For such an installation, you need the Windows Preinstallation Environment (WinPE) and the unpacked Windows XP distribution on your hard disk (or have it on a USB flash drive).
Download from the WinPE flash drive, format the active partition C and then, from the command line, launch the Windows XP installation.
We will use the preinstallation environment, the original Windows XP distribution can be downloaded for free.
And so - by downloading from a USB flash drive SonyaPE sysadmin disk we open My computer.

Picture 1.

Here you see:
Hard drives
RAMDISK - Located in RAM.
Local disk(C) - the active first partition of the previous OS on which we will install operating system.
Local disk (E) - on it you must place the unpacked distribution kit in advance.
Boot (X) - A mounted compressed system image, which is also located in RAM.
Removable media devices
SonyaPE (D) - the USB flash drive from which you loaded the "SonyaPE sysadmin disk", if the volume allows, - you can also place the unpacked distribution kit on the USB flash drive.
CD drive (F)

Please note that Local Disk (E) is the disk that you go under the letter in the loaded Windows operating system D, - to exclude an error, check the size and content of the disc!
Format Local Disk (C):
Hover the mouse cursor, press the right button → select Format in the drop-down menu ...
In the Format Local… window that opens, select the NTFS file system, - you can select the Quick option (clear the table of contents). Once again, having thought if you have chosen the right disk, press the button To begin!
The process is similar.
At the end of formatting, close the formatting window, My Computer.
Next clicking Start → Execute, - open the window Launching the program.

Figure 2.

If the unpacked distribution is on disk E in the WINXP folder, then in command line we write: “ E:\ WINXP\ I386\ winnt32. exe / syspart: C / tempdrive: C».
If the unpacked distribution is on a USB flash drive (disk D) in the WINXP folder, then on the command line we write: “ D:\ WINXP\ I386\ winnt32. exe / syspart: C / tempdrive: C».
So as not to get confused, you can copy the command line into notepad in advance and place it next to the distribution folder for subsequent copying to the program launch window.
Press the button OK.

Figure 3.

The preparation for the installation of Windows XP starts. Do not be intimidated by the message: "Installation takes 60 to 90 minutes", even on a weak computer it will be much faster. Here besides new installation you won't be able to select anything - press the button Further.

Figure 4.

We accept the License Agreement, - press the button Further.

Figure 5.

To proceed with the installation, you must enter the registration code for the copy of Windows in the window. The code can be printed on the CD itself, on its packaging, or in a file stored on disk (the source from which you copied the distribution to your hard disk). In case of an error when entering the code after pressing the button Further a message will appear: “The entered serial number product ". Enter the code and click Further …

Figure 6.

If you are not going to change the default settings for copying and installing files, use during installation special abilities for visually impaired users, change the primary language and location and install support for the languages ​​of East Asia, - press the button Further.

Figure 7.

If you have on your hard disk C file system NTFS, it doesn't matter which option is enabled, press the button Further.

Figure 8.

Copying is in progress. The Windows XP Preinstallation Program copies the Installer installation files to HDD C computer from the distribution kit unpacked to the hard disk.
At the end of copying, a short time remains below the shown window of the Prepare for the installation of Windows XP

Figure 9.

then it closes, and you remain on the desktop loaded from a USB flash drive SonyaPE sysadmin disk(Windows PE).

Figure 10.

We reboot the computer - it is necessary that subsequent downloads are made from the hard disk (see).
In the picture below

Figure 11.

for reference i am showing you which files were copied to disk C... If you have a disk C FAT32 then hidden folder SystemVolumeInformation will be absent. From these Files, the next computer boot will take place.
At the next reboot, the computer will boot from the hard disk C.

Figure 12.

We are waiting for the bootloader to start - and then everything looks like in the article: except for entering the registration code for a copy of Windows, as well as small differences associated with converting the file system, in case you have a disk C was formatted on the filesystem FAT32 and you enabled the "Yes, you should update the file system of the disk" option.
Good luck.

