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I'm a member of the annual factory reset church and I'm pretty devout. I've been doing it with ereaders, computers, tablets, phones, etc. for years. Decades, actually.
I realize I'm in the minority on this and a lot of people don't do it and they have very few problems. I certainly don't think it's a requirement of any kind.
I do it for a number of reasons. First, things go wrong all the time. In a typical computerized device we all do things we shouldn't from time to time. I'm careful about rebooting my laptop daily and I never power it off abruptly unless something serious goes wrong, like it locks up. That's rare but every now and then it happens. Sometimes a program crashes. Sometimes I install something questionable even though I'm pretty careful about that sort of thing and I'll worry about it and change my mind and uninstall. Sometimes things look good until they're installed. Sometimes I'll install something and simply not like it or find I don't need it and I'll uninstall it. Every uninstall leaves at least a little bit of garbage behind and some leaves a lot.
Anyway our computerized devices slowly develop potential problems every day as things happen and since they involve such huge amounts of software we're rarely affected by these problems. We never use more than a fraction of the code in our computers and if something goes wrong even in an area we do use it might not effect us much.
Or it does effect us and we have a problem. Then we deal with it. Or, in the very worse case, it effects us and we don't notice it, causing problems that might even appear later on our backups.
Anyway there are a million things that can go wrong and chances are some did today. And chances are it really doesn't matter. But over time it adds up and since my computer is important to me I like to keep it fresh and give it a clean start now and then.
I personally think that's a wise thing to do. If you don't think so you probably shouldn't do it. And the chances are pretty good if you don't do it it'll never turn into a major problem for you.
It's partly for peace of mind. There are practical aspects of it as well. It probably won't turn out to be a lifesaver but it could, although if it does the chances are you'll never know it. It can't hurt. It might help.
My advice is simply this: be aware of what's involved in doing it and in not doing it and then decide what works for you. But make it an informed decision.
Barry
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