Yes it will, Jim. When you have re-installed Vista from the hidden partition
it will restore your system back to how it was when you first purchased it.
Any applications you installed after you purchased it will have to be
re-installed. The same goes for your files. Prior to re-installing I suggest
that you backup all your important files to a DVD.You can then copy them
back to the hard drive once you have re-installed Vista. I assume that you
have the disks for the software you installed after you purchased the
computer? If so you will just have to re-install the applications that you
need on your computer.
Once you have re-installed may I suggest that you take a look at Acronis
True Image (
www.acronis.com) This is imaging software that will enable you
to create an image of your hard drive after you have installed everything.
Create an image of your hard drive and keep it up to date with incremental
backups (although I prefer to do complete backups rather than incremental)
and, should a problem occur again, you can simply image the drive back and
you won't need to re-install any additional software (providing, of course,
the image backup is currently up to date on the day any problem occurs.) A
good idea is to image the drive to a set of DVDs and keep them safe.
--
--
John Barnett MVP
Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience
Web:
http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web:
http://vistasupport.mvps.org
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