Its all very well resolving the problem when it is in XP but once you have done so why not go and do a Windows XP back-up into a nominated separate partition, preferably on a second HD. Partition Magic 8 is best and easiest for partitioning drives in a sensible fashion and it does much else besides - I'd be lost without it. Once you have the back-up stored away, anything that goes wrong can be easily corrected - back-up your own stuff onto a CD or two or three if you can first so that you can update the XP back-up. When using the back-up facility I would advise electing to choose what to back up rather than letting it rip. It is better than the restore function and overrides it in fact. I offer this advice from personal experience with the specific problem in this thread.