[TeachPower]

My wife's laptop came pre-installed with Vista and has been running very slow. I was wondering if I back up the applications program folders to my external then reformat her laptop and install XP, would I be able to just copy those application folders back into C:\Program Files directory and they still work properly?

If not then how can I install XP and not lose those applications or have to re-install manually all those applications?

Her laptop specs are:
Windows Vista 32-bit
Pentium Dual Core T2330 1.6 GHz
RAM 1 gig

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Programs have to be reinstalled. You can't simply move them.

[Broni]

Programs have to be reinstalled. You can't simply move them.

[TeachPower]

Why do they have to be re-installed? Does their functioning properly depend on their registry entries too? What is it about installing that does not allow the transplanting of their folder structure?

[Broni]

When program installs, it places files in different places on your computer, creates registry entries, etc.
The bottom line - any program, which requires installation has to be reinstalled. It can't be moved.