Mafee suggested I reinstall Win Xp..over present XP. Install hung at the end, at 13 min mark and would not exit setup. Took to computer repair and advised to save data first. They said none available, but only after reformatting my hard drive w/o permission. Then they said bad motherboard, and the computer worked great and no error messages or indications of any such problem. Can the reinstall delete the date..all of it. I didn't think it could..or should. What say you? Thanks Don J Dudley

I sure can, especially after reformatting the disks. A lot depends on how the disks where set up. No repairer will take responsibility for data on a disk given to it for repair. Data is entirely the responsibility of the user. Stuart

Think you read it wrong...I know about formating. They were saying the re-installation of XP, caused the data to disappear and... then, later they reformatted the drive. I think it was a cover up for their mistake. From what I can find out, reinstallation should not have caused the data to disappear. If anyone knows differently and can explain that to me, I'd appreciate it. Don J Dudley

One other thing..the DISK was NOT in for repair..the re-installation was 'hung up'. Don J Dudley

If you computer wasn't working, for whatever reason, and you gave it to someone to make it work, it was in for repair. Expecting the repairer to back up your data is expecting to much. You will probably find something in their terms of business to the effect that will not be held responsible for data on customers computers while in for repair. Normally an install over an existing installation will not destroy data. But that depends on the state of the disk to begin with. It could be the partition was nackered and a format was the only option. A hung installation does suggest a hardware problem. If they found it necessary to format and reinstall, then I am afraid you are screwed. Either way, don't try suing them, you would be wasting your time. Stuart

Two types of reinstall: 1.Repair reinstall=no data loss, XP replaces system files only. 2.Fresh reinstall=you lose everything, overwrites everything. For the future: You might investigate using the Repair Consol; many avoid it because it requires system comands, DOS style, but it is very powerful and pretty easy to use. Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day; Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime; Then industry pollutes the water and kills all the fish.

thanks a bunch for the info, appeciate it. I suppose my only option is data recovery. Don J Dudley