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Thread ID: 101438	2009-07-15 06:43:00	The "My Documents" folder may also be deleted.	george12 (7)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
791789	2009-07-15 06:43:00	As many of you know, if you do an XP install, and at the partitioning stage choose "Leave the current file system intact", you arrive at a screen saying: CAUTION: A Windows folder already exists that may contain a Windows installation. If you continue, the existing Windows installation will be overwritten. All files, subfolders, user accounts, applications, security and desktop settings for that Windows installation will be deleted. The "My Documents" folder may also be deleted. * To use the folder and delete the existing Windows installation in it, press L. * To use a different folder, press ESC. * To quit Setup, press F3. Does anybody know why the strangely inprecise word "may" is used, and in what situations if any the user folder is deleted. In my experience, in every case I have encountered, when you press L and proceed with the installation, the existing user accounts are renamed to [useraccountname].[computername] within the Documents and Settings folder, and all data is preserved. It is a very convenient way to reinstall Windows, but I can't feel safe doing this on client machines until I can get some kind of confirmation that Windows won't one day decide to do as it threatens and delete the folder. Basically doing it this way saves using Windows PE to rename the folders, or (worse) backing up the data first! Any insights?	george12 (7)
791790	2009-07-15 09:36:00	Microsoft are covering their arse - if they put something like "your data will remain preserved in a folder name ?????" And what happens if the install wipes the data --- MS would face law suits left right and center. Sayig it "May" means it may or may not work - they wont guarantee it. The comment Basically doing it this way saves using Windows PE to rename the folders, or (worse) backing up the data first! Thats being plain lazy -- if you have to reinstall a persons PC, and like most they dont have backups, if they want the data still thats a chargable operation. If they dont want the data - then that's their choice. You take a PC to HP to be repaired, ( even under warranty) if the drive has recoverable data -last time I heard they charged $80 to save the data - then its simply dumped into a folder on the desktop, and named something like Old Drive. I had to do the same thing today - took a PC back , it was scanning for over 18 hours using a data recovery program, then another 1.1/2 Hrs to transfer it to the workshop PC > External Drive> Their New HDD - I recovered what I could and it was in a file called Recovered data all 78GB of it. They can sort it out as to where the photos, music, documents are placed.	wainuitech (129)
791791	2009-07-16 02:54:00	yeah and personally i would feel a whole lot better myself to quickly make a clone, coz i know murphy and in IT he turns up a lot!!	Gobe1 (6290)
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