I plan to do a fresh install of Windows 10. Would like to know whats recommended these days. I have downloaded and prepared iso usb with Win10 20H2. PC currently has Win 10 but older version. I have backed up all data and will do a fresh format with no need to preserve anything. I have a SSD 250GB and a 1TB hdd. - ssd optimizations? e.g. move tmp, paging file off ssd? or does Windows do everything correctly by default? - partition setup: I like to keep user profile separate so I'm thinking split ssd into 100GB for OS and rest for user data - software: I like using portable software when possible. Also I want to use chocolatey or similar package manager. Are they mature enough i.e. will have latest versions of most? - security: is the best option builtin Defender + malware bytes on demand? - what software do you use? esp for system utilities.
My Win10 is 5 years old. Updated to the latest version every 6 months. I'm multi-booting other OS including a one week old 20H2 Win10. The one week old OS is no faster than the 5 year old OS. I see no need to do a fresh Win10 install unless you have a new computer without an OS. Upgrades are reliable.
I agree with this. I technically have no 'need'. I also have kept it updated and went thru a few major version upgrades. But I am planning a cleanup of my pc, remove programs I no longer use, reorganize things etc. Fresh install seems 'neater' even if its not any better.
I agree with Brian that a clean install is only necessary if the upgrade does not work. SSD optimization can be managed by Windows 'Defragment and Optimize Drives' Security: Windows Defender is excellent nowadays as long as you have a reliable backup system, Malwarebytes hasn't done well with most testing organizations. I use Sumo portable to check for software updates, the much deprecated CCleaner portable, Samsung Magician to check my Samsung SSD, Spyware Blaster, uBlock Origin for ads. I also use a virtualizer, Shadow Defender, which I consider my most valuable security program after my backup system.
As already mentioned, you don't need to do anything for your SSD. However, it's worthwhile to check for firmware updates and to update to the latest firmware if there is newer firmware available. You don't need to use any system utilities. However if you feel the need to use a third party junk cleaner, Wise Disk Cleaner is free and works very well. There's generally no need to ever clean the registry, so avoid registry cleaners. Kerish Doctor is also useful, but you generally don't actually need to run any tools like this. Unless your system is running slowly or has other issues, you may want to consider just uninstalling any software you no longer use, rather than doing a clean install.
I concur with whats already been writen but i think this is a good idè to do with your SSD. http://www.totalidea.com/products/t...text=Tweak-SSD is the only,of your SSD 'drive'.
No reason to do anything special to accommodate a recent SSD. I agree with the others that said an upgrade should work fine. I have a laptop that has been upgraded from Windows 7 through the current Windows 10 that runs fine.
You might also want to create an image of each different phase of the new install until everything is set up to your liking. It takes time to personalize an OS - this way at any point you are unsatisfied with the process, you can quickly and easily restore the relevant image without going back to the start. For example: after fresh install + drivers updated after tweaking windows (if you are a tweaker) after setting up privacy and security software ....
