Install Windows XP on a Blank HD?

[Bagheera]

Hey all.

Is there a way to install Win XP on a blank HD? Because when I boot into DOS and tried to run setup.exe from the CD it said the setup program cannot run in DOS... :\

 

[Beau]

Fdisk and delete your partitions. Then boot to cd (you'll have to go into your bios to set the boot order). Setup will guide you the rest of the way.

 

[bacillus]

you need to boot from the cd itself.
you can then format your hdd & install. make sure you've got any required 3rd party scsi or raid drivers available on floppy should it be required!

 

[Bagheera]

Well, say if I had a previous OS installed and I ha some third-party softwares already installed, is there a way I can go into DOS, do a manual reformat (just to clear out everything on the HD), and then install WinXP fresh? Because what happened last time was I booted into WinME and then started the WinXP installation. I chose "New Installation", and converted my drive to NTFS. When the installation was finished I checked the Control Panel: no programs where listed there. But when I went into the Program Files directory I saw all the program folders still there. :\

 

[Beau]

Dude, if you just boot to cd, you can delete the partitions (which forces a format).

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

what he said, just set the cdrom to boot, then start up. will go right into the xp setup program and give you the partition/format options.

 

[Bagheera]

Oh ok, sorry I was a bit confused. 🙂

Thanks, everyone!