[artarmon]

I cannot find any help, anywhere, as to how I can clean-up my "C" drive and reload my XP Home OEM disk and them upgrade to XP Pro via my XP PRO Upgrade disk.
After installing a program [which my computer stumbled at using] I have had all sort of problems; I.E. will not open, my printer will not print, my computer is so slow it is almost in reverse etc.
Are my thoughts as to how to fix the problem/s correct or is there an alternative to my predicament?
Any help/suggestions will be very much appreciated.

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After installing a program [which my computer stumbled at using] I have had all sort of problems; I.E. will not open, my printer will not print, my computer is so slow it is almost in reverse etc.

What program was it and where did it come?

[rshaffer61]

After installing a program [which my computer stumbled at using] I have had all sort of problems; I.E. will not open, my printer will not print, my computer is so slow it is almost in reverse etc.

What program was it and where did it come?

[artarmon]

It was a well known and highly respected 1T external drive back-up program. Apparently my 8 year old computer could not handle the software that came with the External Drive. The drives "producers" strongly suggested I uninstall the software and use the external drive in the normal way - that is, without all the "bells" etc. I did so, but something has "upset" my XP Pro ever since.

Edited by artarmon, 24 May 2011 - 03:48 PM.

[rshaffer61]

So what you want to do is format your hd and start fresh if I am reading all this correctly?

[artarmon]

Yes, that is what I thought would be my best option BUT I am open to any help you can give me. Thank you for your interest in my problem,; I am very appreciative.

[rshaffer61]

Go HERE for step by step instructions on how to partition, format, and install XP fresh

[artarmon]

Thank you very much for the information. I have read what you have written and now plan to take a deep breath, have a shower and them do what I have to do!!
May I ask a couple of questions before I begin?
1. The XP Home disk I have is a "brand new" OEM disk, but I cannot be sure it is the one that originally came with the computer. Do you see a difficulty there?

2. I have tried to get the XP Home OEM disk to load but keep getting the following message which I cannot get around to proceed :- "Setup cannot continue because the version of Windows on your computer is newer than the version on the CD.
Warning: If you decide to delete the newer version of Windows that is currently installed on your computer, the files and settings cannot be recovered".

Can you suggest how I can bypass this should it happen again?

Edited by artarmon, 24 May 2011 - 06:53 PM.

[rshaffer61]

The XP Home disk I have is a "brand new" OEM disk, but I cannot be sure it is the one that originally came with the computer. Do you see a difficulty there?

Is there a reg key with the disk?


If you are going to do a fresh install it doesn't matter whats on the system before the format. it will all be replaced with the version you install. You will have to do all the updates anyway.

[artarmon]

Yes, I have the reg. keys for both the Home OEM and the XP Pro Upgrade.

Edited by artarmon, 24 May 2011 - 08:29 PM.

[rshaffer61]

It sounds like you are trying to repair instead of a fresh install.

[artarmon]

Sorry if it looks like that. I am afraid my "C" drive is too messed up to repair therefore I thought a clean disk and a fresh install would be the way to go???

Edited by artarmon, 25 May 2011 - 05:13 PM.

[rshaffer61]

If you are doing a full format and fresh install then you should not see this message.
Setup cannot continue because the version of Windows on your computer is newer than the version on the CD
During the initial setup you should be given the option to format the partition. Use NTFS and DO NOT use the FAST\QUICK Format. You want to use the NORMAL format.

[artarmon]

Problem! The system will not start from the XP Home OEM disk - it goes to the normal/original XP Pro start up screen. Is there a way to force the system to boot from the XP Home disk?

[rshaffer61]

To change Boot Sequence in your BIOS

Reboot the system and at the first post screen (where it is counting up memory) start tapping the DEL button
This will enter you into the Bios\Cmos area.
Find the Advanced area and click Enter
Look for Boot Sequence or Boot Options and highlight that click Enter
Now highlight the first drive and follow the directions on the bottom of the screen on how to modify it and change it to CDrom.
Change the second drive to the C or Main Drive
Once that is done then click F10 to Save and Exit
You will prompted to enter Y to verify Save and Exit. Click Y and the system will now reboot with the new settings.

Hopefully you have already put the XP cd in the drive before all this. If everything is setup correctly you will get a black screen with the following message in the upper left corner:

"Push Any Key To Boot To Cd". When you see this then push any key and the cd will take over. Then follow the prompts or if you need assistance we will help.

[rshaffer61]

Are you still having problems with your issue?
It has been 19 days since your last response and I was wondering if the issue has been resolved?
If so can you explain how it was resolved so others may be able to fix it if they have the same issue.
If not please let us know and we can continue with helping you to resolve the issue.