I noted that my XP hard drive was getting wonky so I went ahead and picked up a new 500 Gb Western Digital. I did a complete re-install instead of copying everything over. I hadn't done a re-install in awhile so I decided it was probably a good thing. Everything went smooth, took all day but it went smooth. And guess what, nary a problem with installing ALL my Stardock Apps with Impulse either! I'm super happy.
Same here Jimbo! Fortunately I was prepared for disaster and was able to fully recover in a matter of a couple of days. This use to take weeks due to the lack of preparation on my part. Ok, so I was arrogant and thought it would never happen.
Now all my downloaded skins, docks, blinds, IP's, Widgets and important what-not folders are copied to my 1TB ext. drive. If prepared, once you get your OS, peripherals, security and utilities going, the rest is gravy.
The good thing about wiping and rebuilding is your system will run faster than ever in five years and you'll be mindful about everything you install for a while. You'll also trip on how fast Windows boots, shuts down and run without nothing else installed.
I'm about 2 months into my rebuild and still cluck over her like a mother hen.
I could say good luck to you Jimbo, but in this case, luck's not a factor.
Kick some ass!
Cp