trying to reinstall xp

i bought a compaq presairo from a person who mistakenly tried to install windows millenium over xp and now the cd doesn't work in order for me to reinstall XP...how can i resolve this issue...if possible...i will appreciate any input on this matter...thank you very much for your time...

 

when the person installed millenium he interupted the installation and the device drivers for the cd weren't installed...so now when i try to reinstall XP i cant because the cd drive isn't recognized...do you think if i disconnect the bios battery for a day then reconnect it and reinsert the cd back into the laptop will work...

 

invalid system disk

replace the disk,and press any key...

 

If this is what you see when trying to boot the hard drive, this can be considered normal especially after trying to put ME on top of XP.
Since you trying to install XP, you will be booting with the XP CD, it has it's own drivers to use the CD, it doesn't need anything on the hard drive.
Have you gone into the BIOS and set the CD drive as first in the boot order?
If so, you should see the message [Booting from CD (or something similiar)], then you should get prompted [press any key to boot from CD...].
If no key is pressed at this time, your BIOS goes to the Second item on the boot order, if nothing there, then the Third.
If the CD is not bootable, you will not get the above error message, your BIOS will simply go on to the next item in the boot order, until it gets to your hard drive, then the above error message appears.

To get into BIOS and change boot order:
Press Del when booting the computer, when it is counting memory is a great time to do this. Note; it could be F10 on your computer, there is a message appearing at the bottom at this time saying [Press DEL (or other key) to enter Setup].
Using the arrow keys, select Advanced BIOS Features, then press Enter. Look for Boot Order, or you may have First Boot Device, Second Boot Device, Third Boot Device. Set the CD as first, then HDD-0 as second, as you will not be using the floppy at all. Save all changes then allow system to reboot with the XP cd in the drive.
Note: when the CD reboots the computer on it's own, do not press a key to boot from the CD again, allow it to go to the hard drive but leave the CD in.

 

mark

everything you said i have done...it just wont install xp...i even tried a different hard drive and still it wont install xp...i even tried a friend of mines corperate xp cd and still nothing...its no big deal...i can always use the laptop as parts...but it would have been nice to sell as is...oh well...i bought it for 30 bucks...

 

Have just joined and was scrolling thru and saw your post. I had friend in same position a few weeks back and we found that the Presario chipset in his was configured for Vista only. So, all attempts on ME and XP failed. Have found out that you have to make bios recognise the drive. Try setting to recognising SATA and see how it goes. Or, try installing a copy of Vista onit before trashing for parts.

All the best. .......................... dontatus.

 

Hi Dakar, If you are just trying to get the laptop setup with XP why not use a boot disc (floppy) which will load drivers for your CD. Then you can follow the instructions that Pete posted. Sounds as though you have no info to save or worry about so that is what I would try. Neil.

 

thanks guys for all your advice...i'll do what you guys say...thanks again...

 

Just one more tip, when it is impossible to boot from the installation CD you can try and download the Windows boot from MS (working PC) it requires 6 floppy's for XP Pro and you should be able to boot from CD after installing the boot from the floppy's.
worth a try