I'd just format and install XP. You should be able to do it all with the Windows XP disc. Just make sure you have drivers for vital hardware. (video, input devices mouse and keyboard, and ethernet or wireless internet)
So just turn the pc on got to manage then format the drive then install it? yes i do have all the drivers
when i go to my computer i right click then go to manage i open c drive then right click it says all kinds of things but the only one that is not highlighted is format it wont let me format or do i format d?
What you do is set you computer to boot from the cd drive. Run the Windows setup. One part of the Windows setup is about the partitioning. This is where you can format the partition to install XP on. You can't format the drive you are using while using it.
IT goesthru reads the disc for a few minutes and when its done it says windows is starting but then the screen goes blue and says windows was shut down to prevent damagae thats far as it goes it doesnt ask anything it reads the disc then that pops up. Is it because my pc is a 32 bit not a 64 bit does that have anything to do with it?
It only matters if you are trying to install 64bit XP.. that doesn't work.. We had a dell oem machine in the shop this week with vista for removal.. it seems that dell have set some sort of "non remove" flag somewhere in the MBR. The xp install disk failed at the same point in what sounds like the same way. As there may be a small hidden system partition (ours had one) it would be worth downloading and burning this useful tool and booting from it. http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/ Then run one of the partition managers and see what you find before going any further. If there is only 1 big partition you can run active@killdisk and then install xp ;-) If more than one post again with the partition details (label, filesystem and bootable yes/no) and we can sort it out.
Hey, I have a couple of questions before I can help you set a clean XP on your system. 1. Is the XP a legit copy? Or are you at least certain that the setup disc works? 2. Are you actually booting from the CD? You need to go to your BIOS settings to change the boot order to the CD/DVD-ROM drive before it will boot from the disc. If the answer to both those questions is a yes, then you are doing it right and you shouldn't have any problems, providing you delete all current partitions and create a new primary partition at the beginning of Windows XP Setup. Oh, and this is definitely nothing to do with whether your system is 32-bit or 64-bit compatible as well. Unless of course if you are trying to install 64-bit Windows XP. Hope it helps. Let me know if you have questions or if you need step by step help, I may be able to write something up or find a site with instructions.
