INSTALL Me or xp pro from cd

hello there, i'm a pc novice as all will become clear. my sisters has a pc which is an AMD, 450 MHZ, 150RAM, it was 2nd hand when she bought it and was already installed with xp pro(but came with no cd) like an idiot i tried to install xp home over it(my own xp cd) but it got half way through then asked me to type in reg numbers, but would not accept numbers because they belong to my pc.
my sister took it to the local pc shop and was told it was okay now and ready for internet etc, but that she would be better off installing win Me but said she would have to use another cd to boot up for it to install. but i'm not sure how to do this. should i install the Me or install a new xp pro that i have for her?
when i turn on the pc i get the black screen with the info etc then a choice of press F1 to continue(which goes to installing xphome, which wont install) or press del to enter setup.

what i would like to know is
1)how do i install xp pro or Me
2) and which one should i install

any info would be much appreciated

whipit

 

Windows ME is possibly the worst operating system we have ever seen. SHed be much better off on Windows 2000 or XP.

here is a walkthrough on how to install Windows XP Home, but be aware that doing so will erase all data on the hard drive.

http://www.blackviper.com/Articles/OS/InstallXPHome/installxphome1.htm

 

going to install xp pro, but think the guy at the pc shop may have set it up to run Me ?, if this is so, when i go into setup(press del) then bios what do i do from here, there is one line on the screen that says conflict I/0 PORTS : 3F8,
Sorry to be such a pain.

whipit

 

pressing delete will take you to the BIOS setup for the motherboard, not windows setup.

In the BIOS, look for a boot order, and set CDROM to the first boot device.

once that is done, you can put the Windows disc into the cdrom, and try to Boot to it to enter windows setup.

 

Into the bios features setup, next to boot sequence it has C, A, SCSI
Am i in the correct place?

 

Yes, you are in the correct place. The naming varies from BIOS to BIOS, but you're looking to set it for 'CD-ROM, A, C' or something like that. The computer will then look to boot from the CD first, before trying other media such as the floppy or hard drive. Once you've set-up your O.S, you can switch it back if desired.

 

i pressed F1 and a box came up for available options which included C, CDROM,A. and also CDROM,C,A, but i can't click on to the one that i want because the arrows or mouse wont work on this popup option box.

and cant understand why i cant get rid of xphome set up which starts when i switch on the computer. could this be the reason why xp pro wont install because xp home has not been uninstalled(it was halfway through then refused= error1, but i cant get it off my screen, and the only options i get at start up are press del to enter setup or press F1 to continue install, which it wont)

cheers
whipit

 

In the BIOS, there's generally instructions either to the right of the screen, or at the bottom. These instructions tell you how to select or scroll through options. You might need to use the pg up/pg dwn keys, or the + - keys, or something else, not necessarily the arrow keys or mouse.

 

no its not having any of it, tried everything but it wont work, but want to say a big thanks to yourself and years to come for all your help.


cheers

whipit

 

are you using a USB keyboard? if so, look in the BIOS for an option to enable USB Legacy keyboard/mouse support, as that boot device screen would be helpful.

if you CAN make a selection when you press F1, have the windows disc in the cdrom, and try pressing the number that corresponds to the CDROM.

if you can get into windows setup, you can delete the partitions that have the previous version of windows setup saved on them, and make a fresh partition for your new format.

 

not sure to be honest, but think it is usb, the keyboard has to have an adapter connected before i can plug it into the pc, shows how old the pc is.
i cant make a selection on anything, even pressed delete on a couple of things but nowt happened, in the cmos setup it has ''halt on:all, but keyboard''
dont know if that means anything.

the ''conflict I/0 Ports : 3F8'' message still appears when i start up the pc, could it be anything to do with that?

cheers for all your help