While an upgrade install disc for any version of Windows costs less than a full install disc, you should still still get the full install version. If you want to upgrade your install of Windows, do not choose the “upgrade” option from the installation disc. A clean install will be much better.

You might think that upgrading your installation will save time since you won’t have to reinstall programs and back up all your files. This is false, as it will only save time in the short run - but in the long run it will make your operating system slower and buggier.

Not all upgrades go wrong, but most do. If it doesn’t look like anything is wrong, there might still be some problems. An upgrade install can slow down your system a lot, but you might not notice it since you don’t have a clean install to compare to. Windows features and some programs might get buggier or just stop working like they’re supposed to. Individual features of programs might stop working.

The best thing to do when upgrading to a new version of Windows is to do a clean install and reformat. This means you need to back up all your files, and reinstall all your programs onto the new install. You need to completely wipe your hard drive, doing a hard reformat, not a “quick reformat”.

A clean install of any version of Windows will have a significantly higher chance of having no bugs or system slow downs. If you want to save money on a Windows OS upgrade, go with an OEM disc instead of an upgrade disc.

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