Thanks for your comment, I do have a hard drive backup which I was told to disconnect until all reinstalls were complete. I did back up all files on DVD-R, although I have since discovered that my 6,820 photos from i-photo never copied, so guessing I will be starting from scratch with those.
My major problem right now is still my brand new printer which I thought was working fine except for no communication with computer before reinstall and now will do nothing. Went back to what I thought would be the thing to do and re-installed printer software per instructions, but still no printer showing up, just all downloads on my doc.