STOP!
Please make sure you have read everything on the homepage first, see the main reinstall Windows page about backing up your files and folders before proceeding with this operation to reinstall Windows XP.
If you simply follow the instructions below you will lose everything on your PC so read and perform the steps outlined on the reinstall windows homepage first to ensure you have taken a backup of all your files!
So now that you have backed up everything on your PC you can reinstall windows XP. With your windows disk in the CD ROM drive restart your PC and look for the option on the very fist screen to enter Startup options, which is usually either the delete key or the F12 key. Sometimes you have to literally jump on this key the moment the first screen appears, you can even hold the key down as you turn the machine on to ensure it gets read.
Now you should see a blue menu screen known as the BIOS screen. Whilst all are quiet similar they are not all the same so what you are looking for is the Startup Options menu, wher you will see that the C Drive or hard drive 0 is set to the be the first device. This means that on startup the computer will look on the first device for the system files to load, so by changing this from the hard drive to the CD ROM we can bypass the usual windows startup and launch the Windows installation process.
To change the order of the first device follow the instructions which normally involves using the Page Up/Down keys to change the order of the list. Once you have set the CD ROM to the initial device hit F10 to Save and Exit. This will require you to confirm your action and your computer will restart. Sometimes you have to press any key to boot from CD ROM. This will start the Windows installation process by copying the installation files.
When the installation files have finished copying to your PC you will be presented with three options Install. Repair or Quit. Repair seldom works so hit Enter to select the Install option.
Next you will be presented with the License Agreement page, hit F8 to agree (once you’ve read it of course)
The next page allows you to choose where to install Windows. If you have more than one hard drive you should select Drive 0. depending on wether this is a new installation or a reinstallation your drive will show as either unpartitioned or partitioned space. However, as we want to reinstall Windows and create a completely new installation we select the option to delete the existing partition of there is one, by pressing D on the keyboard. Youwill then be given a clear warning stating that ALL DATA WILL BE ERASED and to confirm you understand this press L.
Back at the patition screen select C to create a new partition on the now blank hard drive and accept the default size it suggests.
Next Select the NTFS file system to format the drive and then go and make a cup of tea as this will take maybe half an hour for really big drives, but it sets the drive up really tidily, a bit like burning a record or CD-ROM and making sure all the tracks are in the right place.
When that’s finished Windows will restart and start looking more like Windows when it comes back on, and will ask you to set the region for your PC. Power Tip: Do this now rather than just accepting the default as it will save yo ua lot of grief later, especially if you live in the UK. Click Customize and select English (United Kingdom) Next click Details for the input language and change that to English(United Kingdom) too, then click Next.
The next box lets you put in your name and company, do this carefully because you will never see this box again and it will pop up all over the place in the future so think about it carefully if you have more than one company, spell it right or double check spelling if you are putting in someone elses name and you are not 100% sure of the spelling.
On the next screen insert your product key which you should have found in an earlier step, this is usually on a sticker on your PC case, or in the folder which contained your Windows disk if you bought it seperately.
The next screen allows you to give your PC a friendly name, I always use the persons nickname plus the next year, such as TOM2010 this way if you have multiple PC’s you can more easily work out which one is which on the network. You do not have to have an administrator password, but if you do enter one make sure you will remember what it is
Next set the time and date, then select Typical TCP/IP settings, and use the network name of WORKGROUP, your PC is not in a domain unless you have a small business or NT server setup. Next it’s time for another cup of tea whilst wWindows installs itself. Once done Windows will adjust your display and then you get to the initial Windows setup screen, just follow the prompts to complete setup and Activate WIndows. If Activation fails because you have done this a few times before, don’t be shy about using the telephone activation process as you will normally only have to deal with a recording, if that fails then get put through to an operative and confirm this copy of Windows is only installed on 1 PC and they will give you the right code.
You do not have to Register with Microsoft so skip this screen and then enter the names of the people who will use the PC but you can add these names later if you want to. Then click Finish and you will have a brand new installation of Windows, ready to start reinstalling your software.
Get your Reinstall Windows XP guide here now!
Next see the page: Reinstall Windows Drivers