Clean install is better?

Is clean install through flashing better than updating the os from OTA?
I remember in windows 7.5 the clean install that erases all rubish from phone was giving the phone a better speed and performance.
Does this happen to the wp8 os?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

I clean install is always better for the device. However as mentioned in the previous post, you do lose all your data, settings and apps. Unfortunately, along with all your data, settings and apps, you also get all the unecessary rubbish and garbage, that over time will eventually use up all your memory, slow your phone down or cause all sorts of problems.
Remember how fast and well your phone used to work when you first got it? Its your baggage in it that has slowed it down. Do a clean install and there is no reason it should not be as good as new.
Personally, I always do a hard reset before and after every update. Not a full clean install but near enough.

Similar Messages

Do i need to clean install mavericks

macbook pro 10.8.5 want mavericks do i need to clean instal it.

Better asked on MacBook Pro forum, no you don't but yes there is some wisdom in making bootable backup or restore image if you do.
A clean install is easy to do and Setup Assistant will take the system image or clone as source for your old prefs and apps and add them back.
Make sure everything you use is current and supported, some are not. Less an issue with a notebook than a Mac tower.
How to make your own bootable OS X 10.9 Mavericks USB install drive
http://arstechnica.com/apple/2013/10/how-to-make-your-own-bootable-os-x-10-9-mav ericks-usb-install-drive/
Apple has changed things in 10.9, but making a recovery drive is still possible.
by Andrew Cunningham - Oct 23 2013, 8:19am CDT
OS X
Flickr user Prime Number
When Apple released OS X 10.7 two years ago, it stopped selling operating system DVDs in its stores, stopped shipping recovery disks with new Macs, and switched to downloadable installers for OS X upgrades. These download-only installers have actually worked pretty well—I’ve never had an issue downloading the software from the Mac App Store or restoring a Mac using the Internet Recovery feature when something went south. That said, it’s still nice to have an install disk handy for those cases when you don’t have a connection, when your connection is slow, or when you just have a whole bunch of Macs and don’t want to have to download the installer on each and every one of them.
The good news is, as with Lion and Mountain Lion, it’s possible to create a local USB installer for Mavericks. The bad news is that it wasn’t as simple as it was before—Apple has changed the way the installer works, and making an install disk manually is more difficult than it used to be. Before we get started, here’s what you’ll need:
An 8GB or larger USB flash drive, or an 8GB or larger partition on some other kind of external drive
The OS X 10.9 Mavericks installer from the Mac App Store in your Applications folder. The installer will delete itself when you install the operating system, but it can be re-downloaded if necessary.
The latest beta of the Lion Diskmaker app, available here (as of this writing, version 3 beta 3 is the most recent). This app is free to download, but the creator accepts donations if you want to support his efforts.
How to clone your system:
http://macperformanceguide.com/Mac-HowToClone-backup.html
http://macperformanceguide.com/Mac-HowToClone.html
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/7032/carbon-copy-cloner
You can also use Disk Utility Restore to image or clone the system to another disk volume.
MacBook Series Forums
https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks?view=discussions
Mac OS X Forum
https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os?view=discussions

Is a clean install with target mode better than upgrade?

Hi, is it better to do a clean install of Leopard and then transfer my files through an external fw drive or do just doing a plain upgrade? I ask because I know how much smoother and snappier a system is with a clean install but I do need to transfer all my files somehow. Thanks
Message was edited by: bustardvan

bustardvan wrote:
Hi, is it better to do a clean install of Leopard and then transfer my files through an external fw drive or do just doing a plain upgrade? I ask because I know how much smoother and snappier a system is with a clean install but I do need to transfer all my files somehow. Thanks
I haven't gone to Leopard yet (my copy is allegedly due here sometime today or tomorrow) but I did an upgrade install on my home Macs for every new version of the OS since, well, forever. In the past there have been times when there was a problem, but few of them, and all cured by an archive install. I have never done an erase install.
YMMV.

[solved] ¿is better update or clean install GNOME 3?

For users GNOME 2 that wants change to GNOME 3, ¿is better a clean install or update?
In the Arch Wiki doesn't describe any difference about this, however, I want be sure.
Thanks!
Last edited by davirrirri (2011-05-07 23:59:56)

Re-installing is pain.. Especially if you have spent week/months tweaking your system too make it perfect just the way you want it.. You can probably back up the home directory and get back some of your configuration.. But re-installing all the applications you need again will be a pain..
Especially with Arch Linux and it's KISS principles, you HAVE to re-install every single application after you re-install the system.. It's not like Ubuntu or Fedora where you get some stock applications ready to use.. Don't do it..
As siriusb pointed out above, re-installing is the microsoft way.. With Arch (or in general with Linux), you can fix just about any situation with a little effort (sometimes even no effort).. Have a little patience, try figuring out what went wrong.. Post your questions in forums..
It is a LOT easier to fix your system (with help from people in the community/forums) than to re-install..
You would probably benefit from reading this: http://linux.oneandoneis2.org/LNW.htm

Better to clean install Mountain Lion?

