I have reinstalled XP several times. There are folders that refer to users set up in previous installations in the Documents and Settings directory. The folders are not things such as Administrator, All Users etc. I want to know if it would be safe to delete the old user folders, and if so whether hidden files should be shown in the deletion.

I've done this several times....including a few days ago.The main thing you want to do before this though is to make sure you have all your documents, Favorites etc...saved or moved to somewhere else. This includes any logs created by Programs like SpyBot etc...that may have been written to folders in the particular User profile, and you'd like to keep / save.

Hi, Yes you can delete this folder if you no more require it. Cross check if you need any data from the folders in it. Refer the article below to show hidden files:Show Hidden Program or System Fileshttp://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/tips/hiddenfiles.mspx Hope this helps.Thanks and Regards:Shekhar S - Microsoft Support. Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think. If this post helps to resolve your issue, please click the "Mark as Answer" or "Helpful" button at the top of this message. By marking a post as Answered, or Helpful you help others find the answer faster.

From your reply, can I conclude that you are saying that I should show hidden files, then delete the folders that refer to the user names from previous installations?

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/sysdm_userprofile_delete.mspx?mfr=trueHope this helps, Gerry Cornell

I was aware of that. The folders under Documents and Settings are left over from previous installations.