[wannabe1]

Yes...we want to leave the file system intact.

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OK...read that 'how to' link and the entire first half looks very familiar.

So now I am at the setup page and the default selection is;

"Leave the current file system intact (no changes)"

the other choices are;

"Format the disk using the NTFS file system (quick)" or

"Format the disk using the NTFS file system"

[Labyrinthus]

OK...read that 'how to' link and the entire first half looks very familiar.

So now I am at the setup page and the default selection is;

"Leave the current file system intact (no changes)"

the other choices are;

"Format the disk using the NTFS file system (quick)" or

"Format the disk using the NTFS file system"

[wannabe1]

Use the default...leave the file system intact.

[Labyrinthus]

next screen has no default.

To use the folder and delete the existing windows installation in it, hit 'L'

(which they warn may destroy the MY Documents folder...which is fine with me)

the other options are to exit or define another folder....

I am accepting 'L'

[wannabe1]

HOld off...that's not what we're after...

[Labyrinthus]

yikes!

[wannabe1]

Nevermind....OEM cd...it has a few choices I'm not used to....

Go ahead....

[wannabe1]

Sowwy.....

[Labyrinthus]

"Please wait while setup copies files to the windows installation folders"

I'll probably get some sort of 'are you sure' choice next

...waiting...53% complete

[Labyrinthus]

ohhh fer cryin' out loud...now it is running CHKDSK on the D-drive which is huge and filled with old video files from my son's high school projects.

...

geez...found some bad clusters...

Hmm...

"Correcting errors in the volume bitmap"

...12kb in bad sectors...

[wannabe1]

12kb isn't bad...the repair should continue after the check. This shouldn't be the full check, either...

[Labyrinthus]

OK.

Starting to look like WINDOWS now.

It says it is 'Installing Windows' on the left side and hitting me with cheesy "Music and entertainment just got better" type blurbs on the right side of the screen.

It says setup will complete in approximately 37 minutes.

[wannabe1]

hitting me with cheesy "Music and entertainment just got better" type blurbs

Great! Let me know if you run into any problems or have any questions.

[Labyrinthus]

Well... it boots fine now. Looks like a brand new out-of-the-box 4 year old PC.

The D drive is there and looks the same as always. All my son's old stuff is there.

The C drive is... well.... it appears that the C drive has been wiped.

It is completely devoid of any and all files that I knew and loved.

I have saved my 2005 tax file on a floppy here. The properties info says april 16 9:24pm so that should be pretty close to what I sent the IRS. I'll double check against hardcopy manana. I have all my tax files on 3 or 4 floppies going back to 1993. Next order of business will be to get them on CD.

Thanks for the help. The old XP is now up and running.

[wannabe1]

Whoa...we must have missed a screen somewhere! Were your files saved in the My Documents folder? Thats where My Pictures and My Music is also stored. When a repair is done correctly, all the data is preserved. I'll look back over the thread to see if I can find where it went wrong...I apologize in advance if I gave you a wrong instruction...