Well I tried to reinstall Windows XP without formatting, and it just keeps messing up. You aren't supposed to lose your files so I didn't back it up. Now I can't get into Windows to burn my data to CDs and I need to reformat my computer... so I downloaded Suse Linux Live (the one that boots and runs completely from a CD) from a friend's computer in hopes of burning my important files to CD and then formatting to reinstall WindowsXP.

Now my question is how do I see my old files on the computer from Linux? I think they're still there--I don't think the computer is formatted--but I can't find them in the Linux program.

Any help?? Any comments are GREATLY appreciated! =)

Thanks,
Adam

In Linux you mount the drives:
create mountpoint (the directory where you want the drive to be mounted)
first su to root
# mkdir /mnt/a1 (or whatever name you want)
# mount /dev/hda1 /mnt/a1

You'll also have to specify the filesystem:

mount -t vfat /dev/hda1 /mnt/a1 (for fat32 - if filesystem is ntfs change fvat for ntfs.)