Want to Reinstall XP - Complete Do-Over

Jenesis · Jul 19, 2007, 06:36 PM

I want to delete everything on the hard drive of my laptop and reinstall XP Home (a legal OEM copy). How on earth do I do this? I can't even get into Windows (hence part of the reason for reinstallation) so I can't do it there. Booting from the CD only gives me the option to repair XP, which does absolutely nothing except add another to the welcome screen.

Help

What do I do? I bought the XP disc especially for this reinstallation, but my laptop (a Dell one, btw, and far too old to be eligible for any kind of warranty support) really doesn't like it...

Kreij · Jul 19, 2007, 07:17 PM

That's odd. It never gets to a screen that shows you the disk partitions and gives you the option to delete the partition ?

kwchang007 · Jul 19, 2007, 07:22 PM

I think you have to wait for the repair screen to go away. Then you'll enter the partitions manager and from there you install. Oh, and idk if you can install normal xp onto a Dell. Dell's ship with a special copy that designates the system as a Dell inside of windows. I know you can go Dell xp to another computer....but still not sure about the other way around. Do you have the rescue disks for the Dell?

Kreij · Jul 19, 2007, 07:43 PM

You can use a regular copy of Windows on any Dell. You just can't load a Dell copy of Windows on any other type of computer (not easily anyway

)

kwchang007 · Jul 19, 2007, 07:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kreij

You can use a regular copy of Windows on any Dell. You just can't load a Dell copy of Windows on any other type of computer (not easily anyway

)

Huh....I did the second one on a Compaq (we didn't get our other xp disk yet) and it worked. All that was messed up was that it said the computer was a Dell.

GJSNeptune · Jul 19, 2007, 07:49 PM

Burn GParted's LiveCD to a CD and boot from it. It's a utility in a Linux environment, but once you figure out how to do stuff, you can use it to format the hard drive.

Jenesis · Jul 19, 2007, 08:01 PM

I figured it out

You have to delete all the partitions, after selecting "New Install". Then it formats the drive and installs. Hooray! Now to jump through hoops for the MS Activation via phone... yay...

Jul 19, 2007, 06:36 PM	#1
Jenesis Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: England Posts: 109 (0.05/day) Thanks: 11 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts System Specs	Want to Reinstall XP - Complete Do-Over I want to delete everything on the hard drive of my laptop and reinstall XP Home (a legal OEM copy). How on earth do I do this? I can't even get into Windows (hence part of the reason for reinstallation) so I can't do it there. Booting from the CD only gives me the option to repair XP, which does absolutely nothing except add another to the welcome screen. Help What do I do? I bought the XP disc especially for this reinstallation, but my laptop (a Dell one, btw, and far too old to be eligible for any kind of warranty support) really doesn't like it...

System Name:	The Jenesis Device
Processor:	AMD Athlon x64 X2 5200+ 2.6 GHz
Motherboard:	MSI K9N Diamond nForce 590
Cooling:	Akasa Evo w/ 2 fans, blue LEDs
Memory:	4GB 667MHz
Video Card:	Innovision 320MB 8800GTS OC Edition
Hard Disk:	500GB SATA Western Digital, 2 x 250GB SATA Maxtor
Optical Drive:	2 x LiteOn DVD-RW
CRT/LCD Model:	19" Widescreen HP w19ev
Case:	XClio A380 Twin Engine
Sound Card:	Creative Audigy SE, Logitech 5.1 Surround Speakers
PSU:	Corsair HX620W Modular PSU
Software:	Vista Ultimate x64, Photoshop CS2, MathCAD 13, MS Office 2007

Jul 19, 2007, 07:17 PM	#2
Kreij Hardcore Monkey Moderator Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Cheeseland (Wisconsin, USA) Posts: 12,128 (5.27/day) Thanks: 591 Thanked 5,494 Times in 2,938 Posts System Specs	That's odd. It never gets to a screen that shows you the disk partitions and gives you the option to delete the partition ? __________________ Cloud (noun, singular): A dynamic arrangement of multiple potential single points of failure, with a user at one end and their data at the other. Get more tech news on a wide variety of topics at NextPowerUp

