Erasing or Deleting an operating system and reinstalling XP

  • Thread starter Thread starter Guest
  • Start date Start date
G

Guest

Hi-

I have windows ME which I would like to completely remove from my laptop and
reinstall XP. I have all discs and product keys ready to go, but am not sure
how to proceed. Do I erase or delete the old operting system first or do I
simply put the XP CD in and take it step by step?

Thanks!

Paul
 
You should perform a "clean install" of Windows XP as follows:

The Windows XP CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary
to partition and format your drive. Follow this procedure and allow
Windows XP to partition and format your drive:

NOTE: It would be best to physically disconnect all your peripheral hardware
devices, except the monitor, mouse and keyboard, before installing XP.

NOTE: If you have an internal Zip Drive installed, physically disconnect the
EIDE and power cable to it before proceeding, otherwise your main
hard drive may not be assigned the customary C: drive letter.
After installing Windows XP, you may then reconnect it.

1. Open your BIOS and set your "CD Drive as the first bootable device".

===> Accessing Motherboard BIOS
===> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

2. Insert your Windows XP CD in the CD Drive and reboot your computer.
3. You'll see a message to boot to the CD....follow the instructions.
4. The setup menu will appear and you should elect to delete all the existing
Windows partitions, then create a new partition, then format the primary
partition (preferably NTFS) and proceed to install Windows XP.

5. Clean Install Windows XP
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP]

6. ==> Immediately after installing Windows XP, turn on XP's Firewall.
==> http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

7. After Windows XP is installed, visit the Windows Update website
and download the available "Critical Updates".

8. After installing the critical updates, be sure and visit the support website
of the manufacturer of the computer to download and install any
available Windows XP compatible drivers, such as video adapter
and audio drivers.

9. If you happen to run into any installation difficulties, use the following resources:

How to Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;310064

Troubleshooting Windows XP Setup
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot]

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| Hi-
|
| I have windows ME which I would like to completely remove from my laptop and
| reinstall XP. I have all discs and product keys ready to go, but am not sure
| how to proceed. Do I erase or delete the old operting system first or do I
| simply put the XP CD in and take it step by step?
|
| Thanks!
|
| Paul
 
Hi Carey-

Thanks so much for the reply. I have a problem when I go to Step 4. When
it offers me the option to hit the 'D' key for deleting the selected
partition, it says that "Set up is unable to perform the requested operation
on the selected partition. This partition contains temporary set up files
that are required to complete the installation."

How do I proceed?

Thanks!

Paul



Carey Frisch said:
You should perform a "clean install" of Windows XP as follows:

The Windows XP CD is bootable and contains all the tools necessary
to partition and format your drive. Follow this procedure and allow
Windows XP to partition and format your drive:

NOTE: It would be best to physically disconnect all your peripheral hardware
devices, except the monitor, mouse and keyboard, before installing XP.

NOTE: If you have an internal Zip Drive installed, physically disconnect the
EIDE and power cable to it before proceeding, otherwise your main
hard drive may not be assigned the customary C: drive letter.
After installing Windows XP, you may then reconnect it.

1. Open your BIOS and set your "CD Drive as the first bootable device".

===> Accessing Motherboard BIOS
===> http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

2. Insert your Windows XP CD in the CD Drive and reboot your computer.
3. You'll see a message to boot to the CD....follow the instructions.
4. The setup menu will appear and you should elect to delete all the existing
Windows partitions, then create a new partition, then format the primary
partition (preferably NTFS) and proceed to install Windows XP.

5. Clean Install Windows XP
http://michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

[Courtesy of Michael Stevens, MS-MVP]

6. ==> Immediately after installing Windows XP, turn on XP's Firewall.
==> http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

7. After Windows XP is installed, visit the Windows Update website
and download the available "Critical Updates".

8. After installing the critical updates, be sure and visit the support website
of the manufacturer of the computer to download and install any
available Windows XP compatible drivers, such as video adapter
and audio drivers.

9. If you happen to run into any installation difficulties, use the following resources:

How to Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;310064

Troubleshooting Windows XP Setup
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_setup.htm

[Courtesy of MS-MVP Kelly Theriot]

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| Hi-
|
| I have windows ME which I would like to completely remove from my laptop and
| reinstall XP. I have all discs and product keys ready to go, but am not sure
| how to proceed. Do I erase or delete the old operting system first or do I
| simply put the XP CD in and take it step by step?
|
| Thanks!
|
| Paul
Click to expand...
 
You need to start the process by booting from the
Windows XP CD. You cannot delete the partition
if you begin the process from within Windows ME.

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows XP - Shell/User

Be Smart! Protect Your PC!
http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/protect/default.aspx

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

:

| Hi Carey-
|
| Thanks so much for the reply. I have a problem when I go to Step 4. When
| it offers me the option to hit the 'D' key for deleting the selected
| partition, it says that "Set up is unable to perform the requested operation
| on the selected partition. This partition contains temporary set up files
| that are required to complete the installation."
|
| How do I proceed?
|
| Thanks!
|
| Paul
 
Hi Casey-

Thanks again. Unfortunately, it's saying that the windows XP set up does
not support upgrading from Millenium to XP home addition.

Paul
 
Paul said:
Hi Casey-

Thanks again. Unfortunately, it's saying that the windows XP set up
does not support upgrading from Millenium to XP home addition.

Paul
Click to expand...

1) It's 'edition' not 'addition' - you're not adding it to anything!
2) It appears you have acquired an OEM licence which is only capable of
performing a clean installation. You must boot from the CD (make sure the
BIOS is set correctly) and install clean, following Carey's instructions.
 
That gave me a good laugh, my bad - in reference to 'addition' and 'edition'.
Of course I realize it's 'edition', must have been multiplying something
when I was writing the last e-mail.

In any case, thanks so much for taking the time to respond. I'll check to
see if the BIOS is set correctly and move forward from there.

Have a good one-

Paul
 
Paul said:
Hi-

I have windows ME which I would like to completely remove from my laptop and
reinstall XP. I have all discs and product keys ready to go, but am not sure
how to proceed. Do I erase or delete the old operting system first or do I
simply put the XP CD in and take it step by step?

Thanks!

Paul
Click to expand...


Simply boot from the WinXP installation CD. You'll be offered the
opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part of the
installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the order of boot
devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.)

HOW TO Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;316941

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having
both at once. - RAH
 
Back
Top