I have been running OS X 10.5.8 for quite some time now. Lately, I have not been able to save files from Pages or MS word (both programmes freeze) and this soon progressed in not being able to open Pages at all. I have tried everything that I could find on this and other forums (reinstalling iWork; Verifying / Maintenance using Disk Utility and Onyx; Removing .plist files; Checking fonts and emtpying cache). The only thing that seems to work is disconnecting from the internet. Maybe my companies firewall has something to do with this (though my colleagues with newer operating systems are fine). Problems started when I installed the latest version of Adobe Reader (I suspect; removing it did not work).
It seems that I should upgrade my outdated operating system. However, since the easy way to get Mountain Lion is an update I am somewhat afraid that my problems will persist and I am wondering whether I should try a clean install.
Any advice?
(Other ways to solve my freezing problem are also most welcome)

First, check OS X Mountain Lion requirements to be sure you hardware meets the minimum.
My personal opinion is a clean install (fresh install of OS, reinstall apps, restore data) is a good thing to do with a new OS. Others here will disagree and that's fine. I personally feel a clean OS install and reinstall of apps may fix issues that have lingered for awhile. It's also a good opportunity to review apps and only install those you need or use frequently.
Ultimately, it's your choice.

Can my macbook pro mid 2007 3.1 AA896ll/a handle a SSD and how do I make the switch. Can I do a clean install of Snow Leopard from an original cd

Here is my problem, I want to upgrade my macbook pro mid 2007 3.1 AA896ll/a to an Solid State Drive, a Crucial m4 256 gb, I want to know if the macbook will be able to handle it and how do I do the switch. also once I install the drive will I be able to boot from my Snow Leoard original cd and do a clean install. Thank you

Coming from a 5,400 RPM drive that's nearly filled up, fragmented and deoptimized to a fresh install of OS X on a SSD will of course be a improvement.
However fresh installing OS X on a new 5,400 RPM will also see a improvement, boot up in 30 seconds.
A fresh install of OS X on a new 7,200 RPM drive will also see a improvement, boot up in 25 seconds.
A fresh install of OS X on a new SSD will see the best improvement, boot up in 20 seconds on fast SATA connections.
OS X still requires time to setup and that takes about 20 seconds despite how fast your boot drive is, that's why sleep was created.
Things to consider: The higher cost of a SSD, the limiting capacity (hard drives hold way more up), the SATA I speed limitations (slows up on large file transfers), the difficulty to scrub the SSD of unwanted data (like you can a hard drive), and it's limited write capability. Also the smaller SSD's are faster than the larger ones.
SSD's are shock proof, which is their slight advantage over hard drives.
I see a 120GB SSD in a SATA I machine as being a waste, it's too small of a storage space (500GB+ is ideal), the SATA I connection is slow and other factors that make a 7,200 RPM drive a better option in that machine.
One can get a 750 GB 7,200 RPM hard drive for about the same price and still maximize their boot time in the process, also being able to scrub their drive of unwanted data easily.
SSD's can't be scrubbed, one has to fill 50% of the remaining space with many, very small files to overwrite the free space, then do another 50% again to defeat the Trim/wear leveling as SSD's write to less used location each time. If one fills a OS X boot drive up completely, it won't function or won't boot up.
If you do this fill routine regularly with software, then you prematurely wear out the SSD as it has limited writes. Why Disk Utility doesn't offer zero or 7x erase for SSD's.
If your in the 10% of Internet traffic that's going to adult sites, then the ability to scrub the caches and storage drive of embarrassing unwanted data is a necessity. Especially in the light of software and hardware that can read the SSD of deleted data.
Trick links and redirects on poisoned sites can firebomb your Mac with some pretty bad pictures and your hidden caches as well, especially if you don't like to pay.
IT personal have at their disposal free open source forensic software that basically aggregates all the past behavior done on the machine into a nice, easy to view format with times, dates and when and where content was downloaded from.
Since one has to give up their password for repair folks to recover data and fix the machine...
I think a SSD is less of a benefit over a 7,200 hard drive for that particular model of Mac for a mere few seconds faster boot time.

Hard Drive Erase, Clean Install and Time Machine

I am currently running OS X 10.10.3 and I want to do a clean install. All my content is backed up with Time Machine via external drive.
First, how do I erase my hard drive and install a fresh version of OS X 10.10.3?
Second, is it better to use a USB drive for the clean install or just you the Recovery Mode?
Last, once i finally have a clean installation of OS X 10.10.3, am i able to access my external drive via time machine to bring back some of my old files...i have read that the folder in the external drive is not accessible and not accessible through time machine.
I appreciate the response and guidance!

