ok....other updates since then Im actually more concerned with the customizations i like to do...reg tweaks and such Why don't you clean install a windows you want, install everything exactly the way you want it (software games etc) Tweaks everything the way you want. Then, create a HD images on a bootable CD. You can use that to backup to the states of HD anytime you want. The only problem is you can only use it on your computer because of hardwares conflict. But, this is a way to use on just for you. Some softwares that can do it are: PowerQuest DeployCenter™ 5.0 DriveImages NTbackup It writes a complete Image of HD onto multiCDs. You can use it as backup and its bootable. This will be used in my office as well...on many different computer configurations. hence the need to slipstream it.