Reinstall XP and Keep Old Files?

[jjmcray]

Hello people I would like to know how to reinstall XP but keep all the old files like My Documents and etc...

I reinstalled XP once when I wanted to get rid of a virus but somehow I accidentally kept my old files from my old installation... But I don't remember how. Anyone know how to do this without third-party software?

[Aηdy]

When you run the XP setup there is an option the leave the file system intact, but you would be better off backing up and doing a full format while you're at it.

[Bobby]

An easy way (depending on how many files you have) would just be to attatch them to emails, and send the e-mails to yourself.

[Aηdy]

You're joking right?! In my case I would have to email about 300gb's of files!

[lallous]

I think the best way, as rok.my.sox said, would be to back up your files and format your hard disc, especially if you're trying to get rid of a virus.

Otherwise, if you have a HP (or a Compaq also, I think), there is a command to bring your PC back to square one (believe me, I have used it a lot). It is called "System Recovery" on HP, and on Compaq, during the boot-up, if you press F8 (i think) you get the same kind of thing.

That's all for now. Hope it helps.

[mr. self destruct]

Using the recovery disk is a good idea. Or, you could burn all your files do a CD or DVD. A DVD would hold more files than a CD. Also, reformatting would be best because it would totally get rid of the virus.

[jjmcray]

Thank you all, but my operating system is unaccessible... there are corrupt system files and stuff. So that's why I want to replace the OS files but keep the documents and what not. And btw my computer didn't come with a recovery disc.

[HopeScratchMcDougal]

0. 7-zip all files you want to keep. http://www.7-zip.org/

1. Put the archives you created on an external HD.

2. Reinstall Windows, or better yet, go the Ubuntu (http://ubuntu.com) root and install Linux on the hard drive.

3. Once your OS of choice is installed, move all your files back, reinstall 7-zip, and decompress the archives. Done.

[Aηdy]

I think the best way, as rok.my.sox said, would be to back up your files and format your hard disc, especially if you're trying to get rid of a virus.

Otherwise, if you have a HP (or a Compaq also, I think), there is a command to bring your PC back to square one (believe me, I have used it a lot). It is called "System Recovery" on HP, and on Compaq, during the boot-up, if you press F8 (i think) you get the same kind of thing.

That's all for now. Hope it helps.

Yeah my laptop has a partition on the hard drive with all the recovery files on it, you can burn them to cd/dvd or recover from the partition. The recovery thing on my laptop is called "Acer eRecovery Management", which coincidently, i'm doing now!


@OP: You could download a bootable version of XP or linux so that you can accsess your files to back them up then do a complete reformat.