Installing a Fresh Windows XP OS is easier than you think. You can install a new XP operation system in your computer in many ways. One of the easiest way would be to install it with a boot disk(floppy) or Windows XP boot cd.

I did not need to install a fresh Windows XP because my laptop (Compaq 2135CA) came with installed operation system. But now i realize that the operating system i am using is getting really old (almost 5 years old+). Beside my hard disk was getting slower because of all the junks and 100+ Windows updates (I can bet Microsoft released more than 100+ small/big updates including SP1, SP2, SP3 for Windows XP Home edition since 2002).

Here i will give you step by step tutorial on how to install a fresh copy of Windows XP operating system either on a brand new computer or on a computer that already has a operating system installed.

1. Create a Boot disk or XP boot CD

Before you get into the dark side of your computer (scary MS DOS black screen), you need a rescuer. This rescuer can be a bootable Windows XP CD OR any bootable disk that comes with many DOS related softwares (such as: Partition Magic, Active@Kill Disk etc.) OR a simple Windows 98 boot floppy.

Where can i find or download Windows XP boot CD ?


Download Windows XP boot CD. There are 6 types of XP boot CD available in this Microsoft page depending on your operating system version. If your computer supports booting from CD-ROM, Microsoft does not recommend using any of these XP boot CD.

How can i make a Windows XP boot CD ?


Most of the Windows XP installation CD are bootable. But if your Windows XP does not have a boot CD, you can make your own. There are many websites in the internet that will provide you free guide on how to make a non-bootable XP installtion CD bootable.

create bootable XP CD Tutorial #1
create bootable XP CD Tutorial #2

Where can i find or download Windows 98 bootdisk ?

Download Windows 98 Boot Disk or Floppy Disk
List of Windows 98 bootdisk files:

ASPI2DOS.SYS ASPI4DOS.SYS ASPI8DOS.SYS ASPI8U2.SYS ASPICD.SYS BTCDROM.SYS BTDOSM.SYS DRVSPACE.BIN EBD.CAB EXTRACT.EXE FDISK.EXE FINDRAMD.EXE FLASHPT.SYS HIMEM.SYS OAKCDROM.SYS RAMDRIVE.SYS README.TXT SETRAMD.BAT

How can i make a Windows 98 bootdisk:

You can make your own Windows 98 bootdisk if you or your friend have a computer that runs Windows 98. Insert a floppy disk in floppy drive, open your my computer from windows 98 desktop, right click on the floppy disk and select the option to create a MS-DOS boot disk from the bottom.

Note: You can also do the same from windows XP, but i found older windows bootdisk/MS-DOS boot floppy are more helpful. Therefore, i will recommend to use Windows 98 boot floppy.

2. Restart The Computer and Boot From BootDisk or BootCD:
   

   If you are done with making your boot cd or boot disk, you can restart your computer. While your computer is restarting, press Esc OR F5 button to select computer boot order. If you made a boot floppy in the step #1, select removable disk/floppy drive as your boot source. If you created XP boot CD, select CD-ROM as your boot source.

   After computer boot from Windows 98 boot floppy, you can choose option#1(boot with CD-ROM support) from the Windows 98 boot option. It will install necessary files and drive so that you can run DOS commands as well as install Windows XP from CD-ROM.

3. Delete the existing partition or format the hard disk:

   If you are installing operating system on a brand new computer (on new hard disk), you need to create hard disk partition first. On the other hand, if you want a fresh Windows XP installation on a computer that already have a operating system, you can delete the old hard disk partition and create a new one with Windows 98 boot floppy (I assume you know how to partition and format HDD using 98 boot disk otherwise read this “How to Format A Hard Drive“). Once you create new hard disk partition, you need to format the hard disk. Keep in mind that Windows XP hard disk has to be formated using NTFS file system, whereas Windows 98 uses FAT file system. So, if you use Windows 98 boot floppy to format the HDD, you might need to format it again with XP installtion CD. Because XP installation CD will not recognize the file system (you may skip the formating part with Windows 98 floppy).

   If you are using a XP boot CD go to next step.

4. Select a Hard Disk Partition to Install Windows XP:

   If you are using windows 98 boot floppy, you need to run the Windows XP cd from DOS. The file you have to run in order to initiate Windows XP installation from XP installation cd is WINNT.EXE, which is inside I386 folder in your XP CD.

   D:\I386\WINNT.EXE

   Note: Your CD-ROM drive letter can be different (could be E:\ or F:\ or G:\ depending on your hard disk partition) than mine.

   If you command to run the above file successfully, Windows XP installation process will start in no time. It will ask you to select a partition to install Windows XP or format a partition if you haven’t done it already.If you are using a XP boot CD, it is little bit easier. After you load the XP boot CD, it will ask you to format your hard disk. If you already have a operating system on the hard drive, you will see option to delete the current partition, format HDD with NTFS file system and install a fresh copy of Windows XP on selected partition of your HDD. I do not prefer overwrite an existing operating system. So, i would delete the current partition and reformat the hard disk and install a new copy of windows XP.

5. Let the Windows XP Install:

After copying the necessary files for XP installation process, the system will restart automatically (It will show a notice that “Windows will restart within 15 seconds automatically or press enter to reboot”). Before your computer reboot again, take out the XP CD or boot floppy. After the computer reboot, you should see the Windows XP installation screen. Put your XP installation CD back to CD-ROM again and sit back untill XP installation process ask you few setup questions like Language selection, enter XP CD serial number, user name and so on.

By The Way, While i was writing the article and installing my Clean Windows XP on my computer, i found the following article was very helpful. So, feel free to read it too.

XP Clean Install by Microsoft Most Valuable Professional Micheal Stevens.