Hello Jacob,
All of these are good questions to have when erasing and installing OS X Yosemite. To answer your first question you would need to boot to either your Recovery HD or through the Recovery USB and follow the steps in the first article below. Either option will get the task accomplished and will install OS X Yosemite. For your final question about restoring from a Time Machine back up, you will see the option to restore when going through the setup process of your Mac. Let me know if the information below is of help or need further assistance.
OS X Yosemite: Erase and reinstall OS X
https://support.apple.com/kb/PH18869
OS X: About Recovery Disk Assistant
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202294
OS X Yosemite: Recover your entire system
https://support.apple.com/kb/PH18848
Take it easy,
-Norm G.

Clean Install of Mavericks on new SSD - Final Question

I am looking for some help installing a new SSD into my mid-2010 Macbook Pro. I have the 15 inch with i5 and 4GB of RAM. last week I upgraded to 8GB of RAM, purchased from Crucial, and am about to install a MX100 512GB SSD also purchased from Crucial. I have read about the issues with third party drives in Yosemite and because of this I will keep Mavericks until I learn more.
My goal has been to get the new SSD into the computer and treat it like a brand new computer completely clean. This I learned was considered a "Clean InstalI". I am not very good with computers and sometimes the discussions I've read on the internet can generalize things and not define each step like a complete novice like me would need. So I have done a lot of research and below have a step by step guide on how I intend to do a clean install of the operating system onto my new SSD. I am looking for validation that this is correct or any steps I need to adjust.
I had asked a question about 2 months ago that lead me into the direction of doing the clean install. Drew helped out quite a bit and got me started on researching what I need to do for this clean install. There were some comments I had a question with. His notes are in italics and my questions are in bold.
During install use Setup Assistant (it's basically the same as Migration Assistant).
Connect the old HD (Can I connect to my external HD that backed up my old HD via Time Machine?) & choose the option to migrate the User account (leave the applications & other data disabled). (what happens if I opt to not do this step, not migrating User account information, what would be the Pros / Cons... another basic question I guess would be what exactly is in these User Accounts... anything that if I did not migrate over would give me issues?)
When completed you will have the same user on the new disk.
The Applications are left on the old disk, it's better to reinstall them in my opinion.
now on to by guide I compiled...
My Step by Step guide that if confirmed on here I will move forward with! Very excited and hope I got this correct.
Create bootable MAC OS X Mavericks USB Flash Drive
App Store - Download OS X Mavericks from PurchasesDone
Now found in the Applications folder (leave right there)
Plug in USB Flash drive (minimum 8gb)
Go to UtilitiesLaunch Disc Utility
Find USB Flash Drive on left hand side
Format this drive
Click on Erase (tab towards top)
Format: Mac OS Etended (Journaled)
Name: “installMavericks”
Click Erase button at bottom
Launch Terminal
Copy and paste text below. replace the red “Untitled” with the name of the USB drive (installMavericks) - case sensitive and keep the space after installMavericks
click enter - put in password
will take approx 20-30 minutes
If message says Done I now have a USB drive with Mac OS X Mavericks right on itwhat happens if there is an issue?
Text to put in terminal
sudo /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/Untitled --applicationpath /Applications/Install\ OS\ X\ Mavericks.app --nointeraction
Upgrade HD to SSD
I have backed up my current HD on an external 1TB drive via Time MachineI plan to do a Fresh/Clean install of the Mac OS Mavericks. I will individually bring over songs, pictures, movies, documents etc from the external HD that has the last x amount of my Time Machine Backups of current/soon to be old HD
Open Macbook Case
loosen two screws, pull the entire strip out. The screws do not come out, only loosen
Pull hard drive out with the clear strip of (paper?)
careful, still connected to SATA cable
once removed - use TORX screw driver to remove the 4 screws on the Hard drive and transfer them into the same spot on the SSD
connect SSD to the SATA connector
put the SSD back into its bay by lining up the 4 screws to the locations within the bay
add back the strip that had the two screws from earlier. tighten screws
put case back on.
Plug in USB into computer and turn on computer
Will boot to the Mac OS Utilities
go to “Disc Utility”Find SSD on the left
go to Erase Tab to repartition
Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Name: example “new SSD”
click erase at the bottom
Exit out of Disc Utility
go to “Reinstall OS X”Click continue
go through the screens and menus… (not sure what happens here) assuming this is loading the OS Mavericks from the USB to new SSD
after this step is the installation complete?
what will be on the new SSD?
iTunes, iPhoto, iMovie, Garage Band, QuickTime player etcwill these need to be re-downloaded from the App store etc
Logic Pro X, Toontracks, Fluenz etc.these I need to re-download from the sites using serial keys etc. (I have decided to just buy the new Logic Pro X so that I can do the clean install and leave my old Logic Express behind where I have lost the disc that came with it)
From here I can connect my external 1TB drive that had my previous HD backed up on it and pick and choose what songs, movies, pictures, documents etc that I want to drag onto my new SSD
DONE !! ??
Sorry for the long post. Wouldn't make sense not to reach out to this awesome community though. Thanks again for all the help. I realize I am responding to an old post so I may end up re-posting this as a new topic.
Daniel

