[gemini1]

Please forgive me for posting on this subject again, can anyone please explain to me in plain english how i can reinstall windows xp on my dell desktop pc over ubuntu, i have tried booting from my windows xp installation cd but some horrible thing called GRUB keeps loading ubuntu, the windows installation will not start at all, i just want to get rid of ubuntu from my pc and reinstall windows xp, i am not computer savvy and cannot afford to take my pc to a professional to get fixed, i have to find a way to do it myself can somebody please please help. Many Thanks Ann

[KStrawn]

gemini1, on 18 October 2009 - 01:00 PM, said:

Please forgive me for posting on this subject again, can anyone please explain to me in plain english how i can reinstall windows xp on my dell desktop pc over ubuntu, i have tried booting from my windows xp installation cd but some horrible thing called GRUB keeps loading ubuntu, the windows installation will not start at all, i just want to get rid of ubuntu from my pc and reinstall windows xp, i am not computer savvy and cannot afford to take my pc to a professional to get fixed, i have to find a way to do it myself can somebody please please help. Many Thanks Ann

Maybe I should teach you how to navigate Ubuntu, Ann, so maybe you'll understand open source better.

PM me on what you want to learn. I will be glad to help you so you don't have to wipe out open source software.

[gemini1]

I appreciate your reply but i have no interset in learning anything about ubuntu all i want is to get rid of it completly from my computer and get windows xp back and running again if you can help me to do that i would be ever so grateful. Many Thanks Ann

[KStrawn]

gemini1, on 18 October 2009 - 01:29 PM, said:

I appreciate your reply but i have no interset in learning anything about ubuntu all i want is to get rid of it completly from my computer and get windows xp back and running again if you can help me to do that i would be ever so grateful. Many Thanks Ann

Did you get my PM? It is in your Messenger!

[compnovo]

Ann,
OK, it looks like my responses were too geeky, and nobody else has volunteered to help you reinstall Windows XP. If you want I'll take you through it one step at a time, just let me know.
Bryan

[gemini1]

compnovo, on 18 October 2009 - 02:26 PM, said:

Ann,
OK, it looks like my responses were too geeky, and nobody else has volunteered to help you reinstall Windows XP. If you want I'll take you through it one step at a time, just let me know.
Bryan

Hi Bryan if you could help me get windows xp back on my computer that would be fantastic, many thanks for your help and your time, much appreciated. Kind Regards Ann

[compnovo]

OK, the first thing to do is to start your computer and when Ubuntu is up and running insert your Windows CD.
Then, restart your computer and AS SOON AS you see the Dell screen press F12. That is a key on the upper right of your keyboard.
When you've done that post back and let me know what you see.

[gemini1]

compnovo, on 18 October 2009 - 03:29 PM, said:

OK, the first thing to do is to start your computer and when Ubuntu is up and running insert your Windows CD.
Then, restart your computer and AS SOON AS you see the Dell screen press F12. That is a key on the upper right of your keyboard.
When you've done that post back and let me know what you see.

The computer is in my sisters house if you could post the details step by step i will print your instructions off and take it from there , cannot thank you enough for taking the time to help me really do appreciate it you are angel.

[compnovo]

gemini1, on 18 October 2009 - 03:45 PM, said:

compnovo, on 18 October 2009 - 03:29 PM, said:

OK, the first thing to do is to start your computer and when Ubuntu is up and running insert your Windows CD.
Then, restart your computer and AS SOON AS you see the Dell screen press F12. That is a key on the upper right of your keyboard.
When you've done that post back and let me know what you see.

The computer is in my sisters house if you could post the details step by step i will print your instructions off and take it from there , cannot thank you enough for taking the time to help me really do appreciate it you are angel.

Ann,

1. Start your computer and when Ubuntu is up and running insert your Windows CD.
Then, restart your computer and AS SOON AS you see the Dell screen press F12. That is a key on the upper right of your keyboard.

