I add another dvd rom to my PC but it refuses to load my operating system. my OS is windoow xp celeron iv with 40G hard disk. Desktop computer with 256GHz ram. I eqully returned the rom using corect cabling still the problem remain unsolved.

do you have dual hard disk? check if your hard disk where OS installed is the boot drive/primary drive. press f2 during boot sequence then choose the proper hard disk

Update your directX software and make sure your system meets these requirements:

MINIMUM PC REQUIREMENTS
Windows 2000
MINIMUM
Intel Pentium III or AMD Celeron 700MHz Processor
512MB RAM
1.5GB Hard Disk Space
DirectX 9.0c
DirectX Compatible Video Card
Windows Compatible Sound Card
CD-ROM Drive
RECOMMENDED
Pentium IV or AMD Celeron 1GHz Processor
1GB RAM
1.5GB Hard Disk Space
DirectX 9.0c
DirectX Compatible Video Card
Windows Compatible Sound Card


DirectX Link:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/directx/aa937788.aspx

For that you need recovery disk.
Put that disk in cd/dvd rom.
Then when you power up the computer press F1 or F2 or "del" key to enter in bios.
Then go to boot option then set first boot device as your cd/dvd rom then save settings and exit.
Then it boot with that recovery disk then follow the procedure and choose "R" for recovery console then type in prompt "chkdsk /r"
then press "y
then it fix error on harddisk.
Then resatrt computer then if still same error then again boot computer with disk then choose "r" for repair previous windows then it repairs it.
Let me know if you need further assistance.
Thanks for using FixYa.

1. Configure the computer to start from the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive. For information about how to do this, see your computer documentation, or contact your computer manufacturer.
2. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, and then restart your computer.
3. When you receive the "Press any key to boot from CD" message, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD-ROM.
4. When you receive the "Welcome to Setup" message, press R to start the Recovery Console.
5. If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select the installation that you have to use from the Recovery Console.
6. When you are prompted, type the administrator password, and then press ENTER.
7. At the command prompt, type bootcfg /list, and then press ENTER. The entries in your current Boot.ini file appear on the screen.
8. At the command prompt, type bootcfg /rebuild, and then press ENTER. This command scans the hard disks of the computer for Windows XP, Microsoft Windows 2000, or Microsoft Windows NT installations, and then displays the results. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to add the Windows installations to the Boot.ini file. For example, follow these steps to add a Windows XP installation to the Boot.ini file:
   1. When you receive a message that is similar to the following message, press Y: Total Identified Windows Installs: 1
      
      [1] C:\Windows
      Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All)
   2. You receive a message that is similar to the following message: Enter Load Identifier This is the name of the operating system. When you receive this message, type the name of your operating system, and then press ENTER. This is either Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition.
   3. You receive a message that is similar to the following: Enter OS Load options When you receive this message, type /fastdetect, and then press ENTER.
      
      Note The instructions that appear on your screen may be different, depending on the configuration of your computer.
9. Type exit, and then press ENTER to quit Recovery Console. Your computer restarts, and the updated boot list appears when you receive the "Please select the operating system to start" message.

The best option would be to connect the hard disk to another computer which has an optical drive, load the OS into it and return it back to its native PC. Or as you asked, you can check for other solutions too

http://boshdirect.com/blogs/tech/os-install-without-cd-rom-support.html

Hello,

Kindly repair or reinstall your Operating system. It has a file that has been corrupted. To avoid the damage become big try to repair it or reinstall the OS without reformatting or erasing the files save in your hard disk.
Kindly follow the steps below:

To repair/Reinstall your operating:
1. Insert your CD installer into your DVD/CD Rom then reboot your computer/Laptop.
2. Press F8 or F12 to enable boot sequence and display it in order to select the boot. Then select the DVD/CD Rom boot. Or Press Del to enter CMOS and set the boot configuration sequence and select the DVD/CD Rom as your priority to boot the system.
3. *** soon as message will display "Press any key to boot CD" then press any key to boot CD. Then wait for the CD to load all its components.
4. After loading all its components kindly follow the instructions givien by the installation wizard. Note that if you where ask by the installation wizard to press r to repair or enter kindly select enter then let the system detect the existing installation of OS in your system then it detects then press enter then kindly select "Repair" to repair the detected OS or Select "Don't make changes and make it intact" then enter to reinstall the OS without erasing the files save in your hard drive.
5. Kindly follow the instructions given by the installation wizard to finished the installation or repair of your system OS.
6. If you don't want to repair/reinstall by your self then you can contact a technician expert in computer to fix it for you.

If you need more assistance kindly reply to this post.

thank you

geo_jonas

yes you can install winxp if you have winxp bootable disk.
Boot your computer with winxp disk.
For that insert winxp disk into cd or dvd rom then when you power up press F8 or F5 or F12 to get first boot option then set first boot as your cd or dvd rom then you can boot computer with disk.

These are the recommended hardware requirements in installing windows XP:

• PC with 300 megahertz or higher processor clock speed recommended; 233 MHz minimum required (single or dual processor system);* Intel Pentium/Celeron family, or AMD K6/Athlon/Duron family, or compatible processor recommended
  
• 128 megabytes (MB) of RAM or higher recommended (64 MB minimum supported; may limit performance and some features)
  
• 1.5 gigabytes (GB) of available hard disk space*
  
• Super VGA (800 x 600) or higher-resolution video adapter and monitor
  
• CD-ROM or DVD drive

If your laptop pass all this requirements then you can upgrade your windows 98 to windows xp operating System.

Need pc and os specifics. Does you pc/os meet mimimum specs ( listed below) ?

If so, try the web installation at www.kodak.com/go/software

• MICROSOFT VISTA or WINDOWS XP-Home (SP2 or above)
• CPU: Celeron
• Clock speed: 1.2 GHz
• Memory: 512 MB
• Hard disk: 200 MB free
• CD-ROM

thats simple ur windows xp is corrupted there is only one thing u can do that is put in the xp dvd and reinstall xp