I'm attempting to reformat my pc that came with ME 98 to XP pro. I have never done this before and I want to do it myself. I just need to know where to begin and what I need to be able to do it. I have a compaq and I've tried installing XP straight from the disk....it went through all the steps, but a couple days later it lost the internet connection and programs were freezing up. I want to wipe it out completely and reinstall the software thay I want I it. Can you help me with this? Thanks.

for starters, there is no such thing as "ME 98"... and don't worry about formatting, when you install XP it will format the HDD for you.

but to help you we still need some more information:

1. what model compaq is it? what CPU and RAM do you have? (that is important because if your system is older, it may not be able to handle XP)

2. you said you've "tried installing XP straight from the disk", is your XP disk a full retail version, OEM, or is it a restore disk from another system?

3. Does your XP version include Service Pack 1 or 2, or did you update to SP2 after the instal?

no such animal ME 98. You either have 98 or ME. That latter of which is a horrible OS.

Break out your XP CD and boot it up and follow the instructions if the install fails, do over.