How to do clean reinstall of OS in laptop?

I was given a laptop from a teacher friend at a local college; the college was getting rid of the old equipment and replacing it with new stuff. The hitch was the laptop had been stripped of all OS and other software. Another friend took the laptop to a computer programmer he knew who reinstalled software and MS XP Pro (he said it was a 90-day trial).

I've had this thing for about 2 months now and can't get it to work. It will start up, but comes to a screen asking if I want to activate the product.
I cannot get it to connect to the internet either via cable or dial-up, so I
click "No." It then shuts off. It never gets to the Start screen in order for
me to run any diagnostics.

I've tried going into Safe Mode to get to the Config Menu, but nothing I've tried from that area has helped.

I've tried to boot from the Installation Disk, but the computer again goes
to the activation screen--even if I hit Pause/Break when text first appears
on the screen. I have the installation disc already in the CD drive. Hitting
enter to try and resume the boot fails.

I'm also noticing that the fan isn't working.

I want to do a uninstall / reinstall of the OS with the real installation disc
and not mess with the 90 day trial. Can someone please walk me through
the steps I'll need to take in order to do this?

Please keep in mind that I'm unable to access the Start Menu at all.

The info I have on the Laptop is as follows:

System Type: Latitude C840
Ship Date: 4/5/2003
Dell IBU: Americas

Quantity Parts # Part Description

1 146CM ASSEMBLY..., CABLE..., FLEXTRONICS..., 15, SXGA+-UXGA,
1 2R290 LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY..., ULTRA EXTENDED GRAPHICS ARRAY..., STANDARD PANELS WORKING GROUP..., BMRDASV, 15, SAMSUNG...
1 3J010 ASSEMBLY..., BASE (ASSEMBLY OR GROUP)..., BOTTOM..., C840, COMPAL..., PCTEL...
1 4C895 ASSEMBLY..., BEZEL..., LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY..., 15.0, LONSDALE..., ULTRA EXTENDED GRAPHICS ARRAY...
1 7R055 ASSEMBLY..., COVER..., TOP..., LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY..., 15, C840/M50
1 4G690 ASSEMBLY..., FLOPPY DRIVE..., 1.44M, 3.5" FORM FACTOR..., CONTROLLER/NO CABLE..., NEC CORPORATION..., NOTEBOOK...
1 6G356 ADAPTER..., ALTERNATING CURRENT..., EXTERNAL..., 20V, 90W, 3W, POWER FACTOR CORRECTION...
1 3J247 KEYBOARD..., 87, ..., COMANECI AND AVANTI (SHARED PARTS)...,
1 0120C INSERT..., BLANK ..., PC MEMORY CARD INTL. ASSOC...., CP/CPX
1 4M778 BATTERY..., PRIMARY..., 14.8V, 8C, ..., SANYO
1 433MR ASSEMBLY..., COVER..., HINGE..., PLASTIC..., LONSDALE...
1 6G141 PIPE..., HEIGHT..., THIN..., FINS, COMANECI AND AVANTI (SHARED PARTS)..., PONG ADDS/COHIBA...
1 9W034 PROCESSOR..., 80532, 2.2GHZ, 512K, PENTIUM 4..., MICRO FLIP CHIP PIN GRID ALIGNMENT...
1 0K963 DUAL IN-LINE MEMORY MODULE..., 512, 266, 64X64, 8K, 200
1 2W535 ASSEMBLY..., COMPACT DISK DRIVE..., 24X, HITACHI LG DATA STORAGE..., SIDE, V2
1 4U623 CARD (CIRCUIT)..., GRAPHICS..., VIDEO..., NVIDIA..., 32MB, NV17
1 48CVX ASSEMBLY..., CARRIER..., HARD DRIVE
1 6J987 HARD DRIVE..., 20GB, I, 2.5" FORM FACTOR..., 9.5MM, IBM-CASCADE...
1 8267R CONNECTOR..., HEADER..., 2X22, FEMALE..., 2, S, G, 35K, THIRD HEIGHT..., CHIP SET...


Again, this is the way it was shipped to the college. I have no idea what
changes were made by the second programmer, and my "friend" is not
helping me get any info.

Many thanks in advance,

Surfinwahine

 

Yup- Tim is exactly right. As for the fan not spinning; most laptop fans do not spin all the time, but only when needed, like if the CPU or HD get to a pre-defined temp. This is to save battery life. But if the fan never comes on, even after running the PC for 30-40 minutes, then you should think about fixing/replacing it.

 

Am I trying to boot into the cd drive correctly? Is there another way that is better?

Thanks again...You guys rock! But you already knew that.
Surfinwahine