Error Loading Operating System

[DKott17]

I was reinstalling Windows XP and around 60% through and my power went out. Once my power came back on I went to reinstall Windows again but this time after it says "Press any key to boot from CD", it says "Error Loading Operating System". The computer does not have a floppy drive so I cannot create a boot disk with floppy's. I'm getting stressed out because this is not my computer. I was doing work for a friend and this happened and he needs it back today.

 

[DKott17]

Anyone.....?

 

[strategic]

You should be able to start off by booting from CD if you have the original operating system CD, in which case, you'll go to the recovery console. Are you able to make a boot disk on a different computer (on CD)?

 

[raybay]

Check your boot order in the BIOS. You should be able to reconfigure your system to boot to the CD first even if the drive data is damaged... But if you have valuable data on the drive, you may need a boot guide from Microsoft to avoid damage.

 

[DKott17]

You should be able to start off by booting from CD if you have the original operating system CD, in which case, you'll go to the recovery console. Are you able to make a boot disk on a different computer (on CD)?

Yes, I have another computer where I could do this. I've looked for a boot disk on various websites but most are floppies and the ones that are CDs list 20 different downloads which is throwing me off. I'm not sure what exactly I need.

Check your boot order in the BIOS. You should be able to reconfigure your system to boot to the CD first even if the drive data is damaged... But if you have valuable data on the drive, you may need a boot guide from Microsoft to avoid damage.

Yes. I've made sure that the CD-ROM drive is set at the top.