I want to reformat my hard drive .... but?

Question

when I installed the installation cd I got a message telling me that I have a new version of XP installed and it can't install from CD. The only thing I can think of it might be is SP2, but I can get that back after reinstalling.. So how do I bypass this message and start over again?

Answer 1

If your reinstallation CD is a bootable CD, you should place the CD in the drive and restart the computer. Watch closely as it comes back up. You should see a prompt that says, "Press any key to boot from CD," and it will generally give you a few seconds to press a key. If it DOES give you the option to boot from the CD it will not complain about the version of Windows that it is replacing.

However, if the Reinstallation CD that came with your computer is NOT bootable, you may have to go to Start, then into Control Panel, then into Add/Remove Programs. Select the check box at the top to show Windows Updates and begin removing them until the reinstallation wizard stops complaining.

Answer 2

What type of computer do you have? The newer computers have a restore CD, but if it is an older computer, you would want to install a previous version of Windows, then install XP. You will have a choice to either upgrade or perform a new installation. By choosing a new installation, you can select whether you want a standard FAT (File Allocation Table) or NTFS. NTFS is a better system because file allocation is faster, meaning faster PC performance.(Trust me, it makes a difference)

Answer 3

uninstall SP2. then try uninstalling XP.... Once you get that done, the reformat should be pretty easy. If you can't uninstall XP, just uninstall the SP2 and reboot with the XP disk in the drive...let it boot on it's own. It should work.

Answer 4

Try installing it through the BIOS system