Quite often there is a need to reinstall Windows. This is due to the fact that during its operation various types of errors accumulate, both in the shell program itself and in applications from third-party developers. Usually in computer slang in such cases they say that Windows is “tired.” The average user's computer needs to reinstall the shell program, usually once or twice a year. The reinstallation process is quite simple, but it requires knowledge of some points, so a person must be confident in his actions and understand how to properly reinstall Windows XP.

Preparatory stage

First of all, you will need a disk with the program distribution kit. Having received it in one way or another, many users think that they can now proceed directly to the installation process. But that's not true. You should also worry about the presence of the main drivers in advance. As a rule, discs with them are given in the store when purchasing a system unit. If they are not there, then it is extremely important to find at least all the minimum necessary ones. These include drivers for the motherboard, video card and sound. So, having collected them, can we already consider how to properly install Windows XP? No, it is extremely important to do one more thing. The fact is that the installation process will destroy all data on the local drive “C”, so all important information from it must be copied to drive “D” or removable media.

How to reinstall Windows XP? Instructions for the preliminary stage

Before you start installing the new Windows, you should make some changes to the BIOS. To do this, restart the computer by pressing the “Del” key. This will launch BIOS settings, where you need to change boot priorities. To do this, go to the “Advanced BIOS Features” tab. There you should find the item “First boot device”, where you need to change the media type to “CD-ROM”. To access the options for changing settings, you must use the “Enter” key. After completing this procedure, you need to save the changes and restart the computer. To do this, press the “F10” key and answer “Y” to the system question.

How to reinstall Windows XP? Instructions for the main stage

After rebooting the system with the Windows disc pre-installed, the computer will ask you to confirm that it should use CD-ROM as the priority media. To do this, just press any key. After this, the shell program will unload the components necessary for its work and ask where to install it. Here you should completely delete the local drive “C”, for which you will need to confirm your desire twice by alternately pressing the “Enter” and then “L” keys. After this, instead of drive “C”, “Unallocated area” will appear. Having selected it, press the “C” key, which will create a new local disk in this place. Now you can select it and begin installation. Before this happens, Windows will format the specified partition.

How to reinstall Windows XP? Instructions for the final stage

Once the disk is formatted, the installation process will begin automatically and no action will be required from the user. But at the final stage you need to enter some information: specify the Windows key, administrator name, select the time zone, and so on. All this no longer requires any special knowledge.

Installation completed

After Windows completes installation, you should install all the necessary drivers and check if there are any device conflicts in the system. After this, you can already enjoy working with a “clean” OS. Thus, knowing how to reinstall Windows XP, the instructions, it is worth noting, should always be at hand, since it is impossible to remember everything.

Greetings to those who have visited the site, today we will talk about how to reinstall Windows XP on your computer. In fact, there is nothing complicated about reinstalling the operating system; the main thing is to do it yourself at least once! So, gentlemen, let's get down to solving our issue!

Before installing the operating system, you need to move all the necessary information from the system disk (the disk on which your version of Windows is installed, usually drive C) to any other location, for example, to a disk or USB drive, or to another system partition! Next, you need to take care of the correct booting of your computer for the subsequent installation of the operating system. The fact is that in normal operation your computer boots from the hard drive. But when reinstalling the operating system, you need to boot, for example, from a DVD drive of your drive or from a USB drive, via a USB port. After all, to reinstall the axis we will need to boot from the Windows XP distribution in the form of a boot disk or bootable USB flash drive.

In order to change the computer's boot priority, we need to correctly configure the BIOS (a small program located on a permanent storage device). There's nothing wrong with this: you just need to change one function. Thanks to this, the main boot will be done from the installation disk.

Preparing to reinstall Windows XP

To enter the BIOS program settings, you must restart the computer, and when the initial black screen appears (you can determine it by the running numbers and rapidly changing inscriptions), you must press the Delete button. If it doesn't work, then F10, shift+F2 or shift+F1. The key combination for entering the BIOS interface may vary depending on what brand of motherboard you have. Each developer is trying to make their own adjustments, which is undoubtedly not very convenient for the average PC user.

