Thanks Richard, was rapidly coming to the same conclusion myself.
Too late in the evening to start now, but as I've only ever reinstalled W98 and always formatted the drive before doing so, can I ask you if a fresh install over the top is desirable in XP, or is it worth formatting and reinstalling.
Secondly, while I haven't put the OEM XP CD in yet, I gather from your remarks it has a repair facility. Any comments on its effectiveness would be appreciated.
Cheers,
Binos