I do not know how Word Perfect operates, but for almost every PC program I know of, when you do an uninstall, it only uninstalls the program, not your data (documents). During the uninstall, the program may offer you the option of also removing your data, if so, respond no.

You generally do not need to uninstall before reinstalling, with most programs you can reinstall over the installed version.

Other hints:

o Go to the WP website. They probably have a support area where you can see if this is a known problem and how to fix it.
o If you did not get a CD with your PC that has a backup copy of the preinstalled software, call the PC company and request one.