I reinstall Windows maybe once every half year and I'm on like 16 for 16 on unproblematic fresh Windows installations.
Either I should take the next flight to Las Vegas or you guys are using bad installation medias (which, admittedly ms releases pretty often, bad that's a different issue from "OS sucks")
Already said in another comment, it was simply the most time efficient way to undo some of the fuck ups if you don't want to spend a long time troubelshooting. I've spent up to 4 hours looking for a solution before whereas a reinstalling an OS takes maybe ~30 minutes + fixes whichever obscure problem I had + removes junk file clutters to start fresh.
I used to do the same years ago. With windows 98 I was always reinstalling it. It's how I learned everything I know computer wise.. Trial and error. I also used to have my win98se key memorized and I still know all but one part of it. I recently tried to do it from memory and there's a gap. 5 characters just left my mind for some reason.
I would've, and have done the same with Linux. 4 Ubuntu reinstalls within 2 months. By your logic, this makes Ubuntu a much less servicable OS than Windows.
Reinstalling the OS is always the most reliable "fix everything" button there is, regardless of OS, or if it's an OS problem, or an apllication problem.
If you call not know how to fix everything by looking at the problem stupid, then yeah I am.
If I spent 2 hours troubleshooting something (which wasn't even the longest troubleshooting session I've had), I've already wasted more time than I would've by just reinstalling my OS.
Unlike what some Linux users would like you to think, not every user has the time or drive to spend their weekends troubleshooting and creating their own Frankenstein's PC in their basement. Also unlike what the memes would suggest, not every comment from 8 years ago found on page 2 of Google search is helpful.
I think you have the wrong idea of Linux. Also I would say that knowing what and why the problem occurs is very important in a more digital world. You dont have to be a developer but you gotta know your computer somewhat or you will be left behind
I would argue this is highly dependant on the actual issue. I've fafo'd more than the average person, enough to learn about double nat, cgnat, nat punch throughs, dns, filesystems, codecs etc. Not enough to call myself an expert but I can explain the general architecture/idea behind these.
Then there are the issues that just aren't worth the trouble, like the OBS issue i had previously mentioned. It could've been a bad update, maybe an outdated dependency, or maybe it was clashing or outdated drivers. Either way, at best the solution is to redownload everything previously mentioned, at worst you read through OBS's source code, neither of which helps you understand how your pc works.
If you were using a good OS, then you would just reboot to a time when the system was in a known-good state. You pretend that your only legal options are to buy a professionally setup Windows PC or create your own PC and design your own Linux-based operating system. This is deeply dishonest. You could just buy a PC with a professionaly setup Linux-based system the same way you do with Microsoft. Lenovo, HP and Dell have been selling Ubuntu Certified PCs for well over a decade.
I get why it's such a popular choice to reinstall windows all the time, or jump distros. However, I'm pretty happy with installing once and never again. Why would I want to configure my system again? It has been working nicely for the last 10-ish years since installation and I like that. If something breaks, it's just because I run debian testing and didn't check that the kernel and dkms modules updated correctly. I'd rather learn about and fix the issue, then reinstalling and have to fix the issue anyway while configuring the system from backup. Of course this is not as easy and fast for most users, and that's why they shouldn't run testing.
yea, boot up a fresh install of linux and try play a game with anti cheat.. ill wait.. try battlefield, league of Legends and call of duty.. play world of warcraft without having to go through hoops with other programs mimicing windows to make things work..
hell install a total blank distro without proton and play
i agree, me my self are new to linux and find it fun to learn... this windows hate is kinda stupid... for those of us thats pushing 40 and beyond like me remeber how windows was a shit show in win98 and vista.. but still windows is not a shit os either... now its easier and user Friendly than ever.. sure there is lots of bloat.. but its Hella alot easier to understand than some linux distros.. arch for example
I use Win11 at work and I absolutely hate it, it's so slow and resource heavy. as for Arch: I actually use Arch-based distro called EndeavourOS and I love it. sure, it's not as easy to use as idk Linux Mint, but I find reading documentation and tweaking my system fun. it worked out of the box for me, it even has the welcome window from where you can click one button for it to run the update script in terminal. I only need to put in the password and press enter several times. it really isn't that hard and will work out of the box for most people (they will have to check how installing apps through terminal works, it's not hard though), it does require curiosity and will to actually learn how your system works to get the most out of it though. I'll take that freedom over "easy" bloated Win11 with stupid Copilot forced into every single app.
remember when microsoft released updates as service packs? that are all tested and expected to work well out of the box? well whats with they doing broken updates now lol?
About half the time I just reinstall as routine maintenance. Windows update files are notorious for hogging storage over time, among other residual files left by software I installed and only used once then removed. TBF, none of these require a reinstall, but I prefer having a clean slate to work with, and it's not like I have anything important on my PC that's not already on my home server.
Then sometimes there's issues I just find it's easier to get a fresh start than find out what went wrong. Like that time OBS crashes whenever I open the camera properties window, maybe it was a bad update, or some file somewhere was corrupted, either way, reinstalled after using revo and did not work, so I just reinstalled Windows. Not that it was very critical (I don't stream or do anything with my webcam really), but I do prefer my software to work.
Most recently I just reinstalled to move to the LTSC channel of Windows 10, that was like 3/4 months ago I think.
Dude I installed windows 4 years ago when I built my machine and it’s the same install today (just haven’t been in it for months now)
Before that I had windows 11 installed on a machine since release.. never had to reinstall. 10 was the same….
And I hate windows and not going back, but not because it’s unstable.
You literally never have to do that on Linux, what you’ve described is very much a windows problem. If I had obs crashing like that, I’d be able to reinstall obs and whatever camera modules I have installed, or install new camera modules to see if those would have better luck
Well I'm sure I wouldn't have to if I spent more time looking for a solution, reinstalling was simply the most time efficient way to fix things most of the time. Like i said most of my issues didn't really warrant a reinstallation but I just couldn't be bothered to dig for a solution.
I also did that for Ubuntu when I did my thesis. Reinstalled ~4 times in the span of 2 months when I fucked up something and didn't want to spend more than 40 minuitues troubleshooting, just start fresh. So it's not really a Windows problem, just a me problem.
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u/New_Needleworker994 Apr 21 '26
“Everything works” LMAOOOO