Then a screen will appear with many tabs, among which there is the inscription Boot. Navigation is carried out using the arrow keys. Let's move to Boot. The download setting appears there. Moving up/down, we reach Boot Device Priority. Press the Enter key. A window appears to select the device from which to download. In it, again use the up/down buttons to select the first boot device. Press Enter. The monitor will display a list of several devices, for example: IDE, CD ROM, HDD, 1st FLOPPY DRIVE, USB, DVD ROM.

Using the arrows, we get to the CD ROM or DVD ROM (i.e., to any device that allows booting from disk). Then press Enter again. Now our disk drive is the first device on the priority list! Press F10 on the keyboard. A small window will appear with an inscription asking about our consent/disagreement to save the changes. We agree. To do this, use the arrows to select OK and Enter. That's it - the preliminary stage of installing the operating system is complete. Next comes the main installation process.

Reinstalling Windows XP

After setting up the BIOS, the computer will boot from the drive. Therefore, you should insert a Windows disc into the DVD-ROM before starting. Turn on the computer. If the message Press any key... appears, press any key and begin to enjoy the OC installation process. This will start the installation process. The first thing you will see is a blue screen with the words “Installing Windows”.

First, the files will be automatically copied to your hard drive. There is no need to press anything here - just patience. Then a menu will appear with 3 options to choose from: proceed with installation, restore the system, or exit. We are interested in the first line. Press Enter.

Next, the menu awaits us again. This time a list of partitions on the disk will be displayed. They represent the parts into which your hard drive is divided. Here you should select the location where Windows will be installed. Navigation is carried out using arrows. As a rule, section C is selected. Mark it, after which 3 lines will appear again: delete, create a new area or install here. After selecting the last option, press the Enter button to continue the installation process.

Now a window should open with suggestions for formatting (deleting information) or leaving everything as is, without changes. Formatting will be offered in NTFS or FAT format. I recommend leaving the formatting format that was set before your intervention. If you saved the files you need on a flash drive or somewhere else before installation, feel free to clean the disk by selecting the first option. This will install Windows in a completely empty area. Using the arrows, we mark the selection, then the Enter button confirms our intention.

Then you should confirm the formatting or, on the contrary, cancel it. This offer will appear on the menu. Press the F button. Cleaning will then begin. You can’t touch anything further, just wait.

Once formatting is complete, the computer will automatically continue copying files from the disk. After this, there will be a reboot. Here you need to go into the BIOS again and set the boot priority in the order in which it was originally set. For example, on Floppy Drive (see preliminary stage). Attention: the IDE should be in second place, and the CD ROM should be in third place. It is advisable to put HDD first - booting from the hard drive! At the end, just like F10 – OK – Enter. Essentially, we remove the boot priority from the DVD or CD drive.

After exiting, the installation of the system will continue. During it, you will be asked to configure regional standards and language. Russian-speaking users do not need to change anything here. The next step is to enter the company name and full name. This form is completed at your discretion.

Then you need to write the administrator password and computer name. The latter is indicated automatically, but you can change it, and as for the password, whatever you want. If you want to increase security, then indicate it. The most important thing is not to forget it later. However, you can later enter a hint for it, reducing the risks to a minimum.

Then you are prompted to set the date and time. The current date and time according to Moscow time are also automatically entered here. But if changes are required, then other data can be installed. It all depends on the region in which you live!

The installation of the operating system will then continue. Once completed, the computer will automatically restart. When you first start up after installation, a window will appear on your monitor notifying you that the screen resolution has changed. Move the cursor to the OK square and click on it with the left mouse button. You can subsequently set the screen resolution in accordance with the maximum possible resolution of your monitor.

The last stage is the users window. Here you should fill out an account (preferably two). You can write your name or your favorite word. Then the long-awaited desktop will appear. Installation completed. Congratulations!

In this article you will learn how to reinstall Windows XP yourself. The material is designed for users who will be installing Windows on a computer or laptop for the first time. As scary as it may sound, reinstalling Windows is very simple. In the days of Windows 95 and 98, to an inexperienced person, the procedure of reinstalling the operating system could seem like a mystical rite. The person who was invited to do this was necessarily called a programmer and was considered a guru in the computer field.

