[newbie] Questions for LM8

[marcia]

Dear All, I have received my LM8 disks and I am getting excited about
installing. I have Linux-Mandrake 7.2. Is it better to update or do a
fresh install?

Would I be able to do a fresh install in expert mode and preserve my
home partition somehow?

I have my 7.2 so fine tuned with alot of added programs. I have been
backing up onto my zip disks however I realized it will take a long time
to do because of everything that I have done. Does anyone have any
suggestions? Thanks. Sincerely, Marcia