Would reinstalling WIn98(possible?) be like a reformat?

[AlphaIVT]

nt

 

[BigToque]

no it wont. It will write over your old windows files, but your registry and all your personal settings will remain the same. Reinstalling windows over itself will almost never fix a problem, and more often than not, will cause more problems.

Just format your drive. Its the easiest way to fix your problem. Make sure to back up your personal data first.

 

[pyr]

actually all your settings would be gone cause the registry would be killed but all those old files would still be laying all over causing problems. if you want to do it right, delete the windows directory (deltree c:\windows) and then install

 

[Marine]

But, if all you've done is deleted or corrupted a file in the OS, a reinstall will often repair it. Can't hurt to try the easy way first. If you have major problems, then I agree, a complete delete and reinstall is the only way to go.

 

[Durron]

If you rename the windows directory (I tend to use winbak or winold) and then reinstall to the Windows directory. It will be exactly like a fresh format, but all your files will still be there. (you can even load device drivers from your old windows\inf\other directory)

-Durron