Upgrading my Dell desktop with XP

That error indicates that either you're not booting to the CD first or the CD itself isn't bootable. Where did ya get it? Is it a copy, or is it the original? Is it scratched or otherwise damaged?

Did you set the BIOS to boot to the CD first?

To answer your question, no, the BIOS doesn't care what OS is loaded.

so make sure that is set properly in the BIOS.

Perform a clean install of Windows XP and delete the Primary Partition and recreate the Primary Partition on the fly.

1. Start your computer from the Windows XP CD. To do this, insert the Windows XP CD into your CD drive or DVD drive, and then restart your computer.

2. When you see the "Press any key to boot from CD" message, press any key to start the computer from the Windows XP CD.

3. At the Welcome to Setup screen, press ENTER to start Windows XP Setup.

4. Read the Microsoft Software License Terms, and then press F8.

5. Follow the instructions on the screen to select and format a partition where you want to install Windows XP. At this stage you can select to delete the Primary Partition and recreate it. Then continue with the install.

6. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete Windows XP Setup.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/316941/en-us

Keep us informed as to your progress if you require further assistance. ;) :D

There may be Hardware that is Incompatible with XP involved here. One of the Big Problems with XP when it was first released was the Lack of Hardware Support available. As time went on this didn't improve just the older Hardware disappeared so it was no longer an Issue. However when SP1 & SP2 where released they added more hardware to the Incompatible List the most common ones where CD Burners but I distinctly remember a DVD Reader back in the days of SP1 that caused the Partition Information on the C Drive to be erased when you applied SP1.

I played with that machine for over a week and it's not something that is easily forgotten. M$ used to have a Compatibility Utility that tested the Hardware & Software present on a system to see if first XP and then XP SP1 would run on that computer but it's been a very long time since I have had a need for that Utility and a quick search of the M$ system failed to find any mention of it now. I do believe that it has been replaced with the Vista Compatibility Tester but that wouldn't work to move ME to XP.

Col