For their part, such gurus, inflating their value, intimidated their clients in every possible way with scary computer terms and stories about viruses and burned-out computers. In this guide, you will see that this is not at all true and that installing or reinstalling Windows on your laptop or computer is very simple and accessible to almost anyone who knows how to use a computer mouse.

I will make a small reservation. This article will tell you how to install Windows XP yourself using a DVD or CD. If your computer or laptop does not have a DVD drive, then you will need to install Windows from a USB flash drive or from a memory card, I will talk about this in another lesson.

Before you start reinstalling Windows XP, read the entire article to the end, and if you have a printer, print it out.

Reinstalling Windows XP consists of several steps:

Preparing your computer for installing Windows XP;
Preparing an installation disk with Windows XP;
Setting up the computer's BIOS to boot from a DVD;

Now let's go through all the stages in detail.

1. Preparing to install Windows XP

Before reinstalling Windows, you need to do a little preparation.

First you need to copy all valuable information from the disk " WITH:"Of course you know better, but I’ll still tell you where to look. Places where on the disk" C:"there may not be much of your useful information, usually it is " Desktop" And " My Documents"It's also worth looking at the root of the disk" WITH:"Sometimes people, in a hurry or simply out of ignorance, save files there. Copy all the files you need to another drive (for example, “ D:"), DVD disc or flash drive.

For the future, keep in mind that it is best to store information not on the same disk partition on which the system is installed, and, of course, create backup copies.

If you just purchased a computer or are sure that there is no valuable information in it, then naturally you don’t have to bother

Another point that is worth considering before installing Windows is the drivers for the network card. If after installation it turns out that your Windows distribution did not have drivers for your network card, or for some reason they were not installed correctly, then you will find yourself without drivers and without the Internet. Therefore, download the latest drivers in advance, at least for the network card.

2. Preparing an installation disk with Windows XP

For those who already have an installation disk with Windows XP, you can skip this step. If you don’t have such a disc, then you need to burn it or purchase it. Those who want to download Windows on the Internet, look for clean MSDN builds.

This will protect you from possible errors in the operation of the installed system.

Installation disks with Windows XP on the Internet are usually distributed in the form of disk images in the format " .iso". I won’t say where to download because it’s not entirely legal to promote their distribution. I can advise that before downloading the image, read the comments on the release; problematic disks are usually quickly identified in the form of a bunch of angry reviews.

After the image is downloaded, you need to burn it to a DVD disc, and you can begin installation.

3. Setting up the computer BIOS to boot from disk

To install Windows, it is not enough just to insert the disk into the drive; you also need to make sure that the computer starts booting from this disk when you turn it on. This is done in the BIOS. There is a BIOS in almost any computer or laptop; all sorts of important settings are stored in it, one of these settings is the boot order of devices. This setting is what interests us at the moment.

In order to get into the BIOS, you need to immediately press a certain key on the keyboard when you turn on the computer. Usually, when booting, it is written on the screen what exactly you need to press to get to the BIOS menu. Most often this is the Delete, Esc, or F2 key. You will know that you have entered when you see the BIOS menu in front of you.

The most common options are:

If the attempt is unsuccessful, then reboot the computer and try again. Below are tables with possible login options. BIOS.

A table with key combinations for entering the BIOS from various BIOS manufacturers.

BIOS Manufacturer	Keys
ALR Advanced Logic Research, Inc.	F2, Ctrl+Alt+Esc
AMD (Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.) BIOS	F1
AMI (American Megatrends, Inc.) BIOS	Del
Award BIOS	Ctrl+Alt+Esc, Del
DTK (Datatech Enterprises Co.) BIOS	Esc
Phoenix BIOS	Ctrl+Alt+Esc, Ctrl+Alt+S, Ctrl+Alt+Ins

A table with key combinations for entering the BIOS from various computer and laptop manufacturers.

