Reinstall xp on dell laptop

Create a new partition. Select the unpartitioned space. Press C to create a new partition. Enter the maximum size possible and press Enter. You can create smaller a smaller partition if you want to create other partitions in your hard drive later through Windows.

There are multiple reasons why someone might do this, but for most users simply creating the largest partition possible should be fine. Begin Windows setup. Once the partition is created, highlight it and press Enter to begin the Windows installation. You will be asked to format the partition. Formatting will begin. This could take up to several hours depending on the size and speed of your hard drive, but for most users it will take a few minutes.

Windows will begin installing. This is a mostly automated process that requires the user to enter some data at a few points. The first option that pops up is changing the default language and region. Click Customize… if the settings are incorrect for your region. Once the settings are correct, click Next to move on.

When prompted, type your name and organization. These will be used when labeling documents, and can be changed in Windows settings later. Enter your Product Key. You will be prompted to enter your digit product key at this time. Your Product Key should be found at the lower part of you Certificate of Authenticity. Enter your computer name. This is the name that will appear on the network to describe your computer.

For XP Professional, you will be asked to enter an Administrator password that will be used to access the Administrator account. Set the correct date and time.

You will now see a calendar and clock that can be adjusted to your specific time. You can also select the correct timezone for your location. Setup network basics. You will be asked if you want to install Typical or Custom network settings. For nearly all users, Typical is the correct choice. If you are installing in a corporate setting, check with your system administrator first. When asked to enter a workgroup, most users will want to select the first option, and leave the workgroup label as default.

If you are in a corporate setting, you may need to specify a domain. Again, check with your administrator. Windows will finalize the setup. This will take several minutes and requires no input from the user. Your computer will continue to boot from the hard drive and finish the Windows install.

Select OK to adjust screen resolution. Windows will attempt to automatically change the screen size to make reading easier. Once the screen resets, you will be asked if you can read the new text box.

If you can, click OK to continue. If you cannot, then hit Cancel or simply wait 20 seconds for the screen to revert to its original settings. Select Next to proceed with the installation. The Welcome to Microsoft Windows screen will appear once the screen changes are made. This process will just take a couple minutes. Windows will attempt to check your network connectivity.

If you are planning on setting this up later, you can skip this screen. Enter the names of your users. In this step, you can create separate logins for each of the users of your computer. You must enter at least one name.

You can enter up to five users on this screen, but more can be entered through the Control Panel after installing. After entering the names, click Finish to finalize the installation. Windows will work for a few moments and then you will be greeted with your new desktop. Run Windows Update. This will download the latest system updates from Microsoft. These are very important, as the patch system vulnerabilities and stability issues. Install your drivers.

Chances are you will need to install your drivers again now that the computer has been formatted. Depending on the devices you have attached to your computer, this could include your video card, your modem or network card, your sound, and more. Method 3. Install from the recovery partition. Many computer manufacturers ship their computers with a partition on the hard drive that contains the Windows installation files. In order to access it, you will need to boot into the recovery partition.

The most common key to enter the partition is F Turn on suggestions. Auto-suggest helps you quickly narrow down your search results by suggesting possible matches as you type. Showing results for. Search instead for. Did you mean:. Last reply by ElenaGeoep Unsolved.

Reinstall of Windows XP. What key has to be pressed on the boot up process to get to the reinstall menu for Windows XP on an Inspiron E All forum topics Previous Topic Next Topic. Replies 9. To use PC Restore: Turn on the computer. During the boot process, a blue bar with www. Immediately upon seeing the blue bar, press. If you do not press in time, let the computer finish starting, and then restart the computer again.

On the next screen that appears, click Restore. On the next screen, click Confirm. The restore process takes approximately 6—10 minutes to complete. Wait for your computer to restart. After the computer finishes formatting, it will restart into the user options setup window. Make sure that you don't press any keys until you arrive at the user options setup window. Part 3. Click Next. It's in the bottom-right corner of the window. You can also click Customize Enter your name, then click Next.

Your name goes in the "Name" text field. You can also add a business name in the "Organization" section. Enter your product key, then click Next. Type the character key that you retrieved earlier into the "Product Key" boxes. Add a password, then click Next. Type your preferred password into the "Administrator password" and "Confirm password" text fields at the bottom of the window.

You can also change your computer's name in the text field at the top of the window. Set a date and time zone, then click Next. Click the "Date" drop-down box, select the current date, and then repeat with the "Time" and "Time Zone" boxes. Check the "Typical Settings" box, then click Next.

This will cause Windows XP to install using default settings. Check the "No" box. It's at the top of the window. If your computer is part of a workgroup, you'll instead check the "Yes" box and enter your workgroup's address in the text box. This will complete the installation setup process, at which point Windows XP will resume installing. You may have to wait for 30 minutes or so before the installation finishes. It might be on a sticker on the bottom of your laptop if that's what you're using.

Yes No. Not Helpful 13 Helpful Unless you keep a backup copy of your i folder, you can't. Ubuntu allows you to dual-boot your computer, which keeps both XP and Ubuntu. Not Helpful 4 Helpful 9. I found an old XP computer. I want to factory reset it.

How can I do that without knowing the admin password? Try to reintall the OS completely. Insert a official CD or dowload and make one. Then just install Windows normally.

Not Helpful 0 Helpful 1. What can I do if my computer won't boot up, shows Windows, then shuts down and tries to start up again, then loops? Repeatedly hit F8 on your keyboard during boot up, than select system repair. If you can't, contact your system manufacturer for a repair CD. Or, if you have to product code, download from the Microsoft website. Not Helpful 9 Helpful 3. Boot into the Windows XP installation, get to the partitions, then format the drive.

Just make sure you backed up all files. Not Helpful 0 Helpful 0. However, at the minimum RAM, Vista will be quite laggy. You might want to consider upgrading your RAM to its maximum amount, which should be quite inexpensive on an older machine; if the processor is at least 1 GHz, you could then run Windows 7. What to do in that case?