Please Help mE

[Richman118]

Hello,

Ok so i have an old desktop that i wanted to get running to download things on. I used an IDE cable and completey formatted the hard drive. I have windows xp on a disk and i start the comptuer up and try to boot from disk but it doesnt work. It just says strike f1 to retry or hit f2 to go to setup utility. When i hit f2 it brings me to the bios and asks for a password. For some reason my regular login password isnt it. It says incorrect. I hear the CD drive working but nothing happens. Does anyone know how i can install windows on a completely empty hard drive. I must be putting xp on completely wrong. I have it in a folder and when i open the folder i have
Docs, I386, AUTORUN, README, SETUP, WIN51, WIN51C. I attached a snapshot of what my windows xp folder looks like when i open it. Any help would be greatly appreciated thank you guys very much.

[hackerballs]

odd. you say that you .....completey formatted the hard drive....HOW did you do that without the disk in? If you formatted the hdd then you have wiped out any passwords that you have. Are you the original owner who installed XP? Did you try tapping "delete" on startup? It sounds like you have your boot sequence wrong. You would have to change the boot to read the tray you are using Xp with to boot first..........I also don't understand what you mean when you say........ I have it in a folder.............is this on another PC?

Normally you put the disk in the tray and then you push your startup button. If the "boot" is set to read the tray first, (hit a key when it says "hit any key to continue, just the first time...not twice or you start over"then XP will load itself all the way to your format screen. You would have to delete any partions then and remake them if you want.
If your boot is not on the tray first....as most are on "C" boot up first, you will have to go into the BIOS to set the boot sequence. Really could use more information on what you have...........