Windows XP Home Workstation 'Re & Re, revamp'

Some software such as many Intuit applications do not save all personal data to Doc's&Set's. So if you are going the pegasys route make sure to investigate that beforehand.  Also you may inform your users to move anything that they do want to keep into MyDoc's prior to reinstall.

Personally I would reinstall as a last resort, because there is always some misplaced file that is needed but not backed up(unless you ghost).
If you are looking to "revamp...due to erratic behavior and inefficient speed" I would first check for/remove malware and remove unneccessary startup programs on one of the machines to see if it is acceptable.


In addition if you feel that you need a 'fresh install' every so often, you make want to create a ghost image of the freshly installed system with all of your applications already installed, so that you can easily go back whenever you want.

If you re-building your entire network and starting from scratch then I must agree "ghosting" (Symantec Ghost) is your best option.  You should backup all your data before ghosting the machine.  I would suggest backing up each user profile data such as: My Documents, Favorites, Desktop, Cookies (optional).  Go to C:\Documents & Settings\username\....

If you have a handful of users on these machines then it may be easier to invest in a backup tool or use the backup tool provided by XP (http://www.microsoft.com/athome/moredone/backupfiles.mspx)

Now that's the simple & easy solution, if your systems is not complicated.  If you have many programs and want everything on your system restored to its normal state then  you would need a tool such as Symantec LiveState (http://www.symantec.com/Products/enterprise?c=prodinfo&refId=858), but for this to be most effective the system should have been backed up prior to the failing state, otherwise youi will restore the system to the way it is now!  

As suggested by jasfout, I would be sure that the system is completed cleaned and patched.  It can save you loads of trouble.

If speed is an issue then I would suggest looking at the network for any bottlenecks...maybe a bad cable, bad router, upgrade all hardware (routers, switches, hubs, etc.) with the proper firmware installs.  Update all systems (operating systems) with the proper patches, hotfixes, etc.  More than likely you are having issues unrelated to a reinstall if you are experieincing speed issues across all computers....unless all computers are infected with viruses/spyware....Install a good anit-virus software, such as: Anti-Vir, AVG, TrendMicro, BitDefender, etc. and also install a good spyware/adware tool such as: Lavasoft, Spybot, Yahoo! Toolbar (run Anti-Spy).  Install these programs and immediately after the install run a "check for updates" then run the scan, remove any malicous code or files it finds.

Hope this helps!

Some software such as many Intuit applications do not save all personal data to Doc's&Set's. So if you are going the pegasys route make sure to investigate that beforehand.  Also you may inform your users to move anything that they do want to keep into MyDoc's prior to reinstall.

Personally I would reinstall as a last resort, because there is always some misplaced file that is needed but not backed up(unless you ghost).
If you are looking to "revamp...due to erratic behavior and inefficient speed" I would first check for/remove malware and remove unneccessary startup programs on one of the machines to see if it is acceptable.


In addition if you feel that you need a 'fresh install' every so often, you make want to create a ghost image of the freshly installed system with all of your applications already installed, so that you can easily go back whenever you want.

Some software such as many Intuit applications do not save all personal data to Doc's&Set's. So if you are going the pegasys route make sure to investigate that beforehand.  Also you may inform your users to move anything that they do want to keep into MyDoc's prior to reinstall.

Personally I would reinstall as a last resort, because there is always some misplaced file that is needed but not backed up(unless you ghost).
If you are looking to "revamp...due to erratic behavior and inefficient speed" I would first check for/remove malware and remove unneccessary startup programs on one of the machines to see if it is acceptable.


In addition if you feel that you need a 'fresh install' every so often, you make want to create a ghost image of the freshly installed system with all of your applications already installed, so that you can easily go back whenever you want.