2. The Boot Device Menu appears, listing all available boot devices. Each device has a number next to it.
At the bottom of the menu, enter the number of the CD device. It might say "CD/DVD" or something like that. Press Enter.

3. When you see the "Press any key to boot from CD" message, press any key to start the computer from the Windows XP CD.

4. At the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to start Windows XP Setup. At the next screen press F8.

5. Follow the instructions on the screen to select and format a partition where you want to install Windows XP. It may get confusing at this point but what you want to do is scroll down using the arrow key to the partition with the largest number of megabytes, or MB (that's going to be what's called your primary drive) and press Enter, then follow the instructions to format the drive.

6. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the Windows XP Setup.

This is going to make more sense when you're sitting in front of your computer doing it step by step. Post back if you get stuck at any point and I (or another poster) will walk you through it.
Bryan

[number6]

I've been in the same situation several times and I always wipe the drive then proceed with the Windows XP disc. Wiping the drive will clear GRUB and everything else into oblivion.
How you wipe it depends on you.
You can use a bootable floppy disk or a bootable CD, and there may be other options.
The Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD) includes several hard drive wipers. It includes such good tools as Darik's Boot and Nook, CopyWipe, Active@ KillDisk Free Edition, PC INSPECTOR e-maxx, and HDDErase, most of which make available bootable floppies.
If you need help with anything I'll be glad to help if I can. The whole process is very easy.

[gemini1]

compnovo, on 18 October 2009 - 04:02 PM, said:

gemini1, on 18 October 2009 - 03:45 PM, said:

compnovo, on 18 October 2009 - 03:29 PM, said:

OK, the first thing to do is to start your computer and when Ubuntu is up and running insert your Windows CD.
Then, restart your computer and AS SOON AS you see the Dell screen press F12. That is a key on the upper right of your keyboard.
When you've done that post back and let me know what you see.

The computer is in my sisters house if you could post the details step by step i will print your instructions off and take it from there , cannot thank you enough for taking the time to help me really do appreciate it you are angel.

Ann,

1. Start your computer and when Ubuntu is up and running insert your Windows CD.
Then, restart your computer and AS SOON AS you see the Dell screen press F12. That is a key on the upper right of your keyboard.

2. The Boot Device Menu appears, listing all available boot devices. Each device has a number next to it.
At the bottom of the menu, enter the number of the CD device. It might say "CD/DVD" or something like that. Press Enter.

3. When you see the "Press any key to boot from CD" message, press any key to start the computer from the Windows XP CD.

4. At the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to start Windows XP Setup. At the next screen press F8.

5. Follow the instructions on the screen to select and format a partition where you want to install Windows XP. It may get confusing at this point but what you want to do is scroll down using the arrow key to the partition with the largest number of megabytes, or MB (that's going to be what's called your primary drive) and press Enter, then follow the instructions to format the drive.

6. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the Windows XP Setup.

This is going to make more sense when you're sitting in front of your computer doing it step by step. Post back if you get stuck at any point and I (or another poster) will walk you through it.
Bryan

Hi Bryan, I cannot thank you enough, i followed your instructions and hey presto i have my Windows XP installed on my system and running like a dream, couldent have done it without your help thanks a million , there is just one thing i dont understand when i boot up my pc i get the following message, Primary Hard Drive 1 not found press F1 to boot, when i press F1 Windows XP loads normally, otherwise everything is running like new. Many many thanks again for all your help and your time. Kindest Regards Ann

number6, on 19 October 2009 - 10:03 AM, said:

I've been in the same situation several times and I always wipe the drive then proceed with the Windows XP disc. Wiping the drive will clear GRUB and everything else into oblivion.
How you wipe it depends on you.
You can use a bootable floppy disk or a bootable CD, and there may be other options.
The Ultimate Boot CD (UBCD) includes several hard drive wipers. It includes such good tools as Darik's Boot and Nook, CopyWipe, Active@ KillDisk Free Edition, PC INSPECTOR e-maxx, and HDDErase, most of which make available bootable floppies.
If you need help with anything I'll be glad to help if I can. The whole process is very easy.