Processor:	Intel Core 2 Quad QX9650 Extreme @ 3.0 GHz
Motherboard:	Asus Rampage Formula
Cooling:	ZeroTherm Nirvana NV120 Premium
Memory:	8GB (4 x 2GB) Corsair Dominator PC2-8500
Video Card:	2 x Sapphire Radeon HD6970
Hard Disk:	2 x Seagate Barracuda 320GB in RAID 0
Optical Drive:	Sony DRU-120C DVD-RW
CRT/LCD Model:	Dell 3007WFP 30" LCD (2560 x 1600)
Case:	Thermaltake Armor w/ 250mm Side Fan
Sound Card:	SupremeFX 8ch Audio
PSU:	Thermaltake Toughpower 750W Modular
Software:	Win8 Pro x64 / Cat 12.10

Processor:	C2D T7200@2 ghz vcore: .9875
Motherboard:	generic laptop board
Cooling:	fan control and antec notebook cooler
Memory:	2 GBs@ 533 mhz ddr2
Video Card:	x1400 mobile, overclocked: 526mhz core/ 882mhz ddr
Hard Disk:	120 GB@ 5400 rpm fujitsu
Optical Drive:	DVD burner
CRT/LCD Model:	15.4" 1440x900
Sound Card:	integrated
Software:	vista 32 bit home premium

Jul 19, 2007, 07:22 PM	#3
kwchang007 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Severn, MD, USA. Posts: 2,949 (1.28/day) Thanks: 72 Thanked 189 Times in 185 Posts System Specs	I think you have to wait for the repair screen to go away. Then you'll enter the partitions manager and from there you install. Oh, and idk if you can install normal xp onto a Dell. Dell's ship with a special copy that designates the system as a Dell inside of windows. I know you can go Dell xp to another computer....but still not sure about the other way around. Do you have the rescue disks for the Dell?

Jul 19, 2007, 07:43 PM	#4
Kreij Hardcore Monkey Moderator Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Cheeseland (Wisconsin, USA) Posts: 12,128 (5.27/day) Thanks: 591 Thanked 5,494 Times in 2,938 Posts System Specs	You can use a regular copy of Windows on any Dell. You just can't load a Dell copy of Windows on any other type of computer (not easily anyway ) __________________ Cloud (noun, singular): A dynamic arrangement of multiple potential single points of failure, with a user at one end and their data at the other. Get more tech news on a wide variety of topics at NextPowerUp

Jul 19, 2007, 07:49 PM	#6
GJSNeptune Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,743 (0.78/day) Thanks: 24 Thanked 112 Times in 103 Posts System Specs	Burn GParted's LiveCD to a CD and boot from it. It's a utility in a Linux environment, but once you figure out how to do stuff, you can use it to format the hard drive.

Processor:	AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Black Edition
Motherboard:	Gigabyte GA-MA770-DS3
Cooling:	Tuniq Tower 120 (with Scythe SFF21E)
Memory:	2x1GB Corsair XMS2 DDR2-800 CAS4 DHX
Video Card:	PALiT 9800GTX 512MB PCI-E
Hard Disk:	WD2500AAKS, WD1600YS, WD1200JD, WD400EB
Optical Drive:	Samsung S203b SATA DVD/RW
CRT/LCD Model:	LG L1920P, Viewsonic VA520
Case:	Lian-Li A05b (with two 120mm Yate Loon D12SM)
PSU:	Corsair HX520
Software:	Vista Business 32-bit/XP Pro 32-bit dual-boot

Jul 19, 2007, 08:01 PM	#7
Jenesis Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: England Posts: 109 (0.05/day) Thanks: 11 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts System Specs	I figured it out You have to delete all the partitions, after selecting "New Install". Then it formats the drive and installs. Hooray! Now to jump through hoops for the MS Activation via phone... yay...

Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)