How do i reinstall windows xp on my dell computer

If all else fails and you don't mind a royal pain, you can reinstall a fresh version of Windows XP. Turn off the computer and then boot from that CD. Follow the steps for a fresh install, including deleting the partition and then re-creating it and then installing XP on the re-created partition. You'll lose all your data, so make sure you have a backup of anything you want.

Do all the whole install, and then Windows will advise you to activate. I would choose the phone option, so you don't hook up to the Internet before you've got Windows secure.

After you activate, install SP2 and your virus software. Then you should be good to go onto the Internet. Hope one of these works for you. Click to expand Similar threads S.

Scott Dec 11, Windows. Replies 4 Views Tuesday at AM Wuertz. How to prevent software installations? Replies 3 Views Nov 9, Kshipper. Do you have two ram chips installed? If so, take one out and test it, if it works, put it back in and take the other one out. Run the ram test in the Dell Diagnostics. Boot to the Dell Drivers and Utilities cd and the diagnostics will start. Browse Community. Laptops General - Read Only. Turn on suggestions.

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How do i reinstall windows xp? I use windows xp sp3 and I have a disk from dell that is a reinstallation cd Microsoft windows xp home edition service pack 2: Also I have microsoft office and if I have any problems with it I reinsert the cd and it enables repairs.

This thread is locked. You can follow the question or vote as helpful, but you cannot reply to this thread. I have the same question Report abuse. Details required :. Cancel Submit. How satisfied are you with this reply? Thanks for your feedback, it helps us improve the site. In reply to Daavee's post on November 2, In reply to needhelpwithwindowsxp's post on November 4, Please indicated the steps and pitfalls and fail safe methods as per the first entry.

Thank you. There is never a need to activate Windows since it's already and perpetually activated. PA Bear already provided good instructions in one of the other threads you began. Here is the link he provided again:. You should definitely have everything you need to successfully reinstall Windows and upgrade it saved to your external hard drive first, including your SP3 standalone executable, IE8 installation file, antivirus installation file, all your drivers, etc.

Make sure you have everything handy before you format your drive!!!! You are making things more confusing about using the word Repair. By all means, copy your data to an external drive. Then copy it back whenever you'd like. Backing up "program files" like those belonging to Microsoft Office won't work. You will need to reinstall all your programs. You can Google for more information or post to an AOL user forum. As far as the data you do want to save, only you know the answer to this.

Yes, most will likely be in your My Documents folder, but you may have saved files to any old place on your hard drive.

Just go through every folder and see what you want to save. If you're not sure, copy every single file you have! In reply to Daavee's post on November 7, Currently I am backing up my documents and desktop but I will need to learn how to backup files of contacts within microsoft outlook, aol etc 2 run a malware scan on the external hard drive.

I will try to keep it as simple as possible. Service packs SP are actually the updates of their respective programs. SP3 is nothing but just an update of Windows having the latest security and maintenance features.

So SP3 can be installed ie. Windows can be upgraded from SP2 as well as it can be removed ie. Here there won't be a reinstallation disk, but you will have the Windows Setup disk, which will have the reinstall command. The disk you are having is probably the one with the Windows XP setup, as I have. So, I am sorry I can't help with this point. Do not change the hard drive for a different service pack. If it was preinstalled, then it means that it has a setup pack.

Just download and install it. If you want to downgrade, just uninstall it. Thus you need them to identify the specific hardware. However you can install the driver at anytime. So it would be waste to download now and save on the desktop as it will be deleted during reinstallation. If you want to save the drivers, then save them in a CD or some other external drive pen drive etc. But I have never tried this thing before, I automatically got the ethernet connection read by my System.

I would recommend you to do so.