I installed a new video card which somehow corrupted a hal.dll file making it
impossible to boot (even with System Restore). I re-installed Windows and
have two questions:

1.Is it possible to force Windows to recognize the 100+ programs already
installed or must I re-install and re-update every one of them?

Is the original Windows a lost cause, or can I update the new one with SP2
(to match the old one) and replace the corrupted hal.dll with the new one? It
would be nice to be able to save all my settings.