Greetings. I decided to write today about how to install Windows XP... They just brought me a computer, so old, already. 256 MB RAM, Celeron processor, 40 GB hard drive. Well, what? That where there is, XP is the most for him.

It's just that everyone is already writing about installing Windows 8, but I have something to do with the old days. Well, okay, I think that XP will still survive, because whatever you say it is a good OS and many still work with it. I just want to apologize for the pictures, I took pictures on a 15-inch monitor, and also on a phone. Ideally, of course, you could install Windows XP on virtual machine and make beautiful screenshots, but I have a live example :).

Preparing to install Windows XP

Important! Make sure that there is no important information on the C drive (the disk on which you have or was installed the operating system). Desktop and folder "My documents" is stored on drive C. If information is available, it can be copied to drive D using a bootable drive.

If everything is fine, then move on. Insert the Windows XP installation disc into your computer's drive and restart your computer. If after the start of the download at the bottom of the screen you will see the download (the points will move), then everything is fine. Quickly press any key (did not have time :), restart the computer again) and you can proceed to the beginning of the installation.

Well, if your boot from the CD did not work, and the computer started to boot as usual from the hard disk, or an error appeared through which you undertook to reinstall the operating system, then it means that you do not have boot from the drive in the BIOS in the first place. I already wrote an article about that, but in this computer the BIOS was different from what is described in the article.

Go to the “Boot” tab.

Click “ Boot Device Priority ”.

Using the “Enter” and “Top” “Down” keys, set the first CD / DVD, then the hard disk, etc. Now press F10 and save the changes. The computer will restart and start loading the CD. Press any button and go to the beginning of the installation.

Windows XP installation process

As soon as you pressed any key, we see this:

Here you will have to wait, well, nothing can be done, we are waiting :).

In this window, press “Enter”.

Accept the license agreement by pressing the F8 key.

As you can see, I have already found an old version of Windows XP and you can try to restore it, but I think you also need a clean installation, so press "Esc".

We select the partition on the hard disk where we want to install the operating system. As a rule, this is C:, select it and press “Enter”.

We confirm the setting with the "C" key.

Here you need to choose how the section will be formatted. I advise you to choose FAT and not fast. We press "Enter". We confirm the formatting by pressing the "F" key.

We are waiting for the partition on the hard disk to be formatted.

Copying files from the disk will start immediately, we are waiting again :(.

You can immediately customize the language and keyboard. Click "Next".

Enter your name and the name of the organization. Go ahead.

We adjust the time and date. Click "Next".

We are waiting again, just don't go far :).

I left "Common parameters" and clicked "Next".

You can register with Microsoft. But I refused. Let's continue.

We indicate users by the computer.

Congratulations! Installing Windows XP is over.

All friends, the installation is complete and you can start using the computer. I also want to note that I installed the simplest build of Windows XP. You may also have an assembly, for example, from ZWER, where the installation process may be slightly different. For example, in this version I also entered the key, forgot to take a picture. And in the assembly from ZWER, there seems to be no such item. Well, if it asks for a key, then look for it in a text file that you most likely downloaded with a disk image.

Well, that's all. Good luck friends!

A fairly convenient option when loading Windows XP on a device is to use a special flash drive. The WinToFlash program will help you here. When it starts up for the first time, you must agree with the user agreement and click OK. Next, the main application window is displayed, which looks like this.

Since the program has been fully translated into Russian, the process of working with it is greatly simplified. To create a bootable USB drive, you must use the wizard. It assumes support at all stages of this process. There is another approach to the implementation of the task. To do this, open the "Advanced Mode" tab and click on "Transfer Windows XP Setup to Drive". Select the appropriate drive if not specified. After that, the button "Create" is pressed.

Now you need to set the location Windows files XP. There are various options - they can be located on a hard disk, CD or as an image. The last point deserves a separate consideration. In the presence of ISO image, you should open it with any archiver followed by unpacking.

The next step is to specify which USB flash drive should become bootable. Be sure to consider the fact that this will entail the deletion of all data without the possibility of their recovery in the future. It is recommended that you save important information to your hard disk beforehand. The conversion process itself takes some time and you just need to wait.

