Vista/XP

[ddouglass]

XP and Vista are Operating Systems (OS). This means they control everything that goes on within the computer. Installing either wipes out anything on that computer's boot drive (C:\).
So no you can't just run the XP setup and save anything on that drive.
There are a lot of things you will need to do before installing XP:

1. Make sure you have a back-up copy of any datafiles you want to keep such as your KMA files, the Songs and Singers database files, playlists and anything else you have that you need.
2. Also be sure you uninstall Hoster 4.0x while on-line before you install XP. Make sure you have the Hoster setup files you need to reinstall after loading XP.
3. Go to the laptop manufacturer's website and download the XP drivers for your laptop model. These should include Video, audio, chipset, CD\DVD drive and any other device on the computer. XP and Vista drivers are not the same.

This really is not a job to be tackled by a novice. If I was in your position I would make sure I had some professional help (not your Brother-in-laws cousin who happens to tinker around with them) who knows how to do this with your brand of laptop. Many of the manufacturers will use a small (few KB size) section of the hard drive to store restoration information and this can cause problems when installing the new OS.