There is no need to reinstall Windows

Using this strategy you should never need to reinstall Windows from scratch again. This process will require you to invest more up front work then your normal install, but with this kind of time savings, in the end, it's worth it. In this process you will be preparing the hard drive into at least 3 partitions. One for Windows and your applications, One for the data produced by these applications, And one to hold the Windows basic setup, and drivers.

1. First you will want to make a Windows boot disk (Floppy). Make sure that you add all necessary drivers to this floppy to be able to have access to your CD-ROM, Jaz drive, And any other drivers that maybe needed.

2. Partition your hard drive. The primary partition will hold Windows and your applications. Don't use all of the space. An example might be to set the size of the partition to at least 20GB or larger. Now setup the extended partition, which you will most likely want to be larger then the primary partition. This second partition will hold your data. The final partition you will want to set to about 2GB. This last small partition will hold the Windows setup files, Drivers, And other setup related files.

3. Now copy the Windows folder from your Windows CD-ROM to the 2GB partition created above. In addition, if you need any custom drivers I.E. Printer, SCSI Video, Copy these drivers into individual subdirectories on the 2GB drive.

4. Next boot to a DOS prompt using the Windows boot floppy you created earlier. Run Windows setup from the Windows folder located on the 2GB disk. At this point the very basic Windows is setup, and you will want to setup applications and settings custom to your preferences.

5. Open the Control Panel then Add/Remove Programs. Click on the Windows Setup tab and go over the installed components, adding the components that you want to install.

6. At this time you would want to set you View options, Recycle Bin options, Install Video drivers-(Set video Resolution, Refresh rate, Color depth), Make any desktop changes-(Wallpaper, Remove unwanted icons, Wait on the custom toolbars).

7. Setup and configure your modem, and all Dial Up Networking connections. Make sure to make a connection (Logon) with each DUN connection that you have setup. This will make sure that Windows saves your passwords.

8. Install all applications that you feel would be very important to include in a base line Windows setup. These are the applications that you need all of the time. Make sure to setup the application preferences and set program specific data paths to send data to the second hard drive partition from above.
   Now it's time to complete the desktop settings. Create and setup any custom toolbars. These might include quick launch icons to applications just installed, or Windows standard applications.

9. Shut down Windows and cold boot the system (Power Off). Restart Windows and give it a good going over to ensure that Windows and all installed applications are working. This would also be a good time to sit back for a moment and make sure you've Installed, Setup, and customized everything you want or need.