PC Manufacturer	Keys
Acer	F1, F2, Ctrl+Alt+Esc
A.S.T.	Ctrl+Alt+Esc, Ctrl+Alt+Del
Compaq	F10
CompUSA	Del
Cybermax	Esc
Dell 400	F3, F1
Dell Dimension	F2, Del
Dell Inspiron	F2
Dell Latitude	Fn+F1
Dell Latitude	F2
Dell Optiplex	Del, F2
Dell Precision	F2
eMachine	Del
Gateway	F1, F2
HP	F1, F2
IBM	F1
IBM E-pro Laptop	F2
IBM PS/2	Ctrl+Alt+Ins then Ctrl+Alt+Del
IBM Thinkpad	from Windows: Programs >Thinkpad CFG
Intel Tangent	Del
Micron	F1, F2, or Del
Packard Bell	F1, F2, Del
Sony VAIO	F2, F3
Tiger	Del
Toshiba	ESC, F1

After you went out to BIOS you need to find the option responsible for the boot order of devices. As a rule, these settings need to be looked for in a menu whose name contains the word BOOT, of course, there are other options, but as they say - “He who seeks will always find.”

To make your search easier, here are a few examples of what it looks like in real life:

Selecting the device to boot first is usually done using the arrow keys on the keyboard, but there are other ways to navigate through the menu BIOS, so if you can’t figure it out, you can look at the help, which is usually in BIOS in sight.

Select your CD/DVD drive as the first boot device and exit BIOS saving all changes. To do this, use the item " Save and Exit Setup"The computer will reboot and we have thus approached the next stage, for which everything was actually started.

If the disc is recorded correctly and in BIOS the settings are set, that's right, we will see this inscription in front of us "Press any key to boot from CD or DVD", which means Press any key to boot from CD or DVD.

It looks like this:

Press any key

If you don’t see such an inscription, then perhaps you did something written above incorrectly. In this case, check again BIOS, is the boot from disk setting saved, if in BIOS everything is installed correctly, then most likely your disk is not bootable and you will have to look for another installation disk or download another Windows XP image.

At this point I will make a small disclaimer. You may come across a Windows XP installation disk that contains, in addition to Windows itself, additional utilities; in this case, to start the installation, you will need to select the desired item from the menu of your disk. It is also worth noting that in some disks, most of the operations described below will take place automatically, without your participation. There is no need to worry about this; all these settings can be changed if desired after the installation of Windows is completed.

The installation of Windows XP will begin, wait until the initial download of files takes place

Since we are planning to install Windows, we press the button " Enter" on keyboard

Reading " Windows XP License Agreement". To scroll down, use the " key Page Down". To agree and continue the installation, click " F8"

Consider the option of installing on a clean hard drive.

Press the key " WITH"

Now you need to specify the size of the partition to be created in megabytes, for example, if you need a partition ~20 gigabytes, then you need to drive 20000

If the size of the first partition that you specified in the previous paragraph is less than the disk capacity, then you will be left with " Unallocated area", which can also be turned into a partition. Thus, the system will have two disks " WITH:" And " D:"

We set the size of the second disk; if you are not going to create a third partition, then specify the maximum possible size.

Now, after creating the partitions, you need to select the partition on which Windows will be installed, if you do not have any special preferences, I strongly recommend choosing the drive " WITH:"

Before starting the installation, the selected partition needs to be formatted, you just need to decide how. Select the item " Format partition in NTFS system", why exactly him, the answer to this question is a whole topic for a separate article.

Now the process will proceed without our participation; after the first reboot, you can set it to BIOS The first boot device is your hard drive ( HDD), how to do this is described above in paragraph

language and regional standards. Here again we will need our participation, make the necessary settings and click " Further"...

Here we will be asked to introduce ourselves

We enter the 25-digit product key, which can be found on the license sticker or in the documents, depending on which version of Windows you purchased. As I said above, a Windows XP installation may not have all the dialogs discussed here, it depends on your installation disk.

We indicate the computer name, this name is mainly needed for identification on the network. We either don’t specify the administrator password at all or remember it well.

Despite its hopeless obsolescence, the Windows XP operating system still remains very popular among users, thanks to the ease of working with it and its fairly high stability. In some ratings, it is even ahead of the “seven”. Next up for consideration is the question of how to install Windows XP from a disk and perform the initial system setup. It is believed that the installation of this particular modification should not cause any particular difficulties, but in reality it is necessary to pay attention to some important nuances, without understanding of which the installation of the system may be unsuccessful.

