Precisly the reason I did a fresh install when I recieved dell. I don't care if it would have been velocity micro/ s1 digital / dell/ hp. I never want all the crap they put on there and always recomend a fresh install.

I would say that S1 doesn't load any crap, I'd have to double check on VM but I know for sure it is not the level of crap that Dell/HP ship.  :)

The only software (other than the base OS install) on my VM machine was benchmarking software...and given VMs main business as a gaming machine builder, not surprising and quickly gotten rid of.  

And the only crapware on the S1 box is Intel Viiv!

In my experience, a clean install can be avoided. Just uninstalling all the crapware as soon as you get the machine will usually keep you out of trouble. I avoided this whole restricted content debacle, because I uninstalled the dell support center along with all the other crap when I got the machine. I used to do clean installs before Windows had a good enough uninstall feature. I've so far avoided major issues with all my Dell machines and I've purchased Dells for many years.

Superswiss,

You'd be amazed what some uninstallers leave behind.  While Window's uninstall features have gotten tons better than in the past, it's still up to the uninstaller of the app to clear everything out.  It's never a bad idea to start with a fresh build, I try to reinstall my machine every 6 - 12 months, just becomes it starts clean, and runs much smoother.  

Then again, with the DRM now on my recordings I may be holding off a bit longer :)

-D

dravor,
I'm fully aware that some uninstallers leave stuff behind. My point is that a fresh install and finding all the drivers etc. to get it where you need it to be is very time consuming compared to just uninstalling the crap. In my experience the clean install seems not worth it. It comes down to cost vs. benefit and so far my approach has paid off. YMMV. I've wasted probably years of my life in the old days reinstalling the OS trying to fix an issue, just to have the issue right come back and later turn out to be a bug in a driver or something. I perform regular preventative maintenance on all my PCs and keep drivers etc. up to date. I didn't have to do periodic fresh installs since Windows 3.1. Being picky about what gets installed has a lot to do with how slow things get over time. Maybe I just have a magic touch, but I have yet to own a Windows machine that gets slower on me over time. A lot of the stuff I install, I test first in a virtual machine before throwing on to my main machines. I'm also an IT director, so I come across plenty of stuff to know what works and doesn't work and that probably helps keeping my machines clean and at the highest performance level.

superswiss,
Im actually surprised to hear an IT person advocate against clean installs.  Never have I recommended against them, ESPECIALLY on the corporate side of things.  Whenever we get new machines at work, the first thing they get is a ghosted image of a clean build.  Definitely NOT time consuming, and actually a lot healthier then trying to remember what to uninstall and running the potential for forgetting something.  I can turn a machine around, ghosted, with all of the proper software and licensing, in under 20 minutes.
As far as on the personal side...I had a VMC machine that just wasnt right from day one.  I had some HD issues and a few other odd things, and I tried for probably 2 weeks to get it sorted out.  During this time my family had to deal with "sorry, I need to reboot the tv" on a daily basis....I finally gave in, spent 2 hours and just rebuilt the machine.  Not even a hiccup since.

Just to throw in with superswiss... I agree.  The last HP I bought I just uninstalled all the HP crap and I havent needed a reload in about 2 years.. and its still stable.  Did the same thing with my cablecard dell pc, uninstalled the crap.. and its been stable, I havent had any of the issues.

Ive been in PC and server support over 10 years, a fresh install just isnt necessary since xp IMO.

I agree with creating ghost images for corporate, since all sorts of standards usually need to be met and its EASIER to do images.  In the case of home computing its just plain faster to uninstall the crap... after all you dont have an image for that model and you'll probably never buy another one.  I would suggest ghosting it after you have it working correctly.. and before any software upgrades for a quick restore.  I do agree a fresh install is a good idea if as you said lostinvt it has issues from day one... but for the most part... that isnt true.. as long as you get the stuff off before you do anything else (configuring/codecs/extra software) you should be fine.

I know Im rambling but one more point, superswiss is correct about plugins and trying out software... do it in a vm first, adding unreliable software/freeware is the biggest killer of machines and the main reason reloads are needed....

lostinvt,
I definitly agree with imaging new machines in the corporate world. The primary reason for that, though is to save the time installing all the corporate apps manually over and over again, and to make sure there's a standard across all corporate workstations. I'm also dealing with one off machines that don't have a standard image and I have yet to run into any major issues.