hi there
i have this desktop, got it from a private company(company used PC)
i tried to do a clean install of XP......but its not booting from CD,.......
also i tried to use from start up disk[A:] but when i tried to format[format c:] from A: drive...its not allowing me .....bs "this program cannot run in DOS mode"............
i dont have access to log in the windows XP.......since i dont know the username and password...........
any help pls......
Have a look at partioning software such as partition magic. This should run fine from boot of a floppy disk and allow you to delete all partition on the computer leaving it blank ready for OS installation. Providing the bios isn't screwed and will allow for boot from cd
Chris
thanks Chris
i used the partition magic.....formated the hard drive........
now when i try to boot from windows XP cd............its not booting
its says "Strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup utility ".........but when i press F1...i get the same messagee
If you set the bios to boot from CD, then the only time i've ever seen this happen before is when the Disc was screwed..
Sorry i cannot provide any other solution, even after reading a bit more into this that still seems to be the only solution.
You could try downloading a free linux distro such as freBSD and burning that to a disc then see if that will install.
There is also this idea which is a bios reset.
When you get the f1 f2 screen do this
1) Caps lock light is on
2) Num lock ligh is on
3) scroll lock light is on
thats all 3 on then press
1) (ALT TAB) E
2) (ALT TAB) F
3) (ALT TAB) B
That should make you pc reboot automatically and you should be fixed fingers crossed
If you are getting 2 beeps it seems that may indicate a DDRAM problem.
Chris
Hi,
Try, remove the mainboard battery for 3 mins and then replace this will reset your BIOS then try to install again.
thanks Chris
i used the partition magic.....formated the hard drive........
now when i try to boot from windows XP cd............its not bootingits says "Strike F1 to retry boot, F2 for setup utility ".........but when i press F1...i get the same messagee
Is this a dell??
Try resetting the BIOS to defaults. That fixes wierd problems with dells.
Have you concidered maybe a bad CD drive.
- i know this is completely occam's razor but sometimes it is true.
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