As you can see from the written manual, creating a bootable Windows XP USB stick using WinToFlash is not a problem. The application provides two main modes for performing this task. The wizard accompanies the user and is the classic approach. Advanced mode allows you to set certain parameters. For example, this can include the choice of the type of bootloader, specify the correction of some errors, and more. If this does not tell you anything, but you do not need to use the extended mode.

You can download the program on the official website of the developer //wintoflash.com/home/ru/

Creating a bootable USB drive using - WinSetupFromUSB

It is quite popular when creating bootable flash drives WinSetupFromUSB program... It is freeware and offers a simple process for getting things done. This application can be used for a wide range of purposes.

The process should be considered in more detail:

1. The USB flash drive must be inserted into the USB port of the device and run the program.
2. It is required to indicate the path to the flash drive. If it is the only connected storage device, it will already be set by default. When the location is specified, Bootice is pressed.
3. A special Bootice window is displayed, where you need to click "Perform format". There will be several items to choose from, among which you need to specify USB-HDD mode (Single Partition). A formatting message is displayed and must be confirmed. As in the previous case, it is recommended to save all important references beforehand.
4. When the formatting is finished, you need to click "Process MBR", where you select the item "GRuB for DOS" and click the "Install / Config" button. When the process completes, Bootice can be closed.
5. Now you need to specify where the files of the Windows XP operating system will be taken from. As with the previous method, there are several approaches, but the principle of operation remains the same. When the location is specified, the "Go" button is pressed and waits until the task is completed.

The main advantage of WinSetupFromUSB is its in-depth approach that allows for a lot of functionality. The program is great for advanced users.

Preparing the hard drive during Windows XP installation

Before you begin the process of installing Windows XP on your computer's hard drive, you need to prepare it. It should be understood that installing multiple operating systems on one logical disk is impossible, since in this case none of the systems will be able to work correctly. Therefore, before starting the installation, it is necessary to format the HDD partition on which we will install.

We start from the previously created bootable USB flash drive,

After that, the monitor will display the message "Installing Windows XP Professional". During this time, the process of loading the drivers that are necessary for the OS installation program to work occurs.

After that, a window appears, which offers to choose one of several options for continuing work. We need to start installing Windows XP, so press the Enter key and agree with the first point.

We read the license agreement from Microsoft and agree with it by pressing the F8 key.

After that, we see a window in which we are invited to restore previous version Windows. You will see this message only if one of the versions of Windows XP is already installed on your computer. In any case, we recommend not performing a system restore, but proceeding with the installation new version, since only this option is able to solve all problems and ensure stable and reliable operation of the computer. To do this, press the Esc key.

The installer now shows us a list of logical partitions on the hard drive. It is recommended to install a new Windows versions XP to the same partition where it was previously installed old version, as a rule, this is drive C. Select this section and press the Enter key.

Now we have to choose the type of file system that will be created on the logical disk after formatting. For modern computers, in most cases, the NTFS file system is best suited, so select the "Format partition in NTFS system" item and press the Enter key.

After that, the installation program will display a window with a warning that all information from this partition of the hard disk will be deleted during formatting. If all important information you moved it to other sections in advance - feel free to press the F key.
The formatting process begins, which may take quite a long time, depending on the size logical drive.

Once the formatting process is complete, the installer will automatically begin copying the Windows XP files to your computer.

After that, the computer will automatically restart. The system will boot from the computer hard drive and the Windows XP graphical installation process will start.

Windows XP installation process - main step

This section will directly answer the question "How to install Windows XP". This information is absolutely identical both for the process of installing Windows XP from a CD, and for installing Windows XP from a USB flash drive on a laptop. The Collecting Information, Dynamic Updating, and Preparing to Install phases are all taking place without our participation. After that, we are asked to configure the language, regional standards for displaying numbers and currencies. To do this, click on the "Configure" button in the "Location" section. In the drop-down menu, select your country and click OK. After that, again click on the "Configure" button, but this time in the "Language" section. In the first drop-down menu, we can select the language that will be used by default when the computer boots. Below you can add input languages ​​by clicking on the "Add" button (by default, two languages ​​are available, Russian and English). If you click on the "Keyboard Options" button, we will get to a menu in which you can set a key to disable Caps Lock mode, and also change the keyboard shortcut to switch keyboard layouts. Upon completion of the language settings, click "Next" and go to the next window.