Many THanks.

[compnovo]

Hi Ann,
I'm glad to hear your system is "almost" back to normal. I did some online research and the error message you're getting appears to a Dell trait. As long as you can boot into Windows I would ignore it for now, and somebody else in the forums probably has a solution.
Best of luck,
Bryan

[coastie65]

Hi Ann, At the first screen tap F2 and this should take you to the BiOS / Setup screen. You want to check and make sure that the Hard Drive is enabled.

[brainout]

compnovo, on 18 October 2009 - 04:02 PM, said:

<br />

gemini1, on 18 October 2009 - 03:45 PM, said:

<br />

compnovo, on 18 October 2009 - 03:29 PM, said:

<br />OK, the first thing to do is to start your computer and when Ubuntu is up and running insert your Windows CD.  <br />Then, restart your computer and AS SOON AS you see the Dell screen press F12.  That is a key on the upper right of your keyboard.  <br />When you've done that post back and let me know what you see.<br />

The computer is in my sisters house if you could post the details step by step i will print your instructions off and take it from there , cannot thank you enough for taking the time to help me really do appreciate it you are angel.<br />

<br /><br />Ann,<br /><br />1. Start your computer and when Ubuntu is up and running insert your Windows CD. <br />Then, restart your computer and AS SOON AS you see the Dell screen press F12. That is a key on the upper right of your keyboard. <br /><br />2. The Boot Device Menu appears, listing all available boot devices. Each device has a number next to it. <br />At the bottom of the menu, enter the number of the CD device.  It might say "CD/DVD" or something like that.  Press Enter.<br /><br />3. When you see the "Press any key to boot from CD" message, press any key to start the computer from the Windows XP CD.<br /><br />4. At the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to start Windows XP Setup.  At the next screen press F8.<br /><br />5. Follow the instructions on the screen to select and format a partition where you want to install Windows XP.  It may get confusing at this point but what you want to do is scroll down using the arrow key to the partition with the largest number of megabytes, or MB (that's going to be what's called your primary drive) and press Enter, then follow the instructions to format the drive.<br /><br />6. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the Windows XP Setup.This is going to make more sense when you're sitting in front of your computer doing it step by step.  Post back if you get stuck at any point and I (or another poster) will walk you through it.

Three years later, your instructions make sense to me.  Thank you.  This is another experiment I want to try, having ONLY Linux on a pc.I have four experimental machines, now, which are not vital to my business.  Thank you again.  Woo-hoo!

PS: I don't know why all of a sudden, the stupid html codes show. This problem just arose in PC World forum today.

This post has been edited by brainout: 06 November 2012 - 08:40 AM

[brainout]

compnovo, on 18 October 2009 - 04:02 PM, said:

Ann,
1. Start your computer and when Ubuntu is up and running insert your Windows CD.
Then, restart your computer and AS SOON AS you see the Dell screen press F12. That is a key on the upper right of your keyboard.
2. The Boot Device Menu appears, listing all available boot devices. Each device has a number next to it.
At the bottom of the menu, enter the number of the CD device.  It might say "CD/DVD"; or something like that.  Press Enter.
3. When you see the 'Press any key to boot from CD'; message, press any key to start the computer from the Windows XP CD.
4. At the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to start Windows XP Setup.  At the next screen press F8.
5. Follow the instructions on the screen to select and format a partition where you want to install Windows XP.  It may get confusing at this point but what you want to do is scroll down using the arrow key to the partition with the largest number of megabytes, or MB (that's going to be what's called your primary drive) and press Enter, then follow the instructions to format the drive.
6. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the Windows XP Setup.
This is going to make more sense when you're sitting in front of your computer doing it step by step.  Post back if you get stuck at any point and I (or another poster) will walk you through it.
Bryan

Reformatted componovo's post. Hope it looks better. Again, compnovo, thank you.