XPost: alt.windows-xp   
   From: johnwilliamson@btinternet.com   
      
   Pfsszxt@aol.com wrote:   
   >   As I said above-- I can't use an external USB drive -- one of the   
   > several problems. And the ACER recovery stuff would put back the   
   > original XP Pro (without SP1, SP2, SP3, and whatever updates   
   > have come down!)   
   >  Nothing was lost when I Partitioned the drive! That was done when I   
   > first bought the computer - when Win XP was new!   
   >  My problems occured only recently   
      
   How up-to-date are your backups?   
      
   Have you got another computer you could transfer your data to using   
   ethernet? Or will the Acer boot from a CD, so you could try one of the   
   Live CDs? Even something like Puppy Linux burnt onto a CD will let you   
   mount a USB drive if the hardware's working.   
      
   Once your data's safe, then you can nuke XP using either a restore CD   
   bought from Acer or from HD by pressing the right combination of keys at   
   boot, assuming you've not deleted the restore partition using Partition   
   Manager or similar.   
      
   As for updating Windows after installing, it's just a matter of waiting,   
   assuming you have a wired internet connection. We all need to do it from   
   time to time, and it's a good idea anyway, as Windows XP seems to get   
   slower as time passes, and a re-install restores some, if not all, the   
   original speed. Just don't ask me why it happens.   
   --   
   Tciao for Now!   
      
   John.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)