formati laptop and installing xp

paulsm

I ant to reinstall xp on my laptop but for some reason when I boot up with the xp disk it says press any key to install (or something similar) but it wont register me pressing a key , can I format the C drive then boot from the xp disk to install?

aliEnRIK

I had the same problem once if memory serves correct. I think I had to plug a standard USB keyboard in for it to work

And whilst id advise a FULL format of C drive and starting from scratch, the chances are your keyboard STILL wont work to do it.

paulsm

thanks for that I can blag a keyboard to do it , cheers fingers crossed

paulsm

my comp keyboard is ps connector , I tried to format the hard drive in the laptop but it wouldnt for some reason , it said to close anything showing the hard drive but no luck , any ideas until I get a usb keyboard? Can I copy it to the hdd then install it from there?

aliEnRIK

Not that im aware ~ sorry

gjchester

Can you get into the BIOS on the laptop? (F1, F8, F10, f12 or Delete usualy do it) If you can then it's not a keyboard hardware issue. If you cannot then it may be the keyboards faulty, or the connector has come loose inside.

You may also want to check the BIOS and see if the USB legacy option is enabled (if it exists) as if it's disabled that can stop USB keyboards from being picked up. Not sure how it's wired in the laptop it may be a USB or PS/2 connected it's wired as on the motherboard internally.