Can I reinstall Windows without reformating hard disk?

[Prevost]

Help!!!

PC giving to many problems and slowness. I'm not even sure if the Restoration Disk included with it conceals full Windows operating system.

Can I reinstall it without file backups or formatting hard drive?

[Falstaff]

You should be able too. I know I've had to repair Windows many times. It should give you the option. But if your PC is running slow and acting odd, you should backup your important files and just start from scratch. That is always the better thing to do since you don't know what is causing your slowdown.

[Jason Dunn]

Problems + Slowness = reformat and reinstall Windows. Sorry, there's no other good solution.

[upplepop]

You should backup your data, the reinstall may very well 'reformat' your hard drive. The restoration disks of many computer manufacturers (eMachines for example) restore your computer using a disk image (usually done with Norton Ghost). If this is the case, you will lose all your personal files.

[DustyLBottoms]

I do a "flush and Fill" every six months.

It keep things running nice and fast :)
I just back up my data to CD and another hard drive that I keep for that purpose.

[Sven Johannsen]

I just back up my data to CD and another hard drive that I keep for that purpose.

There is an easy way to do something similar almost automatically. In XP (and 2K IIRC) you can redirect 'My Documents' anywhere you want. You could install a second drive and have My Documents be there. You do this from the My Documents properties. Right click My Docs, properties. You can do that even if there is a bunch of stuff already there, the OS will move it all.

This can leave you with an OS drive and a documents drive. You can reformat and reload the OS at will and just redirect again after it is back up. This is as long as you are religeous about keeping your own files in My Docs of course.

You can do this on seperate partitions on one drive of course too, but you have to be a little more carefull when you reformat and reload the OS partition. You accidentally wip the wrong one and you are hosed.

[Jason Dunn]

There is an easy way to do something similar almost automatically. In XP (and 2K IIRC) you can redirect 'My Documents' anywhere you want. You could install a second drive and have My Documents be there. You do this from the My Documents properties. Right click My Docs, properties. You can do that even if there is a bunch of stuff already there, the OS will move it all.

This is what I do, but there's an even easier way: cut the My Documents folder, then paste it into the new location and Windows is smart enough to figure out the rest. ;-)

[Prevost]

Problems + Slowness = reformat and reinstall Windows. Sorry, there's no other good solution.
Thanx Jason.

However, it looks like Real Player (just installed it a few days ago) is what was driving it nuts. Anyway, perhaps it is a good idea to do a "flush and refill" as our mate says. I'll prepare for it.

[dean_shan]

However, it looks like Real Player (just installed it a few days ago) is what was driving it nuts. Anyway, perhaps it is a good idea to do a "flush and refill" as our mate says. I'll prepare for it.

Once you've done that you should install Real Alternative (http://home.hccnet.nl/h.edskes/mirror.htm). It let's you play real files in WMP without installing all that RealOne Junk.