Reinstaling windows XP

so I wanna reinstal my windows wich i have never done before so i have a question...
will all my files stay on the hard disk?

if ill need anything else to know ill ask later.. thanks in advance

Depends. If you will install it on different partition, all ur files will stay safe. If U have only one partition (or want to use the same one) U will lost files for sure, because Windows Installer will automatically format disk/partition.

but will windows instaler automaticly make me backups xD do i do my backups with nero or what...

No it won't do backups because there's no point in it: if the disk is gonna be formatted then all data will be lost. So backups 2 The best thing is to copy files on DVDs or Flash Memory Cards or other

ill copy them on dvd.. about 20 gigabytes then...

5 DVDs Or 1 Ipod

or dont format anything and keep ur stuff or any disk excepting C

its gonna be hard putting 20 gigs on a disk with 8 gigs of free space XD does anyone know how much does windows folder take

But if he want to format the disk with XP installed, and the files are there... He will lost em.

And sorry I have Vista so can't tell you about the XP size

Windows XP SP2 Professional - 3.18 GB

the program Patition Magic can help you to make a partition in your hard drive and save your documents

yeah, thats a good idea too. But wont work if he have a virus.

whos got a virus.. patition magic?

Urko wrote:

whos got a virus.. patition magic?

Yea, PowerQuest Partition Magic....it can split your HD into partitions, so you can keep all you have in a single one (including your current windows) and install a new windows xp on another partition...I had it in my older pc

But if your question is, "if I just want to have a single partition in my HD and I reinstall windows, do I lose everything?" then the answer is yes, so get urself an external HD and save enerything you need there, then reinstall...windows installer automatically formats the partition where you reinstall windows

No, I mean a virus in the OS not the program. If he infected his comp before it will take over whole hard drive so format is needed.

just reinstaled it.. but.. srew this backups... now everything is f**k*d up.. i dont have my themes anymore and all that shit... and programs on my D drive arent in the start menu and in the add remove programs list... gotta get this comp in shape

Well of course, you never back up your installed programs, because they require registry entries to work, that's the whole deal with installing and uninstalling using the program menu or Add/Remove Programs Tab.

You should only ever back up important information and files, such as photo's, mod's, etc. and like other's have said, an external hard drive is the best thing for backing up. I used to use hundreds of little flash drives, but then I bought a big 500GB one from Lacie, and those drives are great.

DVD's aren't that reliable to backup with, because they are vulnerable to hardware failure's and even a slight scratch can erase all the data on them. Plus they are slow to write, and their capacity is not that great either.

Anyway, you should re-install your programs and theme's properly, however way you did it before, rather than just copying and pasting them and expecting them to work. Although, did you remember to include your themes in the backup discs?

Yeah, i wish i even had the chance to back up my needed files!

My laptop wouldn't even start.. not even in safe mode, so yeah.. had to re-format and just re-install windows.

Lol, if you ever wanted to write something the whole world would see, write error messages for windows.

i backed up my themes.. but they wont work.. gotta find that uxtheme.dll patcher
EDIT: nevermind.. i have sp3 now.. so it doesnt work.. can someone with sp2 send me uxtheme.dll