DRH85 wrote:
...However the simplicity of using Time Machine to migrate over to the new SSD is very alluring. I have found a link that talks about the Pros and Cons. Do you think they summarize things very well?...
Your link makes very interesting reading. One thing that jumps out is how an old HD's installation and Time Machine are equated. Time Machine is a remarkable system, simple on the outside and complex under the hood (this is the fundamental resource on the subject, created by a Community member who is sorely missed). But it doesn't play well with certain types of files (virtual machine files for running Windows, etc., on a Mac for example) and has, in my experience at least, lost some files after briefly saving them. Your old HD, on the other hand, is both complete and current, making it a better source IMHO to migrate from.
The point about older software no longer being compatible is well taken, but I tend to keep older versions long after newer versions appear and I've been surprised at how well they continue to function after the publisher insists they're no longer supported by a newer OS (and are sometimes better than what replaces them). And in the case of commercial software, associated files are often sprinkled far and wide, perhaps to prevent easy pirating. Moreover, while keeping track of serial numbers is always a good idea, many publishers limit the number of installations and entering the S/N over again usually involves the program phoning home to check on the installation count so far. Cloning avoids that more effectively than migrating.

How to do a Clean Install of Lion

Hope this will help someone.
I recently did a clean install of Lion on my Mac Pro (after doing an earlier Lion upgrade) and the performance difference is absolutely amazing. Before my Mac Pro was laggy and there all kinds of little glitchy bugs (I'm sorry I can't explain it better than that) with a lot of my applications. Since I use that machine to also administer the network, that just wasn't acceptable.
I'm convinced, after this experience, that a clean install of Lion is the best thing for me, so, this morning I decided to do the same thing to my MacBook Air (IMHO the best laptop ever invented).
Here's what I have done.
1. Download and install Carbon Copy Cloner to the laptop.
2. Clone the laptop hard drive to an external hard drive. I have a Seagate 500GB USB drive which had a 500GB partition with Lion already installed on it. There are instructions all over the web on how to install Lion to an external drive. I used disk utility to add a partition, effectively splitting the partition in two with Lion still installed on one of the partitions and the other partition "clean".
3. Donate to Mike Bombich's site. Carbon Copy Cloner is a remarkable program - I've paid a heck of a lot of money over the years for similar programs and they didn't work 1/2 as good.
4. Go into System Preferences, select the "Startup Disk" applet and select your Lion install on the external hard disk drive as the startup disk. I SUSPECT you could also set the cloned laptop partition as your startup disk, but since the Lion install was already on my external drive, I used that.
5. Reboot the laptop
6. Hold down Command + "R" during the startup process to boot to the recovery partition of the Lion install on the external disk.
7. When the menu pops up, select Disk Utility
8. Repartition your laptop hard disk drive. This will also erase everything on the laptop. You can not repartition your hard drive unless you are booting from an external install of Lion. The recovery partition is hidden so repartitioning the drive will fail if you try to do a clean install from your laptop.
9. When the partitioning is finished, quit Disk Utility and return to the previous menu.
10. Select "Reinstall Lion" and select your laptop hard disk drive as the target.
11. You'll have to authenticate to Apple with your Apple ID, so there should be no problem with downloading and reinstalling Lion.
12. Wait for the download and install to finish. The download will take longer than the install.
13. During the setup, use the Transfer Assistant to transfer the cloned drive items to the new Lion install.
When the TA and install is finished, you should be back to where you started with everything intact.
Good luck!

Hope this will help someone.
I recently did a clean install of Lion on my Mac Pro (after doing an earlier Lion upgrade) and the performance difference is absolutely amazing. Before my Mac Pro was laggy and there all kinds of little glitchy bugs (I'm sorry I can't explain it better than that) with a lot of my applications. Since I use that machine to also administer the network, that just wasn't acceptable.
I'm convinced, after this experience, that a clean install of Lion is the best thing for me, so, this morning I decided to do the same thing to my MacBook Air (IMHO the best laptop ever invented).
Here's what I have done.
1. Download and install Carbon Copy Cloner to the laptop.
2. Clone the laptop hard drive to an external hard drive. I have a Seagate 500GB USB drive which had a 500GB partition with Lion already installed on it. There are instructions all over the web on how to install Lion to an external drive. I used disk utility to add a partition, effectively splitting the partition in two with Lion still installed on one of the partitions and the other partition "clean".
3. Donate to Mike Bombich's site. Carbon Copy Cloner is a remarkable program - I've paid a heck of a lot of money over the years for similar programs and they didn't work 1/2 as good.
4. Go into System Preferences, select the "Startup Disk" applet and select your Lion install on the external hard disk drive as the startup disk. I SUSPECT you could also set the cloned laptop partition as your startup disk, but since the Lion install was already on my external drive, I used that.
5. Reboot the laptop
6. Hold down Command + "R" during the startup process to boot to the recovery partition of the Lion install on the external disk.
7. When the menu pops up, select Disk Utility
8. Repartition your laptop hard disk drive. This will also erase everything on the laptop. You can not repartition your hard drive unless you are booting from an external install of Lion. The recovery partition is hidden so repartitioning the drive will fail if you try to do a clean install from your laptop.
9. When the partitioning is finished, quit Disk Utility and return to the previous menu.
10. Select "Reinstall Lion" and select your laptop hard disk drive as the target.
11. You'll have to authenticate to Apple with your Apple ID, so there should be no problem with downloading and reinstalling Lion.
12. Wait for the download and install to finish. The download will take longer than the install.
13. During the setup, use the Transfer Assistant to transfer the cloned drive items to the new Lion install.
When the TA and install is finished, you should be back to where you started with everything intact.
Good luck!

