Have not been able to re-install XP

[jim.mar]

I have a 5 yr old, home made machine,  that is running windows XP.  Over the years I have updated to SP-3.
When I installed Windows XP I partitioned the hard drive to 25 GB for drive C:/ and 55 GB for drive D:/.   I found this to be a mistake because I have frequently run into the problem of not having enough hard drive for some installations.   Lately I picked up something that is running in the background and consumes so much computer time that it is running intolerably slow.   So I decided to reinstall XP and repartition the hard drive.
PROBLEM:  When I try to run the XP installation CD I get this message

“Setup cannot continue because the version of Windows on your computer is newer than the version on the CD”.
(I guess it is because I have SP-3,  so......)
“Warning: If you decide to delete the newer version of Windows that is currently installed on your computer, the files and settings cannot be recovered”.
Then it tells me

“To install the version on the CD, restart your computer, boot from this CD, and follow the instructions for a new installation”.

The machine does not want to boot from the CD so I change the bios boot instructions accordingly but it still wants to boot from the hard drive to the original config.

I would like to repartition without reinstalling XP but I don’t know how.  Also, how would I get rid of the parasite that is slowing the machine down.

MACHINE STATS       
Processor:  1.30 gigahertz AMD Athlon XP
64 kilobyte primary memory cache
512 kilobyte secondary memory cache       
Board: MSI MS-7047   1.00Bus Clock:   100 megahertz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. 080011 11/05/2004
Drives       
Memory Modules c,d      80.02 Gigabytes
Usable Hard Drive Capacity58.70 Gigabytes
Hard Drive Free Space
ASUS DRW-2014L1T SCSI CdRom Device [CD-ROM drive]
LITE-ON DVD SOHD-167T [CD-ROM drive]
3.5" format removeable media [Floppy drive]ST380013A
[Hard drive] (80.02 GB) -- drive 0       
1024 Megabytes Installed MemorySlot 'DIMM0' has 512 MBSlot        
Local Drive Volumes
c: (NTFS on drive 0)   31.45 GB   16.64 GB free
d: (NTFS on drive 0)   48.56 GB   42.06 GB free

[fat_basterd21]

I assume you can reinstall this from a clean hard  drive meaning you have a full XP disc or ect amout of disks to upgrade to xp.

Heres my solution, Copy what you need off the XP partition and then delete that partition. Should work there will be no previous install of XP to bugg it up with.

Theres a great linux live disc that is a excelent format tool called gparted live. Its free you download the .iso burn it to a disk and then boot from cdrom. Not only can it format to most all formats the newer ones alow partition resizing without altering the file systems. This could be another option if you just want to increase you space on one partition. The partition resizing take a few hours but works great. And they recomend you do a full backup because theres a possibility of it corrupting your drives. However I never had such a problem yet.


Latest build of GParted Live
http://sourceforge.net/project/downloading.php?group_id=115843&use_mirror=softlayer&filename=gparted-livecd-0.3.4-11.iso&a=44917152

[Broni]

Where is the Windows CD from?
Are you sure, the CD drive is in working condition?

[JJ 3000]

The machine does not want to boot from the CD so I change the bios boot instructions accordingly but it still wants to boot from the hard drive to the original config.

ASUS DRW-2014L1T SCSI CdRom Device [CD-ROM drive]
LITE-ON DVD SOHD-167T [CD-ROM drive]

You have two CD drives.
In order to boot to the CD you need to put it in the MASTER drive (usually the one on top).

Once you boot to the CD follow this order:
1. Delete partitions (both of them)
2. Create a new partition
3. Format your partition (to set up windows on the selected item press enter)

By the way - When you changed your boot order in BIOS did you SAVE changes(F10)?

[JJ 3000]

I would like to repartition without reinstalling XP but I don't know how.  Also, how would I get rid of the parasite that is slowing the machine down.

I just saw that. 
The procedure that I described above, will completely wipe out all of your data (including the virus).

What antivirus software do you have installed?

If you want to completely clear out all of the viruses from your computer you should visit our virus board here:
  http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php/board,7.0.html

Please read this first.
http://www.computerhope.com/forum/index.php/topic,46313.0.html

As for repartitioning your hard drive you can use a utility like Partition magic. check it out:
http://www.symantec.com/norton/partitionmagic

Or, if you are feeling adventurous you could use a utility like Gparted. You can download a bootable CD here:
http://gparted-livecd.tuxfamily.org/index.php

[jim.mar]

To:  Fat_B...,Broni..., & jj 3000
Thanks for your responses guys.   I will try to answer all questions.
1.... I will look into the Gparted Live......Yes, I copied both partitions onto an external drive....How do I delete a whole partition? ?
2....The windows CD is  a 2002 version, direct from Microsoft, complete with 20 character authorization number......and Yes, the CD rom is in good working order, at least for audio.  Even tho it is quite old, (4 yrs) I use it considerably for audio playback.
3....Yes, I have two  CD rom drives.   Even though Belarc listed the ASUS drive first, it is actually the second one down in my tower.  It is less than one year old.   I didn’t know that one of the CD drives would be the master etc.   In the BIOS, the "LITE ON" drive is listed as #1 and that is the one that I assigned first boot priority.......And yes, I did press F10 to save the bios changes   (I think.   I’ll recheck it next time I boot.)
4....I am presently using AVG antivirus.   I had Avast for a while but though that it was causing my machine to slow down and it takes a very long time to do a full scan.
Thanks for the tips.   I will follow up on them.    I have a mental block when it comes to using any Norton products so I try to avoid them.    What are your thoughts? ?

Thanks again, guys.   I knew that I could count on you for help.  I will get back to you after I try some of these suggestions.     God Bless,  JIM

[Broni]

I have a mental block when it comes to using any Norton products so I try to avoid them.    What are your thoughts?

Stay far away

[JJ 3000]

How do I delete a whole partition? ?

It's pretty easy. When you boot up the XP CD, you will see a screen that lets you do this. You just press D to delete the highlighted partition.

[fat_basterd21]

Been a while now but an after thought.... If the problem is because SP3 you can go to add/remove programs and remove the service pack 3. Might help

[jim.mar]

Thanks guys.   Been almost three weeks but I go t distracted.  Anyway, I went back over the routine and "Yes" I must have forgotten to press F10 to save BIOS changes.  Anyway. I got every thing done that I wanted but I lost all my pictures.   I am posting another question regarding that.  Thanks again for your help.,    JIM

[Broni]

Good