Yes. Back up all your data if you are going to do a clean install.

"HHantu" wrote:
[color=blue]
> Hi Guys,
>
> I havent installed anything lately on my PC but for some reason now i cant
> open control panel through the windows menu .. i can however access it via
> the explorer method. The same problem exists with my system properties and
> printers. I can see all the printers but i cant print any documents anymore.
>
> Any clues on what might have happened to my Vista OS (ultimate)? I've been
> teetering on using hte system restore but im thinking that it wont do
> anything since i havent changed anything lately. Also pondering on a fresh
> new install .. but that is such a pain .. and im not sure if i will lose all
> my documents in a fresh install. (windows will reformat the HD right?)
>
> Any help will be greatly appreciated. thanks in advance.[/color]