NO Lenovo Windows 8.1 Recovery DVD for CLEAN INSTALL! + unable to Install UEFI MODE

Hi,
I Just bought 25 Thinkpad T431s Laptops for my company (@ISRAEL)
All of them came with windows 7SP1 Installed And Recovery is Windows 8 (not 8.1 even though 8.1 is out for a yr!)
The Install process takes 3 Hours!!! Just for upgrading to windows 8.
Then I need to upgrade to 8.1 - the process is about 3 hours more! Because I need to Register And create Microsoft account for each user then to verify the account.
After that I need to Log with the account to the PC And then Download the update (3.5GB) And Install it.
IS ANYONE AT LENOVO THINKS THAT ITS ACCEPTABLE?
DO I WORK FOR LENOVO? DO I NEED TO SPEND 6 HOURS FOR UPGRADING EACH LAPTOP?
Don't forget that after that I need to uninstall all the bloater from the PC. Like Symantec AV (Because Enterprise company's uses Enterprise Class AV, FW And other software. We uses Kaspersky Enterprise, ESET, And others...)
AND ABOVE ALL.
If I want to Install Original Windows 8.1 I can't!
Because the OS Recovery DVD is not bootable And contain special recovery files with special extensions. Also, there is no PRODUCT CODE! Just "WINDOWS 8" sticker logo on the back of the notebook.
SO I WANT TO KNOW WHERE AND HOW(!)
I CAN GET A WINDOWS 8.1 ORIGINAL ISO IN ORDER TO INSTALL IT ON ALL MY PC's.
I want to know why I can't Install Just the "OPERATING SYSTEM RECOVERY DISK" (A standard clean Install)
== When I tried with my own Windows 8.1 Pro VL \ RETAIL ISO to Install it didn't pass activation==
==================== not even with the extracted key from the bios=====================
FYI - WHEN I BUY DELL OR HP LAPTOPS I'M GETTING A WINDOWS 8.1 PRO X64 BOOTABLE DVD DISK in addition to the 2 DVD RECOVERY DISKS. (So I am able to Install windows Without all the that you And them put into the recovery disk set).
Customer service in ISRAEL said that this is not possible! And that the only way is:
1. Use the 3 DVD recovery disks to format And Install windows 8.0
2. Register the user with a Microsoft account
3. Log in to each PC with his own Microsoft account
4. Download 8.1 update from Microsoft store
3. Install the 3.5GB update.
4. uninstall all the bloater.
So can I please ask you to confirm the answer I got from LENOVO ISRAEL. If So, ill return the laptops And that will the last time ANY OF MY COMPANY'S WILL EVER BUY ANY NOTEBOOKS OR TABLETS FROM LENOVO!
In addition, im trying to figure out how can I contact Lenovo main office to file a complaint against Lenovo Israel.
CEO Ms. Sigal didn't do anything to try And solve the issue, the product manager Mr. Many talk with me on the phone And was very rood. At the end he hang up the phone in my face! After I proved him wrong in another issue (T440s T431s cannot be installed with UEFI Because External DVD drive does not support UEFI Install only Legacy. And there is a big different between Legacy And UEFI)
Thank you.
Moderator note; profanity / implied profanity edited. Forum Rules

