2
I have an old laptop with a broken Windows install. It bluescreens whenever I try to reboot it. I want to just try to reinstall Windows XP, but I want to make sure that no personal files will be deleted during the process. I thought this was a given, but one part of the setup process is making me ask this question.
CAUTION: A \WINDOWS folder already exists that may contain a Windows installation. If you continue, the existing Windows installation will be overwritten.
All files, subfolders, user accounts, applications, security, and desktop settings for that Windows installation will be deleted. The "My Documents" folder may also be deleted.
So, will my My Documents folder be deleted? How can I know? The only reason I am bothering to try to reinstall to this existing partition is to go recover some personal stuff like old photos and videos, so if this folder is going to be plowed, I want to choose a different recovery mechanism!
Now that I think of it, is it possible that the new security settings applied by a reinstalled OS will make it impossible for me to even access my old files?
1As an alterntive to reinstalling from scratch, you might like to try a repair installation. On the same screen that lists your current Windows installs, you should have the option to repair your existing installation. – Kez – 2009-09-19T14:00:03.070