On my self-built computers I backup, bomb the HD and reinstall Win rather easily. I've resisted the urge to do so on my Inspiron 6000 because...well mainly because I'm a chicken when it comes to ...
I'm reinstalling Windows XP on a Dell desktop. I get to the point where it says it's installing devices; then, it hangs at 37 minutes. The blurbs to the right rotates through its usual pages.