Reformatting my computer

[gatlinguy]

Hello, my computer is a couple of years old now and it's full of crap, i was thinking about reformatting it but if i do this, do i have to use a Windows CD to get the operating system back? When i did it on my laptop i didn't need anything. I don't think i have a Windows CD

And also is it possible this will help me get rid of the blue screens i'm getting very often? I think they come from watching videos on youtube or something, because everytime it happens i have been on youtube. The screen first goes black, then it comes back again and the video on youtube has become green but the sound is still playing, after that it may take a while but then the blue screen comes.

I'm not very good with computers and thanks for any answer :D

If it helps i have Windows 7 Home Premium

[TaintedTurnip]

If you're having a BSOD from watching YouTube you should really think about upgrading.

[[EG] Pepper]

Ignore the above poster.

If you are BSODing on youtube, try reinstalling the graphics drivers before writing off any hardware or reformatting.

Generally you don't need to reformat, go through all the programs you don't need/use with revo uninstaller.
Clear out temp files and caches with CCleaner, then finish off with a defrag then you should get it running much better.

Revo uninstaller [url]http://www.revouninstaller.com/[/url]
ccleaner [url]http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner/download[/url]
Auslogics disk defrag [url]http://www.auslogics.com/en/software/disk-defrag/[/url]

There are probably better alternatives out there, but these are what i use and they do just fine.

[Curls]

[QUOTE='[EG] Pepper;45402896']Ignore the above poster.

If you are BSODing on youtube, try reinstalling the graphics drivers before writing off any hardware or reformatting.

Generally you don't need to reformat, go through all the programs you don't need/use with revo uninstaller.
Clear out temp files and caches with CCleaner then finish off with a good defrag then you should get it running much better.[/QUOTE]

if absolutely nothing works I would definitely reformat, but CCLeaner is super useful and should 100% be the first thing you check. Clean registry and all browser data and you SHOULD be ok. Then I would run Malwarebytes, and avast/another AV and see if you're clean. I say that because it could be the cause and would be a pretty simple fix once it has passed. Another one would be to go find older drivers for your GPU and do a clean install, same with your internet drivers.

Another thing as well, would be to see if there is any dust built up, and carefully clean that out via can or vacuum, as overheating may be the cause. This is super silly sounding stuff but I found it effective for my issues at least.

it really fixes a lot of issues but its basically just "You can't find solution, throw the old away and replace with a fresh one". It's best used once a year or when you really can't clean a virus though.

if you are looking for one however, look into google drive (15 gb like free) so you can back all your saves and files up.

[editline]15th July 2014[/editline]

[QUOTE=LuckyLuke;45400830]If you're having a BSOD from watching YouTube you should really think about upgrading.[/QUOTE]

A potato from 1999 could run youtube, unless his hardware is breaking down I doubt that.

[Levelog]

Also make sure you check your hardware acceleration settings. Sometimes that can even crash the mightiest of computers.

[gatlinguy]

Thanks for the replies :D