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GeneralRe: DO NOT INSTALL THIS WINDOWS UPDATE: Windows 11, version 22H2 Pin
obermd30-Dec-22 8:22
obermd30-Dec-22 8:22 
GeneralRe: DO NOT INSTALL THIS WINDOWS UPDATE: Windows 11, version 22H2 Pin
Slacker00730-Dec-22 8:32
professionalSlacker00730-Dec-22 8:32 
GeneralRe: DO NOT INSTALL THIS WINDOWS UPDATE: Windows 11, version 22H2 Pin
obermd30-Dec-22 16:35
obermd30-Dec-22 16:35 
GeneralRe: DO NOT INSTALL THIS WINDOWS UPDATE: Windows 11, version 22H2 Pin
Jeremy Falcon30-Dec-22 9:03
professionalJeremy Falcon30-Dec-22 9:03 
GeneralRe: DO NOT INSTALL THIS WINDOWS UPDATE: Windows 11, version 22H2 Pin
Slacker00730-Dec-22 11:03
professionalSlacker00730-Dec-22 11:03 
GeneralRe: DO NOT INSTALL THIS WINDOWS UPDATE: Windows 11, version 22H2 Pin
Nelek30-Dec-22 12:16
protectorNelek30-Dec-22 12:16 
GeneralRe: DO NOT INSTALL THIS WINDOWS UPDATE: Windows 11, version 22H2 Pin
Jeremy Falcon30-Dec-22 12:47
professionalJeremy Falcon30-Dec-22 12:47 
GeneralRe: DO NOT INSTALL THIS WINDOWS UPDATE: Windows 11, version 22H2 Pin
trønderen30-Dec-22 12:29
trønderen30-Dec-22 12:29 
If your PC has a single hard disk, so all your user files are on the C: disk, then regular re-installation may require too much work to be worthwhile.

I got myself an M.2 system disk (when I bought the MB, M.2 was not widespread, but fortunately the MB has an M.2 socket where I could insert an M.2 last year!) which holds Windows itself, along with supplementary .sys files for paging, hibernation etc. User profiles are of course there, but I have made it a habit to never use 'My xxx' directories. Nor do I put any user data files on my desktop. I set up my Thunderbird profile to sort all incoming mail into various folders on another disk. I keep all my user files on other disks. I consider <userprofile>\Downloads a temporary location, sorting out the downloads to some final destination (on another disk) as soon as possible after downloading.

Some applications insist on storing data in my user profile. In my last job, I was responsible for a developing and maintaining an internal tool, an application installation wizard taking a list of applications to install. I actually use it event to copy all such files to a temporary directory on another disk before reinstalling Windows. After reinstallation, the job list given to the wizard for reinstalling all applications will also copy back these files saved from my user profile. I keep the Windows installer on a USB3 memory stick. All application installers, and the temporary directory for those user profile files to be preserved, are saved on an 'old' 3.5" flash disk.

So I first use the wizard to save those user profile files I have chosen to preserve. Copying the files from an M.2 to a flash disk is a fast operation.

Then comes running the Windows installer from an USB3 memory stick to an M.2, letting the installer reformat C:. On an M.2, that takes some time, not much. There are a few questions to be answered in the beginning of the operation - not that much.

Then I use the wizard to re-install all applications. A few of them cannot be run unattended; they insist on interactive input of a few things such as license codes. I've put those first in the install list, to get all of those done with as soon as possible, before I leave the PC to itself to install all the rest. The last job given to the wizard is a list of .log and .tmp files left by various installers (including the Windows installer), empty the C: recycle bin, and clean various cache files/directories.

After running the reinstallation, I might do a manual Windows Update. The image you download with the 'Media Creation Tool' is at least partially kept updated with these, so every now and then, I refresh my Windows installer memory stick, to reduce the amount of work that Windows Update has to do.