Hi ohad, welcome to the forums,
I'm sorry to read about your experience.
I don't work for Lenovo but it would appear to me that something may have gone wrong at the sales / purchasing stage; to my knowledge the T431s is only available with Windows 7 preload, (with Win 8 recovery discs in some cases as you have), or with Windows 8 preload. A Win 8.1 preload doesn't appear to be available for the system, but I stand to be corrected on this. If you required Windows 8.1, in my opinion the better option of the two, would have been a system with the Win 8 preinstall as this would only require updating to Win 8.1
Unfortunately I also can't envisage Lenovo creating a factory image for the T431s because it must be pretty near end of life.
You might find the following to be of interest;
http://forums.lenovo.com/t5/Windows-8-and-8-1-Knowledge-Base/Why-can-t-I-boot-from-a-USB-key-on-UEFI...
Andy ______________________________________
Please remember to come back and mark the post that you feel solved your question as the solution, it earns the member + points
Did you find a post helpfull? You can thank the member by clicking on the star to the left awarding them Kudos Please add your type, model number and OS to your signature, it helps to help you. Forum Search Option T430 2347-G7U W8 x64, Yoga 10 HD+, Tablet 1838-2BG, T61p 6460-67G W7 x64, T43p 2668-G2G XP, T23 2647-9LG XP, plus a few more. FYI Unsolicited Personal Messages will be ignored.
Deutsche Community Comunidad en Español English Community Русскоязычное Сообщество
PepperonI blog

Windows 7 upgrade: discs will include the option for a 32 to 64-bit upgrade via a clean install?

I would like to know whether the Lenovo Windows 7 upgrade discs will include the option for a 32 to 64-bit upgrade via a clean install? I called Mentor today and was told the answer is no, but I was hoping someone here could tell me differently.
If "no" is truly the answer, I would like to voice my complaint: The upgrade discs from Microsoft (i.e. the retail upgrade discs) include both the 32 and 64-bit versions, so I don't completely understand why Lenovo's upgrade program doesn't offer the same thing. I purchased my T500 in August, and back then Vista Ultimate 64 was not offered, so I chose Vista Ultimate 32 thinking that I could later upgrade to Windows 7 Ultimate 64. This assumption was based off of the info. on Microsoft's website indicating that all upgrades would contain the 32 and 64-bit versions. I even customized my computer with 4 gigs of RAM thinking that I could take advantage of the extra gig once I installed Windows 7 64.
I don't understand what Lenovo or Mentor Media have to gain by restricting a 32 to 64-bit install. I voiced this opinion to Mentor Media over the phone, who responded by saying that I should be happy since I am receiving a "free" upgrade. I don't think this is an accurate assessment for two reasons: (1) I had to pay $17.03 for shipping, and I still haven't received the upgrade and (2) The total cost of my computer was almost $3,000, and the purchase was made a mere few weeks before Windows 7 was released. $3,000 is a lot of money. I waited for the details of the Windows 7 Upgrade Program to be announced BEFORE purchasing my machine. When I finally bought my computer I accounted Windows 7 into the price I was paying. In addition, when I bought this computer I did so expecting good customer service as a given. Not providing a 64-bit upgrade without a rational explanation as to why does not qualify as appropriate customer service.
As most of you know, 4 gigs of RAM is useless with a 32-bit OS. Also, NOW Lenovo is building new T500s with the option of having Windows 7 Ultimate 64 (why wasn't Vista Ultimate 64 offered when I bought my computer???).  And the price for choosing Windows 7 Ultimate 32 is EQUAL to the price for choosing Windows 7 Ultimate 64, which proves that there is no cost difference. I just want to know what Lenovo has to gain by denying customers a 64-bit upgrade? There would really be no additional cost since as I mentioned before, Microsoft's retail upgrade includes the 32 and 64-bit OS on one disc. If anything I would think that it's costing Lenovo money to strip the 64-bit install from the upgrade discs.
Can anyone please address my problems? Do you think there is anyone at Lenovo I could contact to voice my opinions? I have been a loyal Thinkpad customer for over 5 years now, and I expect better from Lenovo. Thank you for reading!
moderator note: core question add to title, as stated in the forum rules and it will help others too answer your questions.

Daventry wrote:
Is there any way to request a 64-bit OEM? Why should Lenovo care whether I want a 32-bit or 64-bit as long as it's the same edition (Ultimate edition)?
if your system shipped with a 32-bit version of vista then you will be sent 32-bit windows 7 upgrade media.   the reason for this is two-fold.
first, because this is upgrade media, it's impossible to install a 64-bit version of windows over a 32-bit version.   doing so would require a clean installation and upgrade media simply won't allow this.   this is the case with retail media, too.   if you had 32-bit vista installed and wanted to upgrade it to 64-bit using retail media, you'd have to wipe your system or set up a dual-boot.
second, the COA (certificate of authenticity) on the bottom of your system is for vista.   because of this, your new license is of an upgrade from vista to 7.   this is how microsoft licenses it and it is their policy, not lenovo's.   microsoft's policy with OEMs is that you must install vista first, then upgrade to 7 (unless, of course, you purchased your system native with 7 on or after the 22nd).   since your original lenovo preload is of a 32-bit OS, the issue becomes circular and you'll have to refer again to the first reason.
i understand your frustration and wish this stuff were made easier for everyone.   it's repetative reading post after post of people with 4GB installed who don't understand the limitations of a 32-bit environment. i wish both manufacturers and users switched to 64-bit OSes sooner. the same thing happened when the industry went from 16-bit windows 3.11 to 32-bit windows NT4/95 and limitations went from 16KB all the way up to 4GB (which, in 1995, no one thought we'd ever exceed).   the difference is that people were complaining on BBSes over 14.4k modems instead of on GUI-based forums using broadband connections.   times sure have changed.
ThinkStation C20
ThinkPad X1C · X220 · X60T · s30 · 600

