Error loading operating system

I tried setting up a dual boot by installing Windows XP on a separate drive alongside my Windows 7 Ultimate setup... things went sