot in the process (I do have a storage drive though), I have not had a single total blowout since. Stable as all heck. Been 6 months and no bad sectors show on disk-checks.