Hi Re-Na Like Don said, you can re-install Win98SE or whichever OS you're using over your present one. You will not lose anything. Windows will only replace whatever necessary files that are missing and overwrite the corrupted files. In the process it will ask you if you want to keep certain files which are newer than the ones on the CD. Just say yes to keep the newer versions. You may want to back up all your data on CD and delete them from your harddrive to free up some space. After the re-install, go to MS website for the latest updates and then do a scan disk and defrag. That should give you a healthier machine to work with. I have done that numerous times with Win98SE, Win2000 and WinNT 4.0 and have not lost any settings or data at all. But backing up before doing it will give you peace of mind. Like everything one does, things can go wrong. For instanct something as simple as a tooth extraction can get someone killed, though rare, can happen, so back up even though it's perfectly safe to re-install your OS over the old one. Don't be a coward. Go ahead and do as Don B advised. <g> Tonia "G.R. Hanson" <grhanson@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote: Thanks for the url's, I'll check them out. Well, if you run scan disk, you know that it does not tell you WHAT the hidden files are, just how many you have. So I can't answer your questions. Ohhhhhh, you mean, the ones in windows explorer that I've been deleting. Well, they are long gone now, but I'm sure I'll have to do it again, so if I have questions about certain ones, I'll ask first next time. The pc is still locking up on me really bad, so something must not be right. G.R. Hanson Arkansas USA ----- Original Message ----- From: Peter To: Sent: Thursday, February 28, 2002 9:34 AM Subject: [pchelpers] Re: hidden files It all depends what files they are. Can you rattle off some of the files that come up? Files safe to delete: http://members.aol.com/jemtecuk/dellist.htm http://www.pcworld.com/hereshow/article/0,aid,47369,00.asp ~~~~~~~~~~~ Peter --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.323 / Virus Database: 180 - Release Date: 2/8/2002 --------------------------------- Do You Yahoo!? Get personalised at My Yahoo!.