Uninstalling and reloading windows xp?

Question

I have a store bought computer that i had to replace the motherboard. The machine works just fine, but now I need to re activate windows..I tried by phone and by internet..Microsoft says it's not valid so I must uninstall and reinstall XP and use the product key on the side of the case. Fine. I have and XP disk and I have the key. But how do I uninstall? Do I go into the bios? I can't load the computer because it stops at the activate screen...Any help would be great. Never had this problem..it usually just activates with the internet option

I tried to boot from the CD but it just goes to the activate screen...I don't know where to go from there...As it loads the BIO's it does say "floppy Drive fail press F1 to continue" could that be the problem? how do i fix it?

btw..there is no floppy drive

F4 button did not work :(

Answer 1

You were probably given bad info!

1) If this is a brand name OEM computer (like Dell, HP, etc.) then the installed OS (XP) is "locked" to the BIOS signature for that brand... Any replacement motherboard with the same BIOS "brand signature" will work.

2) If this was a PC built by a non-major supplier, you probably have an OEM version of XP and Microsoft will HAVE to allow you to reactivate it when you call... You just need to keep trying until you get someone who understands the issue. Since you merely made a motherboard replacement and did NOT transfer to a new machine, they are LEGALLY OBLIGATED to reactivate you!

3) If you have a "pirate" copy of XP, and you bought it in good faith, simply contact the seller and tell him you want this repaired. If they won't help, call the Microsoft piracy hotline and they will help you resolve this.

Understand that there are 3 types of XP licenses for consumers:
1) RETAIL: freely transferable from machine to machine
2) OEM: locked into the machine it was built for, but allows for hardware changes to the box. You can't ever transfer this to a different machine.
3) MAJOR OEM: locked into a BIOS signature. Cannot be transferred to another machine. Will work on any machine with the same BIOS. No problem with ANY hardware upgrades to the original installed machine so long as BIOS is the same.

Answer 2

Havee the recovery disc in the drive and restart the computer! While the computer is booting up push the f4 key repeatedly until you see a blue screen! In white lettering you will be asked if you want to delete the old operating system

Answer 3

c if this works.
1. insert the xp cd in the rom drive.
2. turn off the computer.
3. restart the computer and while restarting keep the 'C' key on the keyboard pressed.
4. see if it goes in to windows installation mode.
5. if that does not happen then you will need to make a bootable windows xp installation disk.
6. go to this website http://www.nu2.nu/bootcd/ it has been used by many people to create bootable disks..even i've used that method and it proved great.

Answer 4

do not listen to the person that said uninstall is not needed
it definately is you will end up with alot of issues by doing it that way
boot from the cd
let the computer do its thing
follow the prompts when they start showing up
i dont have the process memorized but youll get to a part
that asks if you want to install xp then it will say you already have it installed do you want to install anyway, delete prior install or repair choose delete then it will verify you want to delete
once its deleted you will go through the setup process
create a partition and when it asks format with ntfs and dont choose the qucik format
once thats done if you still need help you can contact me
ill be online all day at work

Answer 5

flow to regulate Panel / upload or remove courses. remove what you are able to first. something else is completed by the disc. I used to apply a restore disc, and it uninstalled and reinstalled as I observed the prompts on the disc. Then anticipate different solutions on the following to ascertain if there is extra information this is effective! I went from homestead windows ninety 8 to homestead windows XP very last 12 months.

Answer 6

Right, boot off of the CD and it will give you the options of repairing a current version,or install a fresh copy. If you are not worried about your files,I would reformat your drive, and install a fresh copy. Besides that, if it is a Validation issue with Microsoft, you would want to install a fresh copy anyway, to be able to get all the good stuff from Microsoft. I have a validation issue with mine, and have to wait for automatic updates to download updates to my computer before installing them.

Answer 7

Just boot from the XP CD and read the screens and it will walk you through the install. Just choose fresh install over repair, and it is probably fine to accept all of the default options.

Answer 8

Stick the XP disk in the CD drive and boot from it. It will give you the option of overwriting the current installation. No unistall is necessary.

Answer 9

Wait! Before you reinstall, have you downloaded XP Service Pack 2? I ran into the same problem recently and after I installed service pack 2, I was able to activate.

Right click on "my computer" and go to properties. If it says Service Pack 2 in there somewhere then just follow other people's instructions on how to reinstall.

Otherwise, get SP2 first.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=049C9DBE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en

Answer 10

Put your Windows XP in the cd rom. Shut down...Restart...follow instructions on the screen.