Advice on re-installing OS

I have a Dell dimension 4550 with windows XP, 80 GB 256 ram. My CD writer is not functioning, and I was advised to re-install my OS, which may be a solution to the malfunction. I am buying a 250 gig external hard drive. I do not want to lose any of my files. What would be the quickest and easiest way to transfer and save all my files to the new drive, and then be able to re-install my OS on my original drive ? Thank you for any advice. -Marc- :dunce:

As to copying just open C: or any other partition under My Computer and start moving what you want to the external drive.

As to reinstalling XP Dell has a good interactive guide starting here:

http://support.euro.dell.com/support...64D92DE81EF37A

Just "by the way" I think it is a bit extreme if your only problem is the CD drive. You can troubleshoot that in many simpler ways.

Thank you, as always, for the help and advice. I had Dell on line, and even had them take control of my computer for almost 3 hours, and there was no solution found towards resolving the problem with the writer. BTW ... I am not buying the hard drive only due to the cd writer issue. I have been wanting an external hard drive for quite some time, for added gig storage space, and as protection for my files, should my computer ever "die." It is out of warranty, and it certainly would cost almost as much to fix, as compared to buying a new computer, which I would most likely do. I am getting a brand new IO Magic 250 gig for $59.99, which after shopping around for a couple of hours on the net, I believe is a very fair price. And, since I am going to keep all my files stored on the extra drive anyway, I figure I may as well reinstall the OS, and see if it solves the writer issue.