reformat

Ok, so my computer is acting slow ,not as good as it used to and some programs wont open when you click them. I think im going to reformat, but i have a problem. I have a dell so i have all these nice little updates and i also have picture edditing software that came with the computer. so what im wondering is, if i reformat without backing these files up, will they be gone forever, or are they on the backup version of windows i got with the computer.


many thanks

I'm guessing the disk that came with your system would restore your computer to the same state as that when you first got it. The only way to know for sure is to consult the documentation that came with your computer. Failing that, try to contact the dealer.

Are you talking about windows updates?

You should have all the disks to restore it like the day you bought it. I have six at work and they came with the operating system disk, the drivers disk (which should be installed immediately after the OS), and the applications disk for everything that came with the computer originally. All of my Dells had those disks. What you will have to do again is reinstall all service packs and critical updates from Windows Update and any programs you installed after buying the computer. And yes, to answer your question you will lose everything that's on the computer unless you have backups.