Question: When reloading Win XP on an existing Win XP hard drive, does the software load the OS on specific tracks, thus effectively only overwriting the previously loaded OS and thereby leaving the user files (software and data) in tact or is the whole hard disk initialized prior to the new reinstall? I know with previous versions we had the FAT (file allocation table) which described the name and physical location of each file on the hard disk and which was overwritten (ie. initialized) with any install of the OS.
The installer gives you a choice. You can install over the previous install or format and then install. Personally I like to get a compeltely fresh start. And then de-frag the hell out of the drive before installing anything so that the OS is nice and contiguous. Then do the same after software installation.
Bart.
  