Reinstalling Windows XP

[Theresa]

I have tried to reinstall Windows XP twice with no luck. It tells me I need
to activate my product and if I say yes it takes me back to the blue screen
and if I say no it says I cant continue. How do I activate if I cant get past
the start up screen?

 

[db.·.. >]

some people don't readily
know, but microsoft provides
2 free technical support
assistance.

if you haven't utilize your
free help, then you can
get their assistance with
installation and activation.

http://support.microsoft.com/oas/default.aspx?ln=en-us&x=10&y=7&prid=3219&gprid=37013

however, i firmly suggest to
utilize the email method for
contacting microsoft.

you will have documentation
of their instructions for future
reference and there won't be
any confusion via the telephone
method.

upon your success, you can
then update your posting
with the solution or a copy
of the instructions for others
to refer to in the future.

 

[Daave]

I have tried to reinstall Windows XP twice with no luck. It tells me I
need
to activate my product and if I say yes it takes me back to the blue
screen
and if I say no it says I cant continue. How do I activate if I cant
get past
the start up screen?

What exactly do you mean by "the blue screen"? Is there any particular
message on it?

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I have tried to reinstall Windows XP twice with no luck. It tells me I need
to activate my product and if I say yes it takes me back to the blue
screen
and if I say no it says I cant continue. How do I activate if I cant get
past
the start up screen?

How exactly did you reinstall?

Do you have any personal data on the system that isn't backed up?

I've run into this a couple of times when trying in-place reinstalls, and
unfortunately, the only solution I found was to stop, and redo the install
as "clean". For me, "clean" means deleting and recreating the system
partition, formatting it, and then redoing the install.

If there is data on the drive that isn't backed up, stop, remove the drive
and attach it to another system. Copy the data off. Put the drive back
in, and proceed with the install. You might find it convenient to format
that drive while it's attached to the other system - it can be slightly
faster than running the process from the install CD.

HTH
-pk