Hit whichever key is tells you to (usually delete, f8,f9, f10, etc.)
and when in setup, browse around for boot sequence. It is in different places for different bios', so take your time. Nothing can be hurt as long you dont make silly changes and select save when exiting. How you make BIOS changes differs from board to board, sometimes you select what you want to change and hit enter, other times you use the + or - keys. The bottom of the screen will explain how in any bios setup.
Ok, a few steps in, XP will notify you that an operating sytem is already installed. At this point, continue with install and you will be asked if you want to format the drive. Format it as NTFS (FAT is an outdated system and NTFS is much better and more secure) and install will automatically continue.
About Older Operating Systems (Windows 98, ME):
You should be able to boot from the CD from Windows 98 SE or newer, though I have seen Windows 98 SE CD's that will not boot and follow similar steps. In the case you can not boot from CD, heres what to do. Boot from the Windows startup floppy disk. If you do not have one, go to Start, Settings, Control Panel, Add\Remove Programs, Add\Remove Windows Components, Startup Disk.
Before you continue, you should make sure that you can see your CD drive so that you will be able to install Windows when it comes time. Type "d: enter" (without quotes, assuming your CD drive is d:, it may be e: or f: You can then type "dir enter" (without quotes) and it should list the contents of the CDROM and you should see the CD drive light up.
Now that you know you can install Windows when ready, we can continue. At the a: prompt type "format c:" without the quotes and you will be given a warning that all daya will be deleted. Answer yes (y) and hit enter.
Your drive is now formatting. When done, it will ask you a name for your drive. You can hit enter for no name, or select a name for your hard drive (Windows, Jim, C Drive for example). Your drive is now formatted and you can install Windows by typing "D:\setup" (without quotes assuming d: is your CD as mentioned above) and your Windows setup will begin.
A final suggestion, if you have a CD burner or a spare hard drive, would be to create an image of your hard drive after you get all the Windows updates along with your favorite programs and settings installed. This will allow you to return to a clean format in minutes next time. Its exactly like creating your own customized version of a restore program like Compaq or Dell sens with new computers.
If u still feeling the above is complicated,follow those simple steps:
The process of formatting is as follows:
1. Insert the WINDOWS XP bootable disk in the CD drive.
2. Restart your PC (if it was already running).
3. Press enter when the monitor reads PRESS ANY KEY.
4. Now comes the time to partition your drives.
5. If you want to delete any partition, press D or L(whichever is displayed on the screen).
6. Afterwards format the drive you want to install the operating system (XP) in.
7. Press ENTER.
8. The formatting will start.
9. Follow the procedures.
10.It should take around 40 minutes for the installation to finish.
11.Use windows(HAVE A GOOD TIME).
