*Note to wi-fi users. I recommend you use a wired connection for everything until XP is completely setup. Disable the wi-fi connection on first boot or as soon as you get the drivers installed. To disable the connection Open your Network Connection Properties, go to Start > Run > type control ncpa.cpl exactly as you see here > right-click on the wi-fi connection and choose disable.
Start your computer and insert the XP disk. If your computer supports booting from a CD you may need to change the bios startup options. The key you press to access the bios may differ depending on the make of your computer. Most use the DELETE key, if not then it will be one of the FUNCTION keys (F1, F2, etc.) Save changes and exit.
1.
As the system boots, you will see a message as shown in the picture. Now press Enter.
2.
While the setup is being loaded do not press any key till the next window is being opened.
3.
Press Enter to install windows xp.
If you had another Operating System on your computer you will be asked what type of installation you want to perform. NEVER, EVER UPGRADE OR REPAIR AN OPERATING SYSTEM!!! You will perform new installation.
4.
Next comes the ever popular EULA, press F8 and move on.
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If there are partitions on your drive press D to delete them. Then press C to create a new partition.
6.
Just press Enter in order to create the partition.
7.
If everything looks right, use the arrow key to highlight the correct partition (should be C:) and press the Enter key.
8.
Format this partition using NTFS. Personally I think it's best not to use the "Quick" option. Using the standard option checks the disk for bad sectors. This will take a while. Some people have asked "I've heard that FAT32 is faster, why use NTFS?" First NTFS is only about 1-2% slower than FAT32 and only on drives/volumes 32GB in size or smaller. It is faster because of the overhead created by the security of NTFS. Second, you can eliminate the majority of that overhead by following my tweak guide. Third, the aforementioned security is exactly why you should use NTFS!