Best Way to Reinstall Windows Without Losing Data ?

At some point during the course of your computer's use, you will find yourself in the unenviable position of having to reinstall Windows. There are many reasons for this. Perhaps important system files got corrupted or disk errors or viruses caused your system to become unstable.

This is all a result of wear and tear on your PC. When that time comes, you will have to not only know how to reinstall windows, but how to reinstall windows without losing data. Here we refer to a fresh install of Windows and not simply an attempt to repair a few files.

1. Your Vendor's Restore CD

The first step in knowing how to reinstall windows is to locate your vendor's restore CD--otherwise known appropriately enough as a rescue or boot disk. Windows comes with its own rescue CD as well. If that's the only one you have at your disposal then locate your operating system's instructions below.

Rescue CDs are not all alike. Some give you rescue functions as well as important software drivers for your computer. Others are more basic, only allowing you the ability to reformat your hard drive. Don't reformat your hard drive without backing up your personal files to another medium first! Your personal files are those located under 'My Documents' in Windows. The exact location of your personal files and folders varies from one operating system to another.

In Windows XP, for example, you will backup everything in C:Documents and Settings. In Windows 98 and ME, you will backup C:My Documents. More instructions follow below for your particular system. If you have any other folders where you've stored personal stuff back those up as well.

2. Windows 98 and ME CDs

With Windows 98 and ME you don't want to just reinstall windows without backing up important system information. This information can be found in your Windows folders.

First create a new folder on your C: drive and name it oldWindows. Then use Windows explorer to navigate to your Windows folder. Once there, locate the following subfolders: All Users, Application Data, Desktop, Favorites, Local Settings, Profiles, SendTo, and Start Menu. Copy these folders to the oldWindows folder you created.

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