problems with xp reinstall

I am trying to reinstall XP Home on a Dell pc. I tried to reinstall from within Windows, but when I run the the reinstallation cd, get the welcome screen, and it asks me what I want to do,I click " install Windows XP ", it does nothing. I also tried to reinstall at startup. I change the boot sequence so that it boots to the cd drive first, but I don't get the "press any button" message,when it boots up, it just goes directly to the Windows welcome screen. Have any suggestions as to what I could do remedy this so that I can reinstall XP ? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

If this is a Dell issued re-install option, have you checked in the program list for a restore option? I know some pc's can restore that way.

Or, are you using an actual Windows XP cd? If so, are you wanting to totally overwrite the hard drive and do a fresh install of XP, or are you trying to repair a previous installation of XP and keep other non-os files on the hard drive?

If you are using an actual Windows XP cd, make sure your PC is set in BIOS to boot from the CD rom drive first. (Check it again). Reboot your PC with the Windows cd in your CD drive. A setup screen should appear. If not, perhaps something is wrong with your CD Rom drive. Can you use a floppy boot disk?

Should a reboot work:

Select the option to re-install XP (even if you want to do a repair install - don't use the repair console). On the next screen, setup will scan your hardrive and find the current installation of the operating system. It will offer an option of a full install, or a repair installation of XP.

Under a repair installation, you will not lose any files that you have created - but you will lose all the Microsoft XP updates that have been installed; these will have to be re-installed. So if you have files that you want to keep, but need to correct a corrupt XP installation, this is the option for you.

If you just want to overwrite everything on the hard drive and do a clean install of XP, then select that option.

 

Hey Natakel, thanks for the reply. I was wanting to a fresh install of XP.(sorry I wasn't more clear on previous thread). I have the "Reinstallation CD" provided by Dell. I made sure the pc is set to boot to the cd-rom drive first at startup, but still can't get a setup screen to start the reinstallation process; I just get the XP logo screen, then the welcome/login screen. Have any other suggestions ? Thanks again for your time and assistance.

 

press the ESC key during the boot to go to the boot sector to get the install up...been there done that

 

Hey PC12Cowboy,appreciate the reply,but it's still a no go; still can't get to the setup screen to start a reinstall. I don't know what the deal is. Thanks anyway for the advice. Have any more suggestions ?