would I be able to copy all my music, docs, etc to my external harddrive before the reinstallation?

like with the http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545 thing and copying all the files to different directories, is it possible to do the same with music and stuff?

If you cannot boot into Windows on this computer then no you cannot.

That was the whole purpose of slaving the hard drive. To do this you need another working computer.

Again a Repair Install should not remove those files but nothing is certain.

okay thanks for all the info, and very sorry for all the questions. ill be back if it doesnt work

and thanks for actually responding... ive had a lot of sites where im just ignored =/

No problem. Let us know how it goes.

ok so I did everything the thing said on Method 2 because I assumed thats the one Im supposed to do. Am I wrong?

I got to where it said to press F8 to agree to the license agreement, but then it says to press "R" to repair windows. well the window I get next lists the harddrives, but nothing about pressing "R" to repair. I remember seeing press "R" at the beginning where you chose whether to install or repair, but not after. it says to choose one partition, so I chose the first one and then it comes to a screen which gives you the options of a quick format w/ ntfs, a regular format w/ ntfs, and then no format and no changes. I assume the latter but it doesnt say anything about that on Method 2 so I dont want to do anything wrong. Which is the correct choice?

edit- now ive come to find out that thats not even the right order. apparently my computer is so screwed up it doesnt even have the right tools.

See if this guide is more easy to follow:

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XP...install.htm#RI

the problem is I cant do a repair install apparently. guess Ill have to do the slave drive thing

What exactly happens?

Are you using a Microsoft XP CD?

Or is this a manufactured computer e.g. Dell; HP; etc. ?

Ya its a dell. and im using the xp home cd.

I want to get a lenovo lol

If it is a Dell computer you need to use the Dell recovery CD.

Is that what you are using?