Rhonda, did you get your computer up and running? Hopefully Jake and Josh figured it out. I know it's a pain when your computer crashes and you lose all your stuff and have to pay $100 to Geek Squad or somebody to get your computer up and running again. I never paid anybody, but I lost a lot of data and spent many hours reinstalling Windows from scratch before I learned about making backup images of Windows and keeping important data on another partition. I used to use Norton Ghost for images before I became anti-Norton because of their programs being resource hogs and forcing you to upgrade every year to continue receiving updates. I visit
www.tweakhound.com a lot and started following his recommendation and using Acronis True Image.
It would be best if you have a friend or family member already familiar with making backup images with True Image or other programs. If not, you can read a guide at the following link which should show you everything you need to know about backup strategies and using True Image.
http://www.tweakhound.com/vista/backup/index.htm It talks about Vista, but most of the things discussed can be done in XP also. The main difference is XP doesn't have a built-in partitioning tool or a built in imaging tool. Of course, you should only try these methods if you are confident that you understand them.
If you decide to use Acronis True Image, the following link allows you to buy True Image for half off and should be good until August 31.
http://shop.acronis.com/dr/v2/ec_Main.Entry17c?SID=44905&SP=10034&CID=348375&PID=&PN=1&V1=1588590&CUR=840I'm sorry if this post sounds like an infomercial, but these are really the methods I use to keep my computers running, and I don't receive any commission if you buy True Image.
Home 
I hate viruses. Those people really need to find better hobbies.
All of the pictures, favorites, e-mail addresses . . . . everything. LOVE IT!