Extracting word

[BlazesBoylan]

I just reinstalled windows on my NEC laptop without all the extra crap that came on the startup CD. Now I want to go back and install just Word. How do I extract Word from the startup disk? Thanks. --BB

[GaryRouth]

Sounds like you are using a "recovery disk"? Some vendors will have 3 sets of recovery disks: 1) reformat hard drive and restore everything, OS and applications, back to the original state as it left the factory 2) OS re-install disk 3) drivers and applications re-install disk: runs a proprietary program to let you re-install programs selected from a list generated by the program.

Some vendors will have a separate disks for a program as large as Word: but if you had that disk, you probably wouldn't need our help!

Exactly what disks do you have? If you use a separate install disk for Word, you'll need to be able to find the product key on it (usually on a sticker on the jewel case). If you can't find it, you'll want to call the folks that sold you the laptop, or if you registered everything with MS, you'll need to call MS, and they might be able to mail you a key.

...Gary

[BlazesBoylan]

Thanks, Gary. It's a single recovery disk. Actually, I think I'm going about this exactly the wrong way. Instead of trying to load only the programs I want, I need to figure out how to effectively remove all the unwanted programs and files. I always seem to make a mistake and wind up with a serious error message on bootup. Once again, it comes down to not doing my homework before I start madly deleting. --BB (PS: I would like to know how to extract Word from the recovery disk if I decide to upgrade to 98SE or Millennium. Thanks again)

[GaryRouth]

Hi again

If you run the recovery disk and return to a full install as it came from the factory, the safest way to remove unwanted programs is by using the Add/Remove Programs applet in your Control Panel. If you are worried about "leftovers" - things that the system couldn't find to uninstall, etc . . . you can then run either RegClean or RegMaid... Both of these Registry Cleaners are available as free downloads from the Microsoft support site. RegClean works without much input from you, RegMaid lists the things it's going to fix and let's you select which changes are made.

If you upgrade to 98SE or ME, don't worry, if you use an upgrade version it will leave your Word installation intact.

Remember that if you do decide to go back to the factory original environment with your recovery disk, you're going to need to spend a little time over on Windows Update, downloading all the patches and security updates since then.

Enjoy your laptop, and post back if you have any more questions.
. . . Gary

[BlazesBoylan]

Thanks, Gary. --BB