A clean install is a computer installation of an operating system on a computer which has been totally erased. Clean installation come in handy when you have bought a new computer or you want to replace your old operating system with a new one. While it may sound a bit difficult for those who are first time using this process but it is actually relatively easy and it erases all the computer viruses and other computer errors.

To opt for a clean install of an operating system on your old Windows computer, there could be a number of reasons. The most common reason is computer viruses. By doing a clean install of a computer, you can completely remove all computer viruses as all the data from the hard drive is wiped. Corrupted registry files and other computer problems will also be solved. Reinstalling the operating system can also fix slow computer issues like a Windows computer running very slowly or computer crash.

The main disadvantage of clean install is that you will lose settings, files and the other data. So, it is recommended that you take the backup of all the settings and important data before you clean install your Windows computer. By taking the backup, many settings can be kept in perfect and then you can reapply then with backup programs specially made for this purpose. For example, you can save your web browsers history and other settings and install it on your new Windows computer.

While many people think that after a clean install, they can start from scratch and ensure that nothing on the hard drive will clash or interfere with the new operating system.