[ExGeeEye]

yes, and yes.

[LSAggie]

Operation Basementcat a success! Got greycat safely placed in the basement with a blankie, cat food, water and litter box right before the thunderstorm hit last night. He knew it was going to be a vicious storm and was on the front porch crying to come in at midnight. He was a perfect gentleman, and Annie behaved herself as well. I was able to sleep soundly, too, knowing he was safe, warm and dry.

[Rose in RoseBear]

Okay ...
1. Back up all your data. And don't just copy My Documents; also copy the Application Data folder, and the data hiding underneath the installed Program Files folders. Make sure you back up everything that means anything to you, and accept the fact that you're going to lose something that was vital.
2. Go to the computer manufacturer's website, and download the latest versions of the BIOS (basic input/output system) and device drivers for your computer. Apply the BIOS upgrade before reinstalling the operating system.
3. While on the website, search diligently for an operating system reinstallation guide. Every computer has its reinstall idiosyncracies; best if you follow manufacturer's recommendations.
4. Gather together the CDs of all the applications (Microsoft Office, Photoshop, etc.) you plan to reinstall. If you installed the application from a downloaded file, make sure you have a written list of the websites where the files are located.
5. Alter the boot sequence so that the CD precedes the hard drive. Every time you boot your computer, it checks various drives to see which one is bootable. The standard boot sequence for most systems is: floppy drive, hard drive, CD ROM drive. Somewhere, probably in the BIOS, there's a way to change the setting. Move the CD to the front of the line.
6. Put the XP CD in the drive, then reboot the computer. The computer should boot from the XP CD. It will examine your system, causing the boot to last several minutes.
7. Check the partitioning of the drive. Some computer manufacturers set up small partitions for utilities or for restores. Unless you feel comfortable wiping that information, leave the partitions be.
8. Install the operating system, formatting the hard drive's largest partition. Don't use a quick format.
9. Once the operating system is installed, install the device drivers as recommended by the computer manufacturer.
10. Update your operating system with the latest software patches. Depending on how old your version of XP is (original, service pack 1 or service pack 2), you will have at least 100+ patches to download and install, with at least three reboots to keep things interesting. Perform all updates; they really do matter.
11. Once the drivers are installed, install applications.
12. Go to the website of each application, and install any updates there.

And that should do the trick.

See how easy????