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How do I stop a Windows XP installation half-way through?

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Mato

Mato

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I started an XP installation on another PC about a month ago. During the installation I realised I had lost the key code for the XP. So now I now I'm just stuck in between.

I have formated my hard disk (so it contains nothing except BIOS) and when I open the PC it just resumes the installation from where it left of asking me to put on the XP cd and then goes on to ask for the key code which I do not have.


Is there a way to stop installation? I will think about what OS TO install once I have surpassed this problem.
 
can you not find a key online?
they're all over the internet.

Just put in a key and finish the install, then format to whatever OS you want.

(Actually, I think you can skip the step where you have to insert the key. Do that.)
 
I have formated my hard disk (so it contains nothing except BIOS)
Click to expand...

Apparently, you have not formatted the HDD.

EDIT: I must not totally understand because I actually don't see the problem. If you want another OS, why don't you just install it? What does XP already being there have to do with it? Once you install another OS and format the partition, XP is going to go away, anyway.
 
Vipershark, I believe products keys are locked on to individual discs. No other code would work.

Loosus what do you mean? Windows asked me If I wanted to clean up the disk and I said yes. I'm pretty sure nothing remains.


This is my sisters PC and I feel kind of responsible for all this. Please help.
 
RiskyChris said:
Power buttan.

Get a key, or reformat, or install another OS.
Click to expand...



How do I format? I don't know how to do it. Windows formatted the disk for me the previous time.

Once I boot the PCC I have very little room for movement. There is not much I can do. There is no OS so I can't do anything. All I get is the XP installation window.



DeathNote I don't need an OS to run this? edit- I can't download this, I'm on a limited bandwidth 3G connection.
 
Mato said:
Loosus what do you mean? Windows asked me If I wanted to clean up the disk and I said yes. I'm pretty sure nothing remains.


This is my sisters PC and I feel kind of responsible for all this. Please help.
Click to expand...
This is what I don't understand.

Let me just get this straight: you don't have a CD/DVD in any of the CD/DVD drives, right? And you're not booting from a USB drive or anything, right?

And you say that Windows XP is still asking you for a Product Key? Windows, no matter how trimmed-down it may appear to be, is still located on the HDD. If you see anything related to Windows and you're not booting from CD, DVD, USB, or network drive, then you're pulling info from the HDD. Windows is not located on your motherboard's firmware or anything.

So if you plan on installing another operating system, why don't you just do that? It's going to overwrite the existing Windows XP, anyway.
 
Mato said:
Vipershark, I believe products keys are locked on to individual discs. No other code would work.
Click to expand...
lol
nope
any key should work

sorry, I don't mean to sound offensive, i'm just assuming you're not very good with computers :p
 
Another key may work, but I'm not sure you should be advocating that unless you want to be banned from GAF.

And besides, if he's going to install another OS, what is the point of getting through the Windows XP installation?
 
Mato said:
How do I format? I don't know how to do it. Windows formatted the disk for me the previous time.

Once I boot the PCC I have very little room for movement. There is not much I can do. There is no OS so I can't do anything. All I get is the XP installation window.



DeathNote I don't need an OS to run this?
Click to expand...
no, you boot off the disc and see this GUI
a11c3.png
 
loosus said:
This is what I don't understand.

Let me just get this straight: you don't have a CD/DVD in any of the CD/DVD drives, right? And you're not booting from a USB drive or anything, right?

And you say that Windows XP is still asking you for a Product Key? Windows, no matter how trimmed-down it may appear to be, is still located on the HDD. If you see anything related to Windows and you're not booting from CD, DVD, USB, or network drive, then you're pulling info from the HDD. Windows is not located on your motherboard's firmware or anything.

So if you plan on installing another operating system, why don't you just do that? It's going to overwrite the existing Windows XP, anyway.
Click to expand...



All I get is the windows installation screens (loading bar, presentation of features, etc) Windows as we know it just isn't there.
 
Mato said:
All I get is the windows installation screens (loading bar, presentation of features, etc) Windows as we know it just isn't there.
Click to expand...
Then Windows is (at least partially) installed on the HDD. That is coming from the HDD.

Again, my question is this: why do you even need to get past that screen if you are going to install another OS, anyway?
 
Also: did the PC come with Windows XP?

If so, isn't there a sticker with the Product Key on the side of the machine itself?

If so, you can get another OEM Windows XP CD (i.e., a Windows XP CD that came bundled with a computer), install Windows that way, and then when Windows XP is installed, you can change your Product Key using a script. You typically can't use a retail Windows XP CD using an OEM Product Key (and vice versa).
 
loosus said:
Then Windows is (at least partially) installed on the HDD. That is coming from the HDD.

Again, my question is this: why do you even need to get past that screen if you are going to install another OS, anyway?
Click to expand...


Because I tried putting in W7 and still all I got was WXP installation screens asking me to put the XP disk.

Also: did the PC come with Windows XP?

If so, isn't there a sticker with the Product Key on the side of the machine itself?

If so, you can get another OEM Windows XP CD (i.e., a Windows XP CD that came bundled with a computer), install Windows that way, and then when Windows XP is installed, you can change your Product Key using a script. You typically can't use a retail Windows XP CD using an OEM Product Key (and vice versa).
Click to expand...


I threw away the desktop aeons ago. The sticker is gone. Gone.
 
Mato said:
Because I tried putting in W7 and still all I got was WXP installation screens asking me to put the XP disk.
Click to expand...
Then you are not installing Windows 7 correctly. It sounds like you didn't even boot from the CD/DVD to begin with.

Burn yourself a Linux Mint disk and ensure that you overwrite the former Windows partition of the drive.
Click to expand...
He can certainly do this, but I don't think it's going to fix his problem.

EDIT: And actually, it's sounding more and more like he doesn't know how to boot from a CD/DVD drive, which will essentially make every solution mentioned thus far moot.
 
Mato said:
Yes.I found a product key inside the CD in a txt file called "unattended" or something but it didn't work. Any other ideas?
Click to expand...

my original post was "do you still have the CD?"

I was going to say put the disc in and boot from that instead of the hdd but it looks like somebody beat me to it.
 
Didn't work. I tried booting from W7 cd but I got some message about a system failure. Putting the key on a sticker on the pc is the worst idea ever.
 
Mato said:
Didn't work. I tried booting from W7 cd but I got some message about a system failure. Putting the key on a sticker on the pc is the worst idea ever.
Click to expand...
Why? It's always right there for you to see it.
 
Mato said:
Didn't work. I tried booting from W7 cd but I got some message about a system failure. Putting the key on a sticker on the pc is the worst idea ever.
Click to expand...

1. Go into your BIOS. Usually Delete (DEL) or F2 or F8 immediately after it powers up will get you there.
2. Find device boot order.
3. In the device boot order, make DVD/CD first priority. Hell, even remove your HDD from boot order in case you have an impatient BIOS.
4. Save changes in BIOS and exit.
5. If your win7 disc is in the drive, you should be prompted with something like "hit any key to boot from disc/CD/DVD".
6. Do that, and then Win7 installer should load.
7. The win7 installer will give you the option to select which HDD to install to. With that, there should be advanced options to format the HDD.
8. Select the HDD and install win7.
 
I'm trying to figure out exactly where he's going wrong. The way he made it sound, he is booting from the CD/DVD but is getting an error message thereafter.

Then again, maybe not. It's hard to decipher what he's saying because he's being so cryptic and vague.
 
If he's getting errors about windows XP installation, he's either:
-Not booting the Windows 7 disc/installer, and instead booting from HDD
-Booting Windows 7 installer, and somehow trying to upgrade an incomplete/corrupt XP install, but I don't think XP->7 is an option.

Or, there is some crazy install bug in Win7.

Not sure what the CD key is all about. Either the key works, or it doesn't. If someone stole your key and used it, you wouldn't know until after you install Win7 and it tries to activate windows.
 
teh_pwn said:
If he's getting errors about windows XP installation, he's either:
-Not booting the Windows 7 disc/installer, and instead booting from HDD
-Booting Windows 7 installer, and somehow trying to upgrade an incomplete/corrupt XP install, but I don't think XP->7 is an option.

Or, there is some crazy install bug in Win7.

Not sure what the CD key is all about. Either the key works, or it doesn't. If someone stole your key and used it, you wouldn't know until after you install Win7 and it tries to activate windows.
Click to expand...
I was thinking that he was booting from the CD/DVD but that it was crashing (for only a reason only God knows) right after the boot. I don't really know.

Like you said, the key either works or it does not work. I am curious as to what version (OEM, retail, volume, etc.) of XP he is trying to install. The various versions of keys typically will not work with other types, so an OEM key typically will not work with retail CD/DVD, etc.

Also, I don't know if the computer came bundled with XP, Vista, or Windows 7.

Hell, we don't even know if Windows came bundled at all. Maybe it was a garage-built PC.

Maybe he just has a Win 7 upgrade disc? Can you install the 7 upgrade with no OS previously installed?
Click to expand...
Haven't tried yet, but I would assume you could. In older versions of Windows, the installer would ask you at some point to insert your older Windows setup CD/DVD to verify that you had a copy of an older version of Windows.

Maybe Microsoft got smart and no longer allows this. In Windows XP, when the upgrade version asked you to insert a CD/DVD, all you had to do was insert a burned CD with a few specifically named folders on it. The installer did not read and verify the contents of the entire CD (obviously), so it just looked at those few folders as verification. :lol
 
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