How do I save data when I need to reinstall my operating system?

I am in need of clearing off my hard drive and starting over. I don't want to clear off the entire hard drive because i have a large quantity of music and data files in the My Documents folder that would be very difficult to backup/replace. Is there anyway that I can delete everything off the C drive except for this folder's contents?

This question was answered on February 12, 2002. Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting.

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The answer is yes There is a way to clean off your drive without deleting the contents of your folder It will require you to purchase some special software that can make partitions in disks that are already in use Creating a partition is basically like cutting a piece of pie and leaving it in the pan It is now separate, but it is still physically touching the rest of the pie The computer will actually recognize this partition as a completely separate drive and you will even assign it it's very own drive letter (such as your E drive

"Partition Magic" (runs approx $70 from the manufacturer's website) is the most popular brand What you can do is create a new partition that is large enough to hold your entire folder and then move the contents of the folder to the new partition You could then wipeout and reinstall your operating system onto the original partition without affecting the data you are now saving on a "different" hard drive You must be careful when re-installing the operating system and choose the correct partition or you will erase the data that you went to all that trouble to save

You can find the website by copying and pasting the following link into your browser window.

http://www.powerquest.com/webstore/

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Posted by Jeff of Chandler-Gilbert Community College on February 12, 2002

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