X100E clean install of Windows 7

I got an X100E nearly a year ago and have never been happy with all the extra 'junk' software that came pre-installed with it. Sure there are a few useful items, but like many business users, I'd much prefer a clean installation of Windows so I could install the programs I've found from experience work well.
I've currently got a problem that's going to require reinstalling from the CD that Lenovo's sending me and this would be an ideal time to get the clean install I need. The problem is, this will be an image for the entire drive that will leave the machine in the state in which it shipped originally including all the unwanted bloatware.
It's not really feasible to uninstall all the unwanted stuff - I tried this several times soon after getting the machine and had serious problems. Not all of the stuff is uninstallable and even the items that do uninstall don't do so properly. After resetting to factory two or three times I gave up.
How can I get the clean installation I'm looking for? I can see from the support pages that this isn't an unusual requirement and all of the extras are available for download and installation if needed so where can I find details of how to do a clean install?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Thanks again for your time and patience with this issue.
Even though it looks like it's much more involved using ABR, most of the procedure is just good practice even if you're not using ABR (backup etc.). Anyway, I thought I'd give it a try last night as I'm sure going to use this again so best to get familiar.
Actually, I did download the W7 Beta file, what I meant was that the instructions are for Vista - same with the guides for Lenovo. Also they are several years old. This shouldn't be a problem, though as it's mostly just stepping through the installation procedure. However, the X100e doesn't have an optical drive and I'm not sure how to get 'round this (share a drive on another PC or make a bootable USB drive and force the X100e to boot from it?). Anyway, I thought I'd go through the preparation steps, but then I had a number of problems:
1. First I went to the Lenovo site to manually download the drivers as listed in the procedure, but couldn't find the chipset drivers for the mobo. Not a disaster as I have a backup of the latest drivers from running Driver Genius backup (also all the old ones replaced by it), but I'd still like to know where to find it on the Lenovo site. There's also mention of a 'Turbo Memory Driver' and a 'Matrix Storage Manager Driver', but since I could see no drivers of this type listed, I assume it's not relevant to this machine.
2. I then tried to delete the hidden partition following the steps in Hypertrophy's Diskpart Guide, but at the final step "delete partition override" I got a message saying the action couldn't be performed. The guide assumes this will work and gives no further details of what to do if it doesn't. I was logged on to the proper Windows 'administrator' account and also tried running it '..as administrator', but just got the same result. There's also a message at the start of this article saying "Make sure you have backed up your OEM keycode before deleting the hidden partition." What's the OEM keycode? Surely not the activation key as the guides say to delete the hidden partition BEFORE running the ABR utility. Does it just mean to write it down first or is the OEM keycode something else?
3. Lastly I tried to run the ABR utility itself (downloaded the ABRbeta.exe) file, but when I ran this I got this message "Can not open file 'L:\Downloads\ABR Beta\ABRbeta.exe' as archive". At this point I gave up, but tried again this morning on a different machine and got the same result. However, downloading it again today it works fine so at least that's one problem solved!
All I need now is a way to delete the hidden partition (formatting the whole drive is fine as there's nothing of value that hasn't been backed up) and a method of installing Windows, either from DVD, bootable USB drive or from a mounted image across the LAN.
You've already been very helpful and I can't thank you enough, but if you could give me some help with these problems and the earlier questions regarding drivers, I might have a chance of getting this job done.

Windows 7 Clean Install on T500 with Vista

So my thinkpad t500 was infected (the entire recover area was also infected). It came with Vista and I just got the recovery media CDs for Vista. But I don't want to install Vista. I have a legitimate copy of Windows 7 that I purchased and completely formatted the entire laptop (all the partitions including the recovery media partitions which were infected). IBM does not sell Win 7 recovery media (if your laptop came with vista installed) unfortunately.
Now I have win 7 working but I have no internet connection.
I tried to install Thinkvantage 5.02 so that thinkvantage can automatically download the drivers (but the internet connection is not working so that is not going anywhere).
I had downloaded a couple of drivers from lenovo's website. I installed one of them called 7vr722ww.exe. It did not work (no internet connection). When I go to device manager the network adapters say they are upto date.
Any help with downloading and fixing the OS would be great. A step by step approach would be better. I saw some tutorials online but they are not very useful but I could have missed something here.
I tried this tutorial : http://forum.notebookreview.com/lenovo/642274-patchysans-guide-clean-installing-windows-7-thinkpad.h...
and could not go beyond step 8 (updating drivers does not work). I also don't have anything beyond the recovery discs for vista (not windows 7). I looked for any executables in the two recovery cds for vista but found none.
Thanks for any help that anyone may be able to offer.

