Error when trying to reformat.

[xSeongminx]

Well, I purchased a Compaq laptop and it won't let me reformat. When I put the Windows XP Pro CD in, I get to the part where it says that it's going to install the system files (last part of the blue screen autoplay) and then get an error message. Is my recovery partition (that came loaded on the laptop) at fault?

 

[btcomm1]

What does the error message say? Have you tried installing Windows from the recovery partiton that came with the laptop?