Reinstalling OS 10.4

I been running my system for about 3-4 years now without reinstalling (Powerbook G4). I find its been kinda slow lately and i've been wanting to reinstall it. Basically Id like to know what I should do. Do I reboot with the CD inside??? I have the original CD that came with my mac.

Thanks

Whoa, hang on! Reinstallation of the OS is, generally speaking, a last resort, and a major one at that. You can get that OS tuned up and running more quickly and smoothly with a System utility like Titanium Software.

However, if you're determined to reinstall the OS, yes, put the cd or dvd in the drive slot/tray and reboot, holding down the C key immediately after the 'bong'. You need to do and Archive & Install in order to preserve all your applications and files that are not part of the OS.

Make sure you have sufficient hard disk space, because A&I will create a Previous System folder, just in case you need it later.

As hughvane says use a utility to speed up your Mac. Running those maintenance scripts and emptying caches are important. Main Menu is another good utility and you can get it here:-

Santa Software | MainMenu

As for re-installing the software, have been using Macs since the LC and System 6 days and never had to do a re-install yet (touches wood).