Create a Windows XP installation disk

At the first stage, we will assume that the user does not have the original installation disk. Windows XP can be downloaded as an image from the official Microsoft website or from another (necessarily trusted) source.

In this case, you should immediately pay attention to the contents of the downloaded distribution. It is recommended to download only the one that initially contains the second and third service packs, so as not to have to install them manually later.

It is not difficult to record an image onto optical media. To do this, you can use many programs for working with images (for example, UltraISO or Nero Burning ROM). If you need to create a multiboot Windows XP disk, it is best to use a tiny utility called WindowsSetupFromUSB, but to write the distribution onto a flash drive.

BIOS Presets

So, we assume that the installation distribution is recorded. Now you need to make it so that you can boot from it. To do this, you must use the primary I/O system BIOS settings. Typically on desktop computers, login is accomplished by pressing the Del key, but different laptop models may use other keys (F1, F12) or combinations thereof.

To be recognized as bootable, you need to find a partition with a name like Boot, Boot Priority, Boot Sequence and install the optical drive (CD/DVD-ROM) first in the list of boot devices by pressing the PgUp/PgDown key.

Start installation

After completing all the preparatory steps, you can proceed to solving the problem of how to install Windows XP from a disk directly. After turning on the computer and starting from the removable device, a black screen will appear with a prompt asking you to press any key to boot from the disk. Keep in mind that you will only have five seconds to make a decision. Otherwise, it will boot from the next device (usually a hard drive), provided that it has a bootloader, an installed OS, or even a damaged OS.

Next, a screen will appear to preload the basic installation components and a line at the bottom prompting you to install additional SCSI and RAID drivers. In most cases, this is not necessary, however, if the computer has several hard drives combined into the same RAID array, the installation must be applied. But it will assume that the user has one hard drive.

Partition selection and formatting

At the next stage, a welcome screen will appear with options to choose from:

immediate installation of the system;
restoring a damaged system via the console;
refusal to install.

Select the first item by pressing the enter key. Next, we agree to the license agreement and press F8 to continue the installation (hints will appear at each installation stage).

After this, previously installed copies will be scanned, after which you will need to make a choice in favor of installing a new system (Esc).

Now the most important thing begins with the question of how to install Windows XP from a disk. The first step is to decide on the system partition and its size. If installed on a new hard drive that did not have logical partitions, the unallocated area (full volume) will be shown.

It is undesirable to allocate all the space to the system partition (this can later play a cruel joke). It’s better to partition the disk right away by pressing the C key and specifying the required volume in MB (for the system you can allocate 40-60 GB, but not less than 20 GB). Please immediately pay attention to the fact that for the normal functioning of Windows XP, about 10-15% of its size must always remain free in the system partition both after installing the OS and after installing user programs. After returning to the partition creation screen, you can begin formatting (but more on that later).

If the hard drive has already been broken and has an old system, the user will be shown all available partitions. If necessary, all partitions can be deleted (press D when selecting a partition). If the user is satisfied with the disk structure, simply select the desired partition in which the system was installed previously and proceed to formatting.

In the case of new hard drives, you can immediately select quick formatting to NTFS. If the operation is applied to an existing partition, several options will be offered to choose from. It is best to perform a full format in NTFS. But to save data, you can leave the file system unchanged. Most likely, you will next receive a warning that the Windows system directory already exists, with a suggestion to overwrite the current copy or select a new folder. Here - optional (all the same, the Windows XP folders of the old version, if one was previously present, will be saved).

Now all that remains is to wait for the files to be copied, after which the reboot will occur and the installation of the system will begin in normal graphical mode.

Setting initial parameters

In the next steps in the question of how to install Windows XP from a disk, the user's actions are quite simple. When rebooting, be sure to remove the optical media from the drive, otherwise you will get the pre-start screen again.

After the installer starts, the language and region are selected (usually you don’t need to change anything if you have a Russian copy of the system), then, if required, enter the user name and organization name (optional), after which the product key is entered (without it, the installation will not continue ). Working keys, by and large, can be easily found on the Internet.

