Im trying to format, install windows, on a lap top for the second time, the first time a few months ago, it worked just fine, Installed windows XP perfectly, now, this time.. I have the windows xp disk in drive BUT it somehow is re-installing pro again. Even after it formats.. I delete old paritiions but it is still happening, any advice is welcome. Im not completely comp illiterate but I still have a lot to learn haha.. thanks..

What exactly are you trying to achive?????

Do you mean you want 2000 or xp on it????

I want XP on it! The disk Im using is XP!

Im still trying to figure out exactly what problem you are having????!!!!????

I am trying to install windows xp on the hard drive. But during stallation set up it is installing windows professional! Which was originally on the hard drive. It asks me for the product key for windows professional but Im installing windows xp! Somehow, professional is still on the hard drive and wont let me install xp. Does that help? Hope so!

Its still sa clear as mud!!! When you say its trying to install professional but you want xp on it, do you realise that there are different versions of xp called xp home and xp professional!!!

I believe that you are referring to windows 2000 professional, am i correct????

Do you now see why im confused????

yeup, thatd be correct!

Either:
(a) You have a pirated/mislabeled CD which actually has Win 2K instead of XP.
or
(b) You aren't setting the boot order properly and your laptop has an active partition with Win 2000 on it.

If we assume (b), you may have to smack F2 or other function key during the laptop's POST tests to change boot order or enter setup.

No, Its a good copy! Not pirated.. cmon now. Ive done all that..

And thats jsut it. I dont know how to get rid of the active partition...

Well all you have to do is start it with the cd in then press any key to boot from cd and get xp to delete all the partitions (if there is more than 1) then do a full format in ntfs!!!!!!

I have!! I dunno, maybe I should give it to someone else who knows more about it than me. I go into set up.. bott from cd drive, I go thrrough all that.. It still installs windows 2000 professional instead of XP..

If you insert that CD into the drive, reboot and boot from that CDROM and the installation program states "Windows 2000 Professional", then you have a Windows 2K Pro CDROM and not a Windows XP Pro/Home CDROM. That is clear to me. Check you haven't mixed up your discs.