How to reinstall Windows XP without data loss

[james438]

How can I reinstall Windows XP without over writing all of my data? I did this the last time I reinstalled Windows XP, but am not sure how I did it and would prefer not to reinstall XP to figure it out . Anyone have any ideas?

[forum_amnesiac]

From my memory I can't remember if it is possible to skip the format target disk, if it is then you can reinstall XP without affecting your data.

The other option, if it is sufficient for you, is to repair the original installation.

[djr33]

Realistically, you should backup anything that really matters before playing with reformatting. I think you can skip it if you choose the right options along the way, but I've never done that (though repair obviously doesn't delete the data).
If you do just want to keep your data, you can always put the drive in another computer and just read the files-- it's not like windows encrypts them... they'll be just like any other secondary drive, just one that happens to have a windows folder, etc.

[james438]

Thanks for the tips. I am mostly asking so I can save my computer if XP becomes corrupted. The last time I reinstalled Windows XP was because I could not log into my user account without entering a password even though I had never created a password for the administrator account or any other account for that matter. When I did reinstall Windows XP I think I set up a separate location for it and told it not to delete anything. None of my files were lost. Windows was gone and the registry was new, but all of my files were still accessible

Currently my roommate is having the same trouble, but he is pretty sure that some years ago he may have created a password for his admin account.

[nigelle]

Realistically, you should backup anything that really matters before playing with reformatting. I think you can skip it if you choose the right options along the way, but I've never done that (though repair obviously doesn't delete the data).
If you do just want to keep your data, you can always put the drive in another computer and just read the files-- it's not like windows encrypts them... they'll be just like any other secondary drive, just one that happens to have a windows folder, etc.

hi thanks for your tips, the only thing that we have to do for not losing the data is to do back on our system before reinstalling the operating system.