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PC Won't Boot From CD To Reinstall Windows XP

1K views 10 replies 4 participants last post by  jenonnet 
#1 ·
Please can someone help. I'm trying to reformat my PC & reinstall Windows XP. I have the Windows disc & the PC is set to boot from CD but it won't, it just starts Windows normally if I boot up with the CD in the CD drive.
What can I do to make it boot from the CD so that I can format the hard drive & reinstall Windows on a clean system?
Thanks in anticipation for any suggestions.
 
#4 ·
I have 2 optical drives & I have tried booting from both of them without any luck. I have once had the screen telling me to press any key to boot from CD but when I pressed a key it booted up normally.
The CD I am using is the same one I have done reinstalls from before & it worked ok then, it just won't do it now.
 
#7 ·
The hard drive that you are trying to format is it a used hard drive?

If it is a used hard drive did it have anything like Linux on it?

Whether it did or not I would suggest to remove the partition(s) and then re-partition it, reformat it and then re-install windows.

How to partition and format a hard disk in Windows XP During an Install.

http://www.directron.com/formatdrive.html#3
 
#8 ·
I have 2 optical drives & I have tried booting from both of them without any luck. I have once had the screen telling me to press any key to boot from CD but when I pressed a key it booted up normally.
The CD I am using is the same one I have done reinstalls from before & it worked ok then, it just won't do it now.
Do you have a usb keyboard? . . older system will not recognize a usb keyboard until the operating system is loaded. If you have one, you can change to a P{S/2 Keyboard and mouse for the install
 
#9 ·
No, the hard drive has never had Linux on it. The PC was new when I bought it & came with Windows XP loaded (I also paid for the disc so I had one if I ever needed it).
Would the hard drive have a partition on it? My data is all on a separate hard drive which is also installed in the PC.
I have also got a PS2 keyboard attached to the PC, even though I use a USB one when I use the PC, as it won't recognise the USB keyboard unless the PS2 is connected (that's another problem no-one had been able to sort out!).
 
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