XP reinstall disk won't boot

[Guest]

I'm wanting to format my HD and reinstall XP, but whenever I restart the
computer with the install disk in, it won't open the install screen. Instead
it just continues to boot windows normally or prompt me to boot from safe
mode. I've set the boot order to have it read from the cd drive before the
HD, but it's like it ignores the disk. I know the cd is readable and the cd
drive works, so it shouldn't be a hardware failure. How else can I format my
drive and do a clean xp reinstall?

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I'm wanting to format my HD and reinstall XP,

Why? It's usually a mistake.

but whenever I restart the
computer with the install disk in, it won't open the install screen.

Did you watch the screen carefully? There is usually a message there
prompting you to press a key if you want to boot from the CD. If you
don't do it within a few seconds, it goes to the default of booting
from the next device.

Instead
it just continues to boot windows normally or prompt me to boot from safe
mode. I've set the boot order to have it read from the cd drive before the
HD,

If I were in your shoes, I'd double-check that. Unless the above
suggestion is the answer, my guess is that you didn't save that
setting.

 

[Guest]

I need to format it because I got a trojan that opens pop-ups constantly and
placed some kind of corrupt file(s) in my win32 folder that makes my computer
go to the "blue screen of death" when I try to run a spyware scan. There is
no screen that pops up with the boot disk (after setting the boot order to cd
first and by selecting the cd drive in the boot menu), it goes straight to
windows. I wondered if my cd drive was malfunctioning, so when I copied the
contents of the CD onto a flash drive, it tries to boot from there but no key
presses move past that screen. I know that I'm not missing the screen, so
could there be anything else I can do short of replacing my cd drive? I also
updated my BIOS and the driver for the cd drive, so I'm totally stumped.

 

[Daave]

I need to format it because I got a trojan that opens pop-ups
constantly and placed some kind of corrupt file(s) in my win32 folder
that makes my computer go to the "blue screen of death" when I try
to run a spyware scan.

Still no need for a clean reinstall.

Have you tried scanning for malware in Safe Mode?

If you provide more information, you'll receive *much* more focused
help:

- Make and Model of PC (knowing this will make it possible to know which
key to press to enter the BIOS)

- Describe the pop-ups in detail. That way we can identify the
particular malware you have.

- Which anti-virus and anti-spyware applications have you been using?
Are they the most recent versions with the most recent definitions?

- Describe the BSOD in detail: what is the exact error message?

 

[CJC32768]

I need to format it because I got a trojan that opens pop-ups constantly and
placed some kind of corrupt file(s) in my win32 folder that makes my computer
go to the "blue screen of death" when I try to run a spyware scan. There is
no screen that pops up with thebootdisk (after setting thebootorder to cd
first and by selecting the cd drive in thebootmenu), it goes straight to
windows. I wondered if my cd drive was malfunctioning, so when I copied the
contents of the CD onto a flash drive, it tries tobootfrom there but no key
presses move past that screen. I know that I'm not missing the screen, so
could there be anything else I can do short of replacing my cd drive? I also
updated my BIOS and the driver for the cd drive, so I'm totally stumped.

On Wed, 15 Aug 2007 10:12:03 -0700, Jeff

Why? It's usually a mistake.

Did you watch the screen carefully? There is usually a message there
prompting you to press a key if you want tobootfrom the CD. If you
don't do it within a few seconds, it goes to the default of booting
from the next device.

If I were in your shoes, I'd double-check that. Unless the above
suggestion is the answer, my guess is that you didn't save that
setting.

Try going in to your BIOS and setting the "fast boot" option off or
disabled, and there is sometimes another one that you disable to show
the text of the boot process instead of the pretty manufacturer's
graphics. They are called different things with various bios's but
they can be found in the Boot section usually. Next you are looking
for a simple line of text that says "To boot from CD, press any key",
it's not a 'screen'.

C.