Windows XP reinstallation

Manually deleting all directories except for your personal files is something I would not recommend doing.

Exactly why do you need to reformat and reinstall Windows XP? If it's to restore certain system files, you could install Windows XP over the current installation. Your personal files should remain intact since they are not located within the Windows folder. You will find them under the Documents and Settings folder.

On the other hand, if it just seems that the registry has become bloated or you're trying to recover from a virus infection or uncontrollable adware & spyware, then repartitioning and reformatting the hard drive would certainly help.

There are many ways you can back up your files:
1. External hard drive
2. Slave drive
3. Another partition on the hard drive
4. CD
5. USB Flash Drive (only a very temporary solution)
6. File Server
7. Another machine on the network
8. Floppies (Heaven forbid!)
9. Hard Copy (printable docs)
10. ZIP drive
11. Tape drive
12. Online storage service (best with Broadband connection)

So, take your pick, depending upon available resources and your budget.

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All well and good suggestions. Problem is, I've got about 80gb of stuff to backup, so most of your suggestions aren't really feasible, unless you know of a place that'll let me back that much up online.

What problems would deleting the stuff manually cause?

Thanks for your post.

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