I've got an oldish Acer laptop on XP Home Edition, and my friends have suggested doing a total reboot. I realise this will kill everything that's already on the hard drive, but there really isn't much on there as I just use it for writing and the internet. The one thing I do need to save though is my Microsoft Office 2003 package (Word, Excel, etc). How do I reboot the laptop, and how can I do it without losing Office?

(I do still have a triple-use Office 2003 CD, but it has been used 3 times now...)

If you wish to start from fresh, then office is going to go...

If you have the office CD's then your set to go, as they will just valedate via the internet, doesnt matter if you have used them 3 times or more. There is a limit, but i have installed office 2007 now about 5 times, and its activated ok.

If it doesnt, then there is an automated phoneline where you can activate via that.

Most acers would have came with a backup disc? All you need to do is insert the disc and reboot.

The second the laptop powers back up again, on my acer you have to hit f12 for boot options, and then select the CD/DVD drive?

The acer reboot will take you through step by step... Really is easy...

Thanks a lot planecrazy. Is a shame we're in a middle of building work at our house, because all the CD's for my computer could be anywhere right now, but when I find them I'll take your advice, cheers