yo laptops running progressively slower, how do i reinstall operating system and keep my old files?
Save old files to CD/DVD/Flash Drive/External Drive. Take your time and make sure you get everything, because there is no undo when you reinstall. Alternatively, if the system is running just a bit slower, I would leave it installed and simply clean it up. Try using software like CCleaner to dump temp files, you may want to get rid of your page file (and defrag the rest of your drive), or see if you can find software to defrag your drive AND your page file. You can look in msconfig and see if there are programs running that you do not use. This can take a bit of time to uncheck the box and reboot for each one. You may also look into CHKDSK which will search yoru drive for errors (assuming you run XP or Vista). Reinstalling is a last option. You are better off learning a few things about the computer and how to maintain it.
Copy the files to an external storage such as device such as CD’s, memory sticks or an external hard drive. Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 all have a built in backup utility that you can use or you can just copy the files manually. The difficult part will be doing the restore. Restore method varies by manufacturer but in most cases you’ll have received a restore CD/DVD from your manufacturer with the computer or you will have a special section on your hard disk called a restore partition that is used to restore the computer. If you have the CD/DVD, insert it, restart the computer and then follow on-screen instructions. If you have the restore partition, your computer will generally give instructions during startup, such as Press F10 to run Restore. Pressing F10 (for example) would start the restore process. Follow the on-screen instructions. Whichever method you use, it will wipe your computer and reinstall the files as they were when the computer left the factory. You’ll then
