The *easy* answer in my experience with XP is a qualified "yes".... The bad thing is that quite often a non-destructive install leaves on your computer whatever your reason was for re-installing XP. ('n if you understand what I just said you can be my 7-11 translator.) What I have taken to doing ('cause I seem to be doing it a LOT) is to do a quick search for 1) Pictures, Music or Video, and 2) Documents, to make sure I got everything backed up that could possibly NEED to be backed up.... Then I'll copy the Favorites folder to my Flash drive or to a floppy... Oh, and the Mail folder, etc. if Outlook is active... THEN I'll print out the system information, ESPECIALLY the motherboard make/model, ect. (Hey, I are a MykroSoft Engenir... *Redundancy* is my middle name.) After all that is said 'n done, I'll Format and do a clean XP install. 'n if there are kids involved I'll partition the drive and use DeepFreeze on the boot partition. (Otherwise I gotta do it all again in a week or so.) I'm sure that there are easier (and *shorter*) ways to do the deed but I have two computer labs (elementary and high school) and an Admin subnet that has been down only once in the seven years that I have been here. For me, doing it the *long* way has freed up my evenings and weekends for more *important* things... Like watching Millennium reruns. "Take what you need and with a breath of kindness, blow the rest awy." - Brian D. McCarthy >From: Diane Kroeckel <[log in to unmask]> >Reply-To: Personal Computer Hardware discussion List ><[log in to unmask]> >To: [log in to unmask] >Subject: [PCBUILD] reinstalling XP >Date: Wed, 10 Jan 2007 07:34:32 -0600 > >I was wondering if I reinstall XP Pro on my system, will it delete >everything, or just install over my stuff and I'd have to reinstall my >programs, but my data would still be there. Naturally I'd back up >everything first anyway. Like a nondestructive install, or a destructive >install. > >Diane Kroeckel > > Visit our website regularly for FAQs, > articles, how-to's, tech tips and much more > http://freepctech.com _________________________________________________________________ Your opinion matters. Please tell us what you think and be entered into a draw for a grand prize of $500 or one of 20 $50 cash prizes. http://www.youthographyinsiders.com/R.aspx?a=116 Visit our website regularly for FAQs, articles, how-to's, tech tips and much more http://freepctech.com