Installing XP over linux

[Guest]

I have a Compac R3240US laptop. It originally came with XP installed, and
later had Red Hat Fedora Core 6 installed as the OS, wiping out all traces of
XP.

I want to remove linux and re-install XP from the original CD, but I've been
unable to do so. The machine recognizes the CD and asks if I want to boot
from it. After I hit the key to tell it to boot, it flashes a message about
the set-up file and freezes. I've tried this several times with the same
result.

Any ideas as to what might be going wrong and how I could get around it?

TIA.

 

[Guest]

Compaq have a nasty habit of placing certain files required for installation
in hidden partitions on the drive.
If you deleted all partitions when installing Fedora, it is possible that
this is the problem.
A new retail version of XP should work fine.

Giving us the actual error message you are receiving would help with finding
a solution.

Derek

 

[Guest]

It's not actually an error message. When I start the PC with the XP disk in
the CD drive I get two messages. The first is: "Hit any key to boot from
CD..", and the second is "Setup is inspecting your computer's hardware
configuration."

At that point it stops processing, although the CD reader keeps spinning.

Your comment about Compac hiding files that get blown away bu other installs
is frustrating - the whole point of the exercise was to get a usable machine
cheaply. I'd rather not put a few hundred dollars onto a machine over 2 1/2
years old. Is there any other hope?

Thanks.

 

[Guest]

re-install XP from the original CD

I assume this is an OEM version of XP. What I don't know is if there is any
difference in the content of the cd-rom as opposed to just having a cd-key
that is OEM only.

A program like Partition Magic should be able to wipe out the hard drive and
re-partition the hard drive to be XP compatable. There may be cheaper
alternatives.