Installing XP

paulsm

I need to reinstall xp on my laptop however it says the copy I am using is older than the present copy , is there a way I can still install using my disk?

LeeSouthEast

If you're reinstalling from scratch, just boot from the CD and follow the instructions.

You will lose any data on the laptop. Make a copy somewhere else first of anything you want to keep (DVD/USB/Cloud etc.)

silkyuk9

paulsm wrote: »

I need to reinstall xp on my laptop however it says the copy I am using is older than the present copy , is there a way I can still install using my disk?

ive had this problem but solved it by these setps.

right click my computer and left click 'manage'

click on disc management and you will see your hard drive appear.

right click where you see a blue line above your hard drive, click delite partition, make sure you have backed up everything you need.

go through the wizard and you will delite all that is on your hard drive.

once completed put in your xp disc and restart your pc.

you will then go through the proceedure of reinstalling everything.

hairy_g

There's no point deleting the partition as you will have to put it back on anyway.
if you want to, you can do that from booting the cd. you can just format the partition you want to use.

paulsm

how do I do that?

fwor

silkyuk9 wrote: »

go through the wizard and you will delite all that is on your hard drive.

Generally that won't work. Windows won't let you delete the partition that it's running from, because it has numerous system files open on that partition.

AFAIK, the only situation where this will work is if you are trying to install Windows on a different partition or drive than the one it's currently installed on.

HoofeHearted

paulsm wrote: »

how do I do that?

Follow the instructions here.

Before doing the re-install, make sure you have a copy of Service Pack 3 (SP3). This can be downloaded from here and copied to a CD or USB pen drive.

You will also need a copy of the drivers for your motherboard.

paulsm

when I try to install it wont go any further once it gives the message the copy I am using is older than the current version. How do I format the hdd before installing?

hairy_g

Can I ask why you need to reinstall windows?, as this is a bit drastic.

paulsm

the laptop has slowed down lately and I want a fresh start

fwor

Make sure you have all the drivers for the motherboard's onboard chipsets and peripherals to hand before you start, or you are likely to have problem devices and possibly BSODs when you boot it up for the first time after the rebuild.