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How to Perform a Clean Installation of Windows XP - Part 1 of 4

By Tim Fisher, About.com

2 of 10

Boot From the Windows XP CD

Clean Install Windows XP

Windows XP Clean Install - Step 2 of 34

To begin the Windows XP clean install process, you will need to boot from the Windows XP CD.

  1. Watch for a Press any key to boot from CD... message similar to the one shown in the screenshot above.

  2. Press a key to force the computer to boot from the Windows CD. If you do not press a key, your PC will attempt to boot to the operating system that's currently installed on your hard drive. If this happens, simply reboot and try to boot to the Windows XP CD again.
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