Hello, long story guys.
I had a virus which was hard to get rid and i think i managed it, then i tried to install a achitecture program but couldnt see activation screen so got told about these methods. Any way after do them i shut laptop down and restarted and can up with error couldnt start due to changes in hardware or softeware.

So i ran a recovery disc because vista was preinstalled. And now i get a black sceen with mouse pointer before windows logo. This happens in safe mode too.
But i have a lot of work that isnt backed up.

Can i reintall vista so it doesnt overwrite the old one and still have access to my files so i can back up.

Thanks guys.

But if i do a clean install ill loose all my work wont i?
I read about a program called robocopy or knoppix is it worth using them before i do a clean install?

oh yeah i want to do a clean install but just want to clarify that i can still retrieve my docs before hand. because at the minute im stuck on black screen of death and cannot get in to explore and copy my files to external hd. So just want to know how to get my files before the clean install. Because am i right in thinking that the clean install will format my hd too?

no josh just get the same black screen of death with a pointer, so thats why i need to get into the system to get the files before installing. Thanks for the suggestion anyway

You can use Knoppix http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html with a good ISO copier like: http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm along with a blank CD and then boot to it (make it on another computer that works and has a CD burner and an internet connection). This should give you enough access to the system (if you can't get in any other way) to backup your important data. If that doesn’t work, try slaving the drive to another computer and recovering the data using that other computer to access the disk. Of course, you need someplace to put the data, but that's up to you as we don't know what you have.

Once done, you can do a clean install either using the genuine Windows Vista Installation Disk or the Recovery Disk or the Recovery Partition (whatever process is dictated by your computer manufacturer – you may need to contact them for the procedure and perhaps to get recovery disks). To do a clean install proceed as follows: http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/winvista_install_03.asp (adapted as necessary by the procedures of your computer manufacturer). If given the option, select a full format of the drive rather than a quick format. Then you will need to re-install all your programs, reset all your preferences, reconfigure your network and email settings, restore your backed up data, run Windows Update with possibly nearly 150 updates pending,...

I hope this helps.

Good luck!