OSX doesn't self-destruct like over time Windows, I'd hope?

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OSX doesn't self-destruct over time like Windows, I'd hope?

As every Windows user knows, the OS will self-destruct over time, no matter how careful one is in maintaining it. Uninstalling software, getting a different printer, updating your CD burning software etc, and eventually, Windows will become a slow, crawling mess; even if you tried to take of it by not installing suspicious crap, defragmenting the harddrive and I guess installing antivirus and anti-spyware software and what not, which often actually contribute to the problems rather than preventing them.

So, can I expect to re-install OSX every 6 to 12 months just to keep it zippy and usable or is that less of a concern on the Mac platform?
 
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I don't have the problem with OS X or XP. It all really depends on the user.
 
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mynameis said:
I don't have the problem with OS X or XP. It all really depends on the user.

Right, that's what I thought, too. Sooo proud.
Depending on the user, XP might take longer to become a bloated mass, 18 months vs 4 weeks, but it will get there.
 
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If you have those problems with Windows, then I wouldn't be surprised if you have them with OS X. While it might not be as common for people to just re-install to get rid of a problem they caused with OS X, it does happen from time to time.
 
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May I refer you to this thread http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31965 as an example?

I've been using Windows since you had to install 3.1 on top of DOS5.0, I seriously know what I'm doing (so much that I just turned down a job offer doing tech support for IBM), and it will STILL crap out on you eventually. And that's what I'm asking: will OSX do the same, or not?
 
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Kar98 said:
May I refer you to this thread http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=31965 as an example?

One person had a problem with Windows so that means everybody has to have the exact same problem?

Do a search of this forum and you can find a lot of problems people have had with OS X, it doesn't mean they are all the norm.

If you can't seem to get Window to work for you, then don't use it.
 
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mynameis said:
One person had a problem with Windows.

I don't care who you are, that's pretty funny right there :p
 
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As every Windows user knows, the OS will self-destruct over time, no matter how careful one is in maintaining it.
Little story, my daughters boyfriend bought a new alienware laptop fully loaded. A couple of months ago he came over and was showing me how fast and how nice it was. I must admit it was real fast and killed my 1.50 GHz PB. He brought it over last weekend, guess what?? My PB was as fast and still didn't hesitate doing anything I asked it to do. Between all the spyware programs , ZA firewall and the rest of the crap, my PB was as fast.. Doing a speed test he was faster with more under the hood, but from going site to site or opening up programs the PB held it's own and at some things even faster. I do think a PC over time slows down for whatever reason. Also this person is computer smart and builds all of his desktops..
 
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*whisper* I think he mean't 1 billion people *whisper*
 
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Kokopelli

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Deferring on the question of whether you need to reinstall windows periodically..


With OS X you do not need to reinstall periodically to keep up speed. You might consider trolling through your library folder to clean out old stuff, but the remnants there do not adersely effect speed.
 
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I did have the same problem with windows, formatted and reinstalled every few months just to keep it clean and fast.

But I've had Tiger installed on my G5 since the day it came out, and its still as fast as ever! :D
 
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Are you saying that if you install Windows on a system, then let it sit for 4 years with no user interaction, then it'll no longer function after 4 years?
 
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mynameis said:
Are you saying that if you install Windows on a system, then let it sit for 4 years with no user interaction, then it'll no longer function after 4 years?

No, that wasn't what I'm saying, but come to think of it, it wouldn't surprise me one bit either, as long as the system is connected to the net and downloads all OS and software updates automatically.

But what I did in fact say was that:

Uninstalling software, getting a different printer, updating your CD burning software etc, and eventually, Windows will become a slow, crawling mess; even if you tried to take of it by not installing suspicious crap, defragmenting the harddrive and I guess installing antivirus and anti-spyware software and what not,

...so don't try to get cute with me.
 
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Kar98 said:

So then it depends on what the user did. For your situation, the things you did lead to the problems that you had. I am not saying you didn't have any problems, but you can't assume the everybody had the exact same problems because not everybody does the exact same things you do with their system.
 
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lil

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I think it probably is fair to say Windows based machines tend to to go to pot over time more than Mac OS X does. Mac OS X in my experience has always been a fair bit less intensive on the maintenance and pruning that I have always found somewhat necessary on Windows machines. And I have dealt with many many Windows systems and Macs in my time.

This not to say that there aren't Windows installs that are functioning fine years after they were intially installed.
 
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The Windows slowdown does not happen to everyone, maybe not even most. The slowdown of Windows for "power" users does happen often enough that it is almost a meme on some boards though. To deny that this occurs to a large audience in the Windows world seems odd. I image my drives and go back periodically as needed. I am not an expert in Windows systems but I am also a far cry from an amateur. Windows has its purposes and advantages, but it is not without its flaws. Slowdown due to cruft is a fairly well acknowledged phenomena on Windows.

This phenomena does not appear to happen on the Mac, nor on *nix in general, Why this is I do not know, hazarding a guess I would say a better file system and the absense of the dreaded registry. Macs have their disadvantages as well, particularly in the gaming arena.
 
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kal151

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Kar98 said:
As every Windows user knows, the OS will self-destruct over time, no matter how careful one is in maintaining it. Uninstalling software, getting a different printer, updating your CD burning software etc, and eventually, Windows will become a slow, crawling mess; even if you tried to take of it by not installing suspicious crap, defragmenting the harddrive and I guess installing antivirus and anti-spyware software and what not, which often actually contribute to the problems rather than preventing them.

So, can I expect to re-install OSX every 6 to 12 months just to keep it zippy and usable or is that less of a concern on the Mac platform?

As you probably already know installing software on a windoze machine is like a free for all with the system. System files get modified/broken in the process. Things are added to the registry that in most cases never get removed. So as time goes by it gets more and more bloated. If you use IE and Outlook then you have the semi-hidden log files that grow and grow. Bad system management by windoze.

OS X doesn't allow the base system to be cluttered up the way windoze does. When you uninstall a program it is usually 100% gone and has left no damage to the system. Search for the program in finder, drag it to the trash. About once a week I always empty the trash and repair file permissions. My iBook runs the same as it did when I bought it 1.5 years ago.

On a side note, I had a laugh yesterday when I was looking around the system log and noticed that the last time I powered the iBook down was back in January. LOL! I have to reboot my windoze machine at least once a week.
 
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Berman

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i have installed/uninstalled so much crap on my imac and it runs the way it did the day i bought it. os x doesn't crap up like windows does.
 
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Thanks all. The little cookie tin has finally arrived and so for so good :)
 
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caveatipss

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Kar98 said:
As every Windows user knows, the OS will self-destruct over time, no matter how careful one is in maintaining it. Uninstalling software, getting a different printer, updating your CD burning software etc, and eventually, Windows will become a slow, crawling mess; even if you tried to take of it by not installing suspicious crap, defragmenting the harddrive and I guess installing antivirus and anti-spyware software and what not, which often actually contribute to the problems rather than preventing them.

So, can I expect to re-install OSX every 6 to 12 months just to keep it zippy and usable or is that less of a concern on the Mac platform?

How frustrating that people will not just answer your question lol. Windows slows down because of registry entires and the dynamic link library. Every app on Windows uses the registry and .dll, and those marks just sit there. Over time, you have a very bloated OS that DOES slow down. This is a known fact. OS X does not store apps or files in the same manner, so NO, it will not have that particular problem. There.
 

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