Ok I am using 32 bit system (or I think I was but I accidentally installed using the 64 bit dvd! I am going to do another clean install to fix this tomorrow)
This time around (on my second/third attempt at clean re install) I kept the wifi radio signal on and win 7 installation asked me for a password and I entered it at it worked! (had some issues because I was trying to simultaneously connect via ethernet but once I unplugged the ethernet cable I am now online using my clean installed machine).
I am now downloading thinkvantage system update and it is downloading a lot of recommended and other drivers.
In my third time around clean install I deleted the 2 partitions that my thinkpad came with and combined all into one partition and formatted it (so as to avoid the virus from re emerging , unless the virus in the bios in which case I don't know what I can do).
Win 7 created its own 100 MB partition and lets hope that thinkvantage does the right thing and creates the recovery media and cds which I may then use to create my own recovery CDs for this computer.
I see that system update has ended the downloads and installs but I dont see any system recovery options. How do I get the recovery and rescue software on this ?
There is something strange that win 7 (and vista on t500 ) does: the computer freezes upon startup and I have to ctrl+alt+del and then click on task manager to unfreeze it. Is this happening with other people?
I must say that buying lenovo's thinkpad is like the most awful experience ever. I have a 2004 thinkpad from IBM and it still works just fine (with xp) and works better than my brand new 2009 T500! ... the T500 by lenovo is just awful. Months after buying it the right button of the mouse on the laptop stopped working. I use an external mouse now because I did not have the time to send and mail the entire laptop (I had to make do and now the warranty has expired and they wont even renew it!). When I try to type on the keyboard I accidentally triger the laptop's half functioning mouse ! it is just an awful experience altogether with the shoddy workmanship and garish clunkiness of design.

Restore from time machine after clean install of Mavericks

I decided to do a clean install of Mavericks to get rid of all the very old files hiding in my system folders. I made a startup disk following online instructions, rebooted from the USB drive and wiped the drive and reinstalled Mavericks. Then I plugged in my Time machine backup drive and tried to recover particular folders from the latest backup. However, I am getting a permission error that prevents me from going into the old user folder from that backup. It has a red circle/line icon on the folder. How do I get around this so I can select what to restore?

You might be able to view in System Preferences > Users & Groups.
Time Machine - Troubleshooting by James Pond is the best source around for Time Machine help.
I'm not seeing your issue listed. It's possible you will need to do a full Time Machine restore to another drive so you can actually boot from the drive then log into the user. If you have enough space on internal you could partition to restore there without polluting your current new install.
Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions 18. How can I copy my TM backups to a different location?
I backup to Time Machine but I also use a clone and use it over Time Machine when I'm trying to restore a User like youare trying to do. Hopefully someone else will have a better suggestion other than doing a full restore.

After finally completing a clean install what is the BEST way to replace my data.

Please understand I moved from PC to Mac in Late 2011. Unlike windows where you have to know how it all works to use it, Mac is so simple I, to my own detriment , did not take the time to learn more than just my daily use. Been busy moving country and other crazy life stuff. I am rectifying this mistake. I did have issue with the clean install process working through with out interruption, some file issue, so had to repeat a few times.
1. completed a clean install through to completion of set up, new account etc. Machine runs amazingly better. Completed updates. Knowing Migration Assistant can deal with duplicate user issues.
Q? Do I need to run disk repair or other.
2. Thought myself ill equipped with knowledge and understanding to manually replace my data via finder. I simply do not know where things are supposed to go.
3. Tried reinstall of everything thru set up but it installed everything including all the issues I had before. Went through clean install process again.
4. With this in mind I am hesitant and very weary to use Migration Assistant to move everything back as I simply do Not know where the issue lies even if it allowed greater folder & file separation.
I have got to the stage where I am ready to recover my data which is on my backup external hard drive. The data was recovered using Time Machine.
I wish to do what is best for my machine. It is getting older and I wish to do what I can for its longevity.
Q? So what data is best recovered in which way and in what order.
5. Is it best to say do recover applications from App Store and redo all updates if required.
Then install non app store apps, e.g. Microsoft office for mac, and others thru finder.
Users thru Migration assistant etc etc.
Been learning and working on this since my last post. Lots of watching YouTube and reading for hours.
So much conflicting opinions and maybe this is due to my lack of specifics and most posts are for general use so I do understand.
Again thank you in advance. I still think Mac has it all over PC.

I read thru the data migration one below however wasn't sure of its applicability given it was from 09.
Re: 2. there seems to be data I have yet to bring across. How important it is I don't know. What exactly it is I also am yet to find out. Will proceed with the downloading n stuff.
Thank you for your help on this.

Clean install is better?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for