Re-installing Windows XP Professional and keeps going back to the Start Up screen

[Lambshots]

Hi i am new here and very computer illiterate. My computer crashed last night so i decided i would re-install Windows XP Professional. All was going ok. However, after i choose to install, delete partition, and format (something like that)....i can see all the windows setup files being loaded, and after it says the computer will restart in so many seconds.........it always goes right back to the very beginning of the setup screen again. I am stuck. I have retried this several times but it always goes back to the setup screen again and again.

Thank you
Marg

 

[matt123]

better give your pc spec.
its sound like a old pc?
because you are already stated restart after long time to start installation its problem in required capacity of RAM.
are you checked in BIOS setup?

 

[Osiris]

When it formats the drive, dont use Quick Format, use the other. It will take a while but will give you a cleaner format and hopefully knockout whatever is causing this issue.

 

[joelm3103]

Not sure if it's the cause but it's worth a shot mentioning, when the computer restarts in X amount of seconds, and the system loads back to the point where it says "Press any key to continue" (loading of the CD)...do you press any key again or wait for it to load out by itself?

 

[Lambshots]

It is an old PC. Like 6 years old AMD Athlon, 512gb, 64 bit os, mercury motherboard. Other than that i really don't know much about it. I did try quick format and also the "not quick" format, but still goes back to startup screen which again, loads all the start up files. Then i went back to start the process all over again.

Here are the steps / screens:
. setup windows xp - press enter
. windows xp gives me a list of existing partitions and unpartitioned space on the computer
*38163 MB disk 0 at Id 0 on bus 0 on atapi (MBR)
C: partition1 (NTFS) 38154 MB (37583 free)
unpartitioned space 8 MB
. to set up windows on the selected partition - press enter
. to create partition in the unpartitioned space - press "C"
. to delete the selected partition - press "D"

Now, when i press "C", it says i chose to install windows xp on a partition that contains another OS. So i chose "D", to delete the partition and "L", to continue.

Then i chose to setup windows xp on the unpartitioned space and formatted using NTFS sytem (not the quick format). Partition 1 (new raw)

But this still brings me back to the start / loading start up files screen.

Thank you
Marg
I hope this info helps you a little. As i said i am computer illiterate lol

 

[joelm3103]

All the steps seem correct to me. About my post above, have you left the system to load by itself after the "Press any key to continue" screen? If you pressed any key to continue again, that leads back to the setup and you have to do the process all over again; if you left the system to load, the setup shall continue to its other stage.

 

[Lambshots]

I have let the computer load by itself........don't even get the option to press any key to continue

 

[Lambshots]

I wonder if i could download a CD windows xp boot disk.........if this would help. What do you think

 

[joelm3103]

Hmm, well that eliminates that cause. Well the steps taken seems correct to me. Second priority for boot up is your hard drive (CD-Rom first priority)?

 

[Lambshots]

i got into my BIOS to set my CD rom as first boot option and i noticed "primary slave - disabled" and also "seconday slave - disabled"..........is that normal? I am waiting now while i go through steps and computer is now loading files again to see if ........ by me choosing CD rom as my first boot option if that will make a difference.