Recently i formatted my laptop (Dell latitude c400). i installed fresh copy of windows XP. i finished the installation but when i open it again after i turned it off, i think it crashed (i hear the start up sound/tone of windows XP but the screen is black). what should i do?

a aziz,
Click the link below for instructions for manually reinstalling windows xp. You will also need to download xp sp3 from the Microsoft Website below.
XP SP3 Download
http://dell.to/1bjsYPI

Reinstall Windows XP
http://dell.to/18Vo1MN

Thank You,
Dell-Jesse L
Dell Social Media and Communities

If by "install new Windows" you are asking if you can install Windows 7 on this computer, then the answer is no. This computer was designed for XP and the hardware will not support Windows 7.

try other known good windows installer. if it boot, then the problem is in xp installer, if it not. try other external cd-rom drive. also be sure the disc rom drive are dvd rom drive because a cd rom drive cannot read dvd disc but a dvd rom drive can read cd rom disc installer

on the pc using safe mode(press F8 when starting) you can access through administrator account and then go to control panel>useraccounts>desired account> remove password and so you can remove the password

This laptop will not give you an option to boot from a usb device or even from an external cd rom/dvd. You need to do a network install only for this particular model DEll c400. It is a long process and requires some skill of setting up a RIS server. You will also need a switch or hub to connect your laptop to it. Once your server is setup with dns, dhcp and ris you need to do a network boot and install the os. Get in touch with a professional to do it if your not familiar with this. I tried calling dell as i had a similar issue and they couldnt help me over the phone so they sent over a technician. Technician tried in vbain including removing my hdd and installing the os on his laptop and then putting the hard drive back into mine. It still didnt work. I then researched the net and figured out the only way to do it was via a remote installation.

if you want a clear and fresh copy of window, it's better to format all drive and re-install a new one. just back up first important data you have.

http://www.user-guides.co.uk/cddownload/Dell/DellLatitude/Dell-Latitude-C400-XP-Driver-Recovery-CD-Restore-Disk-1420.html
at this location you will find and be able to download an cd in image format ..probably ISO ..you have to burn it on a cd ..and use it al the time you reinstall ..I understood that there are all the drivers you need for your model Good luck!

hi,
i have dell c400 laptop, its to much simple to install xp
first you just take out hdd from laptop
plug in tht hdd in desktop pc by external usb box
now u just start windows 98 setup in it
when it started first format ur drive then install it
when windows 98 setup files copies to 100%. machine need to restart
u just plug out the hdd and plug in back to laptop
now the setup will remain start in ur laptop and when the installation complete u just upgrade ur windows from 98 to xp by intalling xp from external drive on OPERATING SYSTEM OF 98 WINDOWS
NOW WAT U SAY???
ITS TO MUCH SIMPLE just try once

Did you sysprep the system?
You should only load the drivers that are needed to make the system run the basics. Don't worry about the network card unless you wish to install windows updates. I recommend just installing the OEM version of XP and modifying the registry to add drivers.
HKLM Software Microsoft Windows CurrentVersion "DevicePath"
Leave whatever is in there and add all the drivers to that folder. Make sure to include the motherboard drivers for the Dell laptop followed by all the other drivers. Some drivers will contain sub folders and you need to specify those as well spaced out by semi colons.
This should be all pasted in the devise path and it should look similar to this.

%SystemRoot%\inf;c:\dell_drivers\C400\Audio;c:\dell_drivers\C400\Video;c:\dell_drivers\C400\Video\XP_32; ect ect ect... if there sub folders in the drivers that are zipped, unzip them to the directories that you created on the root of C.
Once you have finished downloading all the drivers and modified the DevicePath registry key then download SysPrep from microsofts website and select Mini Setup and Shut down check boxes. Once the system shuts down then put the drive into the other laptop.

The system will be setup to install XP on the C400 with the drivers you included from the registry and the paths you pointed them to pole. On newer systems with Sata drives and other specific types of hardware like RAID you will need the hardware ID and adding that to the answer file for sysprep but that is way more complicated! For a DellC400 you will not need to do that.

you may need a separate hard drive, you could try to boot off of that