Here we are asked to enter our own name and the name of the organization. Enter absolutely any data and click "Next".

Now you need to enter the 25-digit license key to your copy of Windows. This key is on the box if you are using a licensed copy. In the case of pirated products, it must be in a text file. We enter this key, check the correctness of the input and press the "Next" button.

After that, a window appears for setting the computer name and password of a user with administrator rights. If you work on a home computer, you yourself choose a name that will later be assigned to your PC in the home network. If you are working on a corporate computer, check it with your network administrator. Remember or write down the administrator password that you set in the same window, as it will be required every time you start Windows.

In the next window, we are given the opportunity to customize the date and time. Select the desired settings and click "Next".

After that, go to the "Network Settings" window. It's best to skip the setup at this point. local network and execute it later, after the installation is complete. To do this, select the item "Typical parameters" and click the "Next" button.

We leave the working group unchanged "WORKGROUP" and click on.

After that, copying starts. system files to your computer hard drive. Wait for the installation process to complete, after which the first Windows startup XP. If at this time starts automatic setting monitor - wait for it to end and click OK.

In this window, left-click on "OK"

After that we will see an animated window Windows greetings XP.

After that, a window appears with a request to turn on the automatic Windows updates... From experience, it should be noted that it is better automatic update leave disabled. And update the system manually.

Next, we will be asked to configure the Internet connection and activate a copy of the OS. This step can be skipped for now.

Are you ready to register with Microsoft? To this question we answer "No, some other time" and click on.

The next window prompts you to enter the name of your account, as well as the names of other users who will also work on this computer. notice, that Accounts with the names Administrator and Guest were created during the installation of the OS.

This completes the installation of Windows XP, click the "Finish" button and enjoy a clean operating system.

In my previous article, I already described how to install the Windows XP operating system on a computer. There was considered a situation when Windows is put on top of already the existing system... In my example, the hard drive has already been partitioned.
But what if you need to install Windows on a brand new hard drive? The need for this may arise if, for example, you bought a new computer without a preinstalled system. In this case, there are certainly differences in the installation process.

So let's get down to installing Windows XP on a new hard drive.

Turning on the computer, first of all we go to BIOS and set up booting from disk (how to do this is described in detail). After saving all the necessary settings in BIOS, insert it into the drive boot disk with the operating room Windows system XP and restart your computer.

After rebooting, the Windows installer shell will appear on the screen. The hardware installed on the computer will be checked fairly quickly and the installation files will begin downloading.
At the end of this process, a window will appear prompting you to start installing Windows. Click on Enter on keyboard.
Next, we accept the license agreement by clicking F8.
Because we install Windows XP on a completely new unformatted hard drive, then this window will appear in front of us:
The unallocated area is the size of our hard drive. In my case, this is almost 500 GB.

To proceed with the installation, you need to create a partition on the disk, on which we will install the operating system in the future. To do this, press the key FROM on keyboard.
Next, you need to specify the size of the partition to be created. Let's make it 100 GB. Because the size is indicated in megabytes, so we write 100000 and click Enter.
In the window that appears, the created section will be highlighted in a separate line with the letter assigned to it (usually this FROM), the file system (while it is still “ new (unformatted)”) And its size. Below it is a line with the remaining unallocated area, which can be divided in exactly the same way into the required number of partitions. We will do this later - directly on the installed system.
To install Windows XP in the selected section, click Enter.

Next, you will be prompted to select a file system. It is recommended to use NTFS... Press to continue Enter.
After that, the formatting of the hard disk will begin, and all information on it will be destroyed. But since we install the operating system on a blank disk - there is no information there yet 🙂