How to Reinstall XP

The Windows XP operating system comes as Windows XP Home Edition and Windows XP Professional. Windows XP Professional has more networking features and security features than Windows XP Home Edition and is geared more toward businesses and power users that use those features on a daily basis.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Turn the computer on and watch the loading screen. Press the "Enter" key when you see the message "Press any key to boot from CD..."

2. Wait while the computer goes through the "Setup is inspecting your computer's hardware configuration..." A blue screen will show up and "Windows Setup" will show up in the top left corner while components load at the bottom.

3. Press the "Enter" key at the "Windows XP Home Edition Setup" or "Windows XP Professional Setup." Press the "F8" key to move forward once the EULA (End-User License Agreement) comes up.

4. Delete the current data by pressing the "D" key. When the "partition you tried to delete is a system partition" comes up, press the "Enter" key to confirm.

5. Delete the partition by pressing the "L" key. Then press "Enter" to confirm you want to install on the unpartitioned space

6. Pick the "Format the partition using the NTFS file system" option.

7. Wait for the partition to format and the files to install. Once the "Please wait while Setup initializes your Windows XP Configuration" message comes up, press "Enter" to restart the computer.

8. Wait for the computer to restart and start installing files. In the "Regional and Language options," click "Next."

9. Personalize your Windows by placing your name and organization into the proper fields, and press "Next." Enter in your product key and press "Next." Press "Next" in the "Computer Name and Administrator Password" screen.

10. Press "Next" once the time and date are set. Windows will then continue installing. If a network card has been detected, the "Network Settings" will show up. Press "Next" to continue.

11. Click "Next" when the "Workgroup or Computer Domain" prompt comes up. The computer will continue installing again and will reboot again after it finishes installing all files.

12. Follow the prompts in the "Welcome to Microsoft Windows" one-time setup by clicking "Next" once in the bottom right and then skip. Click "No" when it asks to activate, and then press "Next." Click on "Finish" in the bottom right and then type in your name. Windows XP will be officially installed on your system again.

Tips & Warnings

• Because there are two different versions of Windows XP, some of the steps involved may not apply to your version. The product key is typically located on the computer itself or with the original documentation that came with the computer. If your computer manufacturer's instructions require different steps than those outlined here, please follow your original manufacturer's instructions.
• Not all these steps will apply depending on the version of Windows XP used. Back up all the information that you want to keep before reinstalling Windows. Once Windows XP is installed, please make sure to install all the other original software to make sure that you are back and running. Do not connect the computer to the Internet until installing an anti-virus on the computer. If the computer is running slow and there is a grinding sound, the hard drive could be going out. Reinstalling Windows will not fix this issue. If Windows XP does not install and it errors out, there is something else wrong with the system.

Resources

• More information on reinstallation