"Wiping" my computer and saving the data

[Guest]

I bought a computer in November 2002, a Sony Vaio
desktop and it came with XP Home. I have had nothing
but problems with it. I have talked to Sony tech
support several times who has now pointed me in the
direction of Microsoft Support because they feel that
my issues are Windows XP related. I have 13.78 GB of
data on my C: drive which is an 80 GB drive partitioned
as C: = 16 GB and D: = 60.33 GB. I have a copy of XP
Professional that was purchased with a different
computer in the early part of 2002. Here are my
questions... if I "wipe" my computer and load this
older copy of XP Professional:
-- Will it fix the problems that I am having
(minidump>shutdown, locking up, constant lag, recovered
from a serious error every time I start it, etc.? (It
puts info on these "minidumps" into a temp folder and
that information can be seen if needed)
-- Will I have any problems or issues with the copy of
XP Prof since it is rather old even though it has never
been used?
-- How do I save 13 GB data? I have two other
computers that are a little out dated... a Sony Vaio
laptop that is a P III and a desktop that is a P II. I
thought there might be a way to directly connect two of
the computers and transfer the data somehow that way.
I also thought that perhaps if I bought an additional
harddrive, I could remove the entire drive before I
"wipe" it and put the new drive in prior to wiping and
then after wiping it, put the old drive back in with my
data and have both?
--Is this all necessary or is this the best way to
ensure that the errors stop and I get the performance
expected from my Vaio?
-- What causes these errors? Like getting "... has
recovered from a serious error" constantly?

Thanks for any help I can get.

 

[Guest]

Just a note... the email address that shows here for me
is incorrect. Please do not reply to the magical
address. My email is (e-mail address removed). I guess
finding out how to change that will be my next
question...smile
Thank you...

 

[Malke]

partitioned as C: = 16 GB and D: = 60.33 GB. I have a copy of XP

Whoa. An intense post, Sarah. Basically, the answer is that no one can
tell you from reading a Usenet post what exactly is wrong with your
computer. You're basically saying, "it's broken - why". It could be
hardware, it could be software. I'd take your machine to a good local
computer shop and have them check it out for you. They can test the
RAM, hard drive, motherboard, etc. for you. They can look at your
Windows installation for possible clues as to your problems. If they
think that reinstalling the operating system is the way to go, they can
save your data. If you are determined to figure this out for yourself
(the wrong way to go, imnsho), then start by testing the hardware, one
component at a time. Look in Event Viewer for clues. Strip the
installation down to the simplest possible and run for awhile,
observing what happens.

HTH,

Malke