At the next stage, you need to enter the name of the computer and specify the administrator password (this can be done later). Next, the date and time are configured (usually nothing needs to be changed), and finally a screen may appear asking you to select network card settings. Feel free to select “Regular settings” and indicate that the computer is not participating in the network (it is better to select the group and domain after installation is complete).

Completing the installation

Only now will the device drivers begin. Upon completion, several additional windows may appear. For example, the system will ask for consent to set the optimal screen resolution. We must agree with this.

Then a welcome blue screen starts, in which most of the actions can be skipped (for example, deferring protection, checking the Internet connection and registering with Microsoft). Finally, all that remains is to enter the names of the accounts that will be registered in the system. You can enter only your data, after which a notification will appear informing you that the installation is complete.

Clicking the “Finish” button will cause the “Desktop” to appear with a familiar picture. At this point, the installation can be considered complete (if service packs were present in the distribution, they will be installed automatically, otherwise you need to install them yourself).

Typical errors when installing the system

Not often, of course, but you can also encounter Windows XP errors, moreover, precisely during the system installation process. The most common occurrence is BSoD (blue screen). The installation is impossible due to an incorrectly set mode for the hard drive.

If a message appears about a BIOS firmware mismatch, you must disable ACPI mode during installation.

It is possible that the disc itself is damaged or scratched. Just burn the distribution onto another medium and try installing the system again.

Initial setup of Windows XP

Initially, the system usually does not need any special settings. But to reduce the load on computer resources, it is advisable to disable some background services that are activated by default and start with the system.

In the Run console (Win + R), enter the msconfig system configuration access command, go to the startup tab and disable everything that is there, leaving only the ctfmon process, which is responsible for displaying the language in the tray and changing keyboard layouts.

Required additional software

Then be sure to install security software, since there is practically no protection in the “expert” itself. Antiviruses for Window XP are quite diverse and do not cause installation problems. However, based on the fact that this version of the system is usually used on relatively low-power machines, you should not install heavy packages like Kaspersky Lab software products. It is better to limit yourself to some lightweight versions (Avira, Panda Cloud, etc.).

However, if you look at antiviruses for Window XP from the point of view of providing maximum protection, you can use the NOD32 or Smart Security packages from ESET. True, they will have to be activated monthly using special keys that are freely distributed on the Internet.

Finally, all that remains is to install an archiver, a set of codecs, a flash player for the browser, an office suite and some other applications that the user may need while working.

So, first you need configure BIOS. To do this, turn on the computer and immediately press the key "Delete"(on some keyboards, short “Del”) on the keyboard until we get to BIOS(by the way, I almost forgot, your Windows XP boot disk should already be in your CD/DVD drive).

Your BIOS may look different. It depends on the manufacturer and. But don't be afraid, the settings are basically the same. In BIOS we will work with the arrow keys ←→↓ . So, we went into the BIOS, then go to the tab Advanced BIOS Features:

The name of the tab may be different in your BIOS. If so, then go through the tabs and find which one contains device boot options. In my case, this is what the device boot parameters look like:

Now our task is to make sure that the computer boots from the disk, i.e. on "First Boot Device" we will deliver CDROM. Let's do it like this (select the option opposite First Boot Device , press Enter on the keyboard and use the arrows to select CDROM):

It should look like this:

Maybe this confirmation will appear. Click "Y" on the keyboard, which means "Yes"(Yes), and press Enter:

Next there will be a reboot. We are waiting for such an inscription to appear "Press any key to boot from CD", which means « press any key to boot from CD« . Press any key:

And the installation program will start. After checking your system configurations, you will be given the option to Restore your existing system or install a new OS. Choose "ENTER=continue":

Then we accept the license agreement by pressing the button F8:

Then select the partition on which Windows will be installed. This is usually the section C:

Don't be afraid, click WITH:

Choose "Format partition in NTFS system":

Confirm with the key F:

File copying will then begin automatically:

After this, the computer will restart. Never click on "Enter - restart computer", otherwise the installation will be interrupted. Let the computer reboot itself: