Have to reinstall Win XP but it won't let me reinstall

[Guest]

My computer is a couple of years old and had gotten bogged down so badly by
malware etc. that I decided to wipe the C drive clean and start over.

I'm now trying to reinstall Win XP Pro (which I bought less than a year
ago), but it's asking for the disk of the previous Windows. I don't have that
disk as it was pre-installed on the machine.

I don't even know if the store where I bought it is still in business, so I
don't know if I can get an OEM or whatever disk they used to install it. I
did not get a recovery disk.

What do I do? I don't want to shell out more money for something I already
legitimately own.

Thanks in advance!!
Julia

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP}]

How to replace lost, broken, or missing Microsoft software or hardware
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326246

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User

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

:

My computer is a couple of years old and had gotten bogged down so badly by
malware etc. that I decided to wipe the C drive clean and start over.

I'm now trying to reinstall Win XP Pro (which I bought less than a year
ago), but it's asking for the disk of the previous Windows. I don't have
that
disk as it was pre-installed on the machine.

I don't even know if the store where I bought it is still in business, so I
don't know if I can get an OEM or whatever disk they used to install it. I
did not get a recovery disk.

What do I do? I don't want to shell out more money for something I already
legitimately own.

Thanks in advance!!
Julia

 

[Rock]

My computer is a couple of years old and had gotten bogged down so badly
by
malware etc. that I decided to wipe the C drive clean and start over.

I'm now trying to reinstall Win XP Pro (which I bought less than a year
ago), but it's asking for the disk of the previous Windows. I don't have
that
disk as it was pre-installed on the machine.

I don't even know if the store where I bought it is still in business, so
I
don't know if I can get an OEM or whatever disk they used to install it. I
did not get a recovery disk.

What do I do? I don't want to shell out more money for something I already
legitimately own.

So you have an upgrade version of XP Pro. To use that you need to provide
proof of ownership of a qualifying product. That means either the OS for a
qualifying product is installed and you start the upgrade from the desktop
of the installed OS or you insert the CD for the qualifying product when
asked. Those are your only two choices and no one here can help you
otherwise.

If you don't have a qualifying product to install or a CD, then go on eBay
and buy a copy of win98. They are cheap.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

My computer is a couple of years old and had gotten bogged down so
badly by malware etc. that I decided to wipe the C drive clean and
start over.

I'm now trying to reinstall Win XP Pro (which I bought less than a
year ago), but it's asking for the disk of the previous Windows. I
don't have that disk as it was pre-installed on the machine.

I don't even know if the store where I bought it is still in
business, so I don't know if I can get an OEM or whatever disk they
used to install it. I did not get a recovery disk.

What do I do? I don't want to shell out more money for something I
already legitimately own.

You are trying to do a clean installation with an Upgrade version of WIndows
XP. That requires that you have a CD of a previous qualifying version to
show it as proof of ownership.

The easiest and cheapest thing to do is to buy a used copy of Windows 98
someplace like eBay. It should be very inexpensive, and you will have the CD
to show it when the installation asks for it.