[WinXP] Can programs still work after a clean install?

[Xad]

Is there any folder(s) that i can backup so that if i were to do a clean install of windows xp and i were to still have all the programs i installed in program folders still intact - they'd still work?!

In the past when i did a clean install of Windows i've always had to reinstall programs/software all over again.

As a side note, how large is your windows folder? Mine is 2.55 gigabytes which seems huge

[Q-Buster]

Some programs, which dont make changes to the registry will work again, from whatever folder they are in, but many programs make changes to the registry so they wont work correctly, if at all, just by moving the files back into a subfolder of 'Program Files'. Sorry, I think you will have to find the disks the programs came on, or else download the installers for them if you dont save them.

My Windows folder on my XP installation is 2.44 Gb, probably all would be around this size.

Q-Buster

[Xad]

What if i backed up the entire registry and restored it once i did a clean install - would that work? Is that even possible?

[MaxP]

What if i backed up the entire registry and restored it once i did a clean install - would that work? Is that even possible?

that semi-defeats the whole idea of a clean install.
the registry is one of the things thats gets heavly bogged down with crap each time you install/removed software etc.

sometimes you just have to bite the bullit and start from fresh.

[Xad]

Oh, i see. I think i'll do a clean install and just reinstall the software. Not gonna be the first time i did this either

WinXP seems to have slowed down a bit and i'm having probs with PGPDisk; WinXP just freezes when i try to transfer large files into it (although the mouse still works) - hoping a clean install will fix that.