With a setup like mine, refreshing the PC every couple of months certainly is no big hassle. In one sweep, it cleans out a lot of garbage, from temporary files to garbage registry entries to utilities I have installed just to check them out (so they are not in the wizard's install list) to unwanted cookies to whathaveyou. If some malware has come into my machine, it is likely to be wiped out. I think it is a great way of keeping my PC reasonably clean most of the time.

I have had a setup like this since the days when everything was run on magnetic disks. Then it took a lot longer. Of course it has been refined over the years. In the early years, I had not yet discovered the locations of all the setting files of the various applications, so it happened that I had to re-specify my preferences after a cleanup. Nowadays, I believe that I catch it all. I do look over C: before I start reinstallation to see if I have left some files there that should be preserved, but I rarely find anything.

If your configuration resembles mine, with M.2 system disk, installers on USB3 / flash disk, you have a decent application install wizard, and keep all your user data files on other disks, then I would certainly recommend every now and then doing a cleanup like I do. If your PC has a single, magnetic C: disk, you have no USB3 stick for Windows, and you do not have a good application install wizard, then I am not so sure.

(To answer before you ask: Sorry, that wizard I am using is the property of my last employer. It is not available outside the company, so I can not provide it to you.)

Note: My PC is too old to run W11, so I am on W10. I see no reason why my setup could not be ported to W11.
GeneralRe: DO NOT INSTALL THIS WINDOWS UPDATE: Windows 11, version 22H2 Pin
Nelek31-Dec-22 7:02
protectorNelek31-Dec-22 7:02 
GeneralRe: DO NOT INSTALL THIS WINDOWS UPDATE: Windows 11, version 22H2 Pin
Jeremy Falcon30-Dec-22 12:46
professionalJeremy Falcon30-Dec-22 12:46 
GeneralRe: DO NOT INSTALL THIS WINDOWS UPDATE: Windows 11, version 22H2 Pin
obermd30-Dec-22 16:36
obermd30-Dec-22 16:36 
GeneralRe: DO NOT INSTALL THIS WINDOWS UPDATE: Windows 11, version 22H2 Pin
Jeremy Falcon4-Jan-23 10:15
professionalJeremy Falcon4-Jan-23 10:15 
GeneralRe: DO NOT INSTALL THIS WINDOWS UPDATE: Windows 11, version 22H2 Pin
charlieg31-Dec-22 12:16
charlieg31-Dec-22 12:16 
GeneralSound of the Week Pin
Sander Rossel30-Dec-22 1:03
professionalSander Rossel30-Dec-22 1:03 
GeneralRe: Sound of the Week Pin
peterkmx30-Dec-22 1:53
professionalpeterkmx30-Dec-22 1:53 
GeneralRe: Sound of the Week Pin
David O'Neil30-Dec-22 17:23
professionalDavid O'Neil30-Dec-22 17:23 
GeneralBritish man killed by shark… PinPopular
DRHuff29-Dec-22 18:22
DRHuff29-Dec-22 18:22 
GeneralRe: British man killed by shark… Pin
jmaida29-Dec-22 18:38
jmaida29-Dec-22 18:38 
GeneralRe: British man killed by shark… Pin
Graeme_Grant29-Dec-22 19:10
mvaGraeme_Grant29-Dec-22 19:10 
GeneralRe: British man killed by shark… Pin
yacCarsten29-Dec-22 20:29
yacCarsten29-Dec-22 20:29 
GeneralRe: British man killed by shark… Pin
jmaida30-Dec-22 15:10
jmaida30-Dec-22 15:10 
GeneralRe: British man killed by shark… Pin
OriginalGriff29-Dec-22 19:39
mveOriginalGriff29-Dec-22 19:39 
GeneralRe: British man killed by shark… Pin
trønderen30-Dec-22 3:48
trønderen30-Dec-22 3:48 
GeneralRe: British man killed by shark… Pin
Jacquers30-Dec-22 5:15
Jacquers30-Dec-22 5:15 
GeneralRe: British man killed by shark… Pin
Single Step Debugger30-Dec-22 5:38
Single Step Debugger30-Dec-22 5:38 

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