How to re-install without lossing /home directory

[Paddyman]

Hello,

I would like to do a re-install of my CentOS4.4 system but without loosing my "/home" directory because it contains some useful data?
I don't have a cd burner and I am not connected to a network. Is there a way to configure my HD such that I could temporary move the "/home" directory some where in a partition and do the reinstall? If yes, what should I be careful when doing a reinstall of this nature?
I would appreciate your knowledge sharing of this.
Thank you.

[anomie]

When you reinstall centos, do not delete the partition that you are mounting to /home. Also, you will need to set /home as the mount point again (at install time).

[Paddyman]

I think during the installation there are 2 options: either to automatically partition the HD or manually. So what do you exactly mean. Could you explain a little more? Please sorry for asking so much. I am a newbie experimenting alot as to which of the linux flavours suits my needs.
Thank you.

[anomie]

You'll select the non-automatic partitioning (it's called manual or custom or something to that effect). Make a note of which partition you're currently mounting to /home so that you don't delete it.

Example:

[hector@troy ~]$ mount | grep /home
/dev/hda7 on /home type ext3 (rw)

In my case, I would leave /dev/hda7 intact during custom partitioning. And I would create /home as its mount point.

If you find you're not comfortable with the custom partitioning tool, it would probably be best to backup your data on /home and start from scratch. (Can you get your hands on a usb jump drive?)