thankyou all but another question....
Thank you all for your advice and help.
Eventually I needed to install the new xp anyway !
Before doing so I backed up my entire drive c: with my old XP Pro onto my second hard drive. ( D) ( and used the transfer settings and files too )
All was backed up to my drive d:
Then I installed my new XP onto my drive c:
The problem is now however, I cannot recover all my old email. Most of which is business related and quite important.
When I search for .dbx files, save them to xpmail on drive c: my xp will not recognise the file type.
All of the files saved in my drive d: ( the backup of my orginal drive c: ) seem to be impossible to open. Restore, although recognizing the back up copy, and taking about 25 minutes to perform some mysterious function, then doesn't seem to produce anything useful !
Any input would be appreciated.
My XP itself, is now legal, updated and super !