Realated to starting of multiple operating system

1. Insert the Operating System CD into the CD or DVD drive.
   
   

Close any program or utility that may start to run after you insert the CD into the drive.
HINT: The CD that you need to place in your CD or DVD drive is titled Operating System.

1. Turn off the computer, and then turn the computer on again.
   
   
2. When the blue Dell logo appears, press immediately.
   
   

If you wait too long and the operating system logo appears, continue to wait until you see the Microsoft Windows desktop. Then shut down the computer and try again.

1. Use the arrow keys to select the CD-ROM option, and then press .
   
   
2. When the Windows XP Setup screen appears, press to select To set up Windows now.
   
   
3. Read the information in the License Agreement window, and then press on your keyboard to agree with the license information.
   
   
4. If your computer already has Windows XP installed and you want to recover your current Windows XP data, type r to select the repair option, and then go to step 15.
   
   

If you want to install a new copy of Windows XP, press to select the fresh copy option, and then press on the next screen to select the highlighted partition (recommended). Then follow the instructions on the screen.

The Windows XP Setup screen appears and Windows XP begins to copy files and install the devices. The computer automatically restarts multiple times before it requires additional input.

1. When the Welcome to Microsoft screen appears, click the green arrow icon at the bottom of the screen to continue. Follow the on-screen directions to finish.
   
   
2. When the Regional Settings screen appears, select the settings for your locale, and then click Next.
   
   
3. Enter your name and organization in the Personalize Your Software screen, and then click Next.
   
   
4. If you are reinstalling Windows XP Home Edition, enter a name for your computer when the Computer Namewindow appears, and then click Next.
   
   

If you are reinstalling Windows XP Professional, enter a name for your computer and a password when theComputer Name and Administrator Password window appears, and then click Next.

1. If you have a modem installed and the Modem Dialing Information screen appears, enter the requested information, and then click Next.
   
   
2. Enter the date, time, and time zone in the Date and Time Settings window, and then click Next.
   
   
3. If you have a network card in your computer, select the appropriate network settings. If you do not have a network card, this option does not appear.
   
   

Windows XP begins to install its components and configure the computer. The computer automatically restarts.

1. When the Welcome to Microsoft screen appears, click the green arrow icon at the bottom of the screen to continue. Follow the on-screen directions to finish.
   
   
2. Remove the CD from the drive.
   
   
3. Reinstall the appropriate drivers. See "Reinstalling Drivers."
   
   
4. Reinstall your virus protection software.
   

Hi,

If you have installed a fresh copy of Vista and that was a new installation and not an UPGRADE, then you must have lost everything on the computer. You can try and locate a folder with your old user name OR a folder named Windows.Old. If you get any of these folders you can try and search your files over there.

Regards,
Shrey

You would need a operating sytem cd/dvd (windows xp\windows 7) and a windows COA key. Select your bios to boot from cd\dvd player. Insert the new cd of a different operating system into the drive and restart the computer. It should say press any key to start from cd. Press any key and proceed. You will get to an option to format and install. Format the drive Probably marked C:. This will wipe out the drive and install a fresh copy of whatever OS cd you booted from. Good Luck.

Hi.

If she did not format the hard disk, then the Windows XP startup option will be present in boot option. When computer startup you will get a choice like this:

1 Microsoft Windows Vista Home Edition.
2 Microsoft Windows XP Professional SP2

In that case you can restore XP, starting on XP and editing the file winboot.ini, that is an hidden system file located on C:/ drive.

See:How to edit the Boot.ini file in Windows XP.

If instead Windows XP does not start, or if you do not get the boot option, that means that Windows XP system file had been deleted.

In that case the only way to get back Windows XP is reinstalling the system from scrap, using a Windows XP install disk, and the number listed on the licence sticker.

Regards.

Yes. But Vista is full of problems. I suggest you use XP instead. Some computer manufacturers now offer XP for a small surcharge because they recognize that Vista is a lousy Operating system.

you need to install a driver compatable with vista.

to achieve dual boot both XP and Vista, first u need to install xp and then vista on it as a fresh copy

i would try to reinstall xp on the first and largest hard drive and go from there, reformat, and start from the begining. there should be no problem if you do this as long as you have a legit copy of xp and reformat.