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I started installing my copy of xp and the computer crashed mid way through. So I tried restarting it and an error message comes up everytime saying setup error, then restarts and the cycle continues, it says setup is being restarted...then after 4mins - setup abort.

Im rubbish with computers and as i cant logon to any form of windows, i dont have any files of value on it so im guessing it would be best to reformat and install afresh again. I have no idea how to do this as i cant login to windows, what can I do??
Please help me

Howdy there Buttzilller and welcome to PCHF.

I would agree about the whole format and reload thing, the best way to do this would be to boot off your Windows XP CD and format it from there.

The site below explains this process in a step by step way:
http://www.windowsreinstall.com/winx...dhdd/part1.htm

Thanks you for you warm welcome and your advice. The only prob is that the disk has been in all the time. So I ejected it, put it back in, restarted the comp and the same old thing happened. Is there a way to force the computer to abort the intall its locked into and to boot from the disk? If not is there a way I can force it into dos, and if so what would i do then?

Sorry to be such a bother, thank you again

Hi there, first, grab a Windows 98 boot disk (floppy version) from our afilliate site here: www.bootdisk.com. You will need the one with CD support. Create the disk and place it into the floppy drive. Re-start the PC and follow the Microsoft instructions here. This will allow you to try to start the whole XP install again via the dos prompt.

1. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM in the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.

2. Start the computer to an Command Prompt with CD-ROM support. If your computer does not have MS-DOS already installed, or you otherwise cannot start to an Command Prompt in the Boot menu, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
187632 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/187632/) How to create a Windows 98 startup disk that supports FAT32

3. Start SMARTDrive if it is not already started. To do this, change to the folder that contains the Smartdrv.exe file, type smartdrv, and then press ENTER. If you do not use SMARTDrive, the Windows XP Setup program may copy files to the hard disk slowly.

4. At the command prompt, type drive:, and then press ENTER (where drive is the drive that contains the Windows XP CD-ROM).

5. Type cd i386, and then press ENTER.

6. Type winnt, and then press ENTER. The Windows XP Setup program starts.

7. Type the path of the Windows XP installation files, and then press ENTER. For example, type d:\i386.
The Windows Setup program copies files to the hard disk. When the files are copied, you receive the following message:
The MS-DOS based part of The Setup Program Is complete.
The Setup program will now restart your computer. After your computer restarts,
the Windows XP Setup program will continue.
If there is a floppy disk in drive A:, remove it now.
Press ENTER to restart your computer and continue Windows XP Setup.

8. Remove any floppy disks from the computer, and then press ENTER. The computer restarts, and the Windows XP Setup program resumes. Press ENTER to continue.

9. Follow the steps to select and format a partition where you want to install Windows XP. If your hard disk contains only one partition, do not delete it from the list of existing partitions. The Windows XP Setup program has copied the installation files to this partition.
You can convert a FAT32-formatted partition to the NTFS file system later.
Setup copies the files that the Windows XP Setup program requires, and then the computer restarts. If you chose to format the drive by using the NTFS file system, Windows checks the drive for errors, and then it restarts. Windows XP Setup resumes in Graphical User Interface (GUI) mode.

10. Follow the steps in the Windows Setup Wizard to complete the installation of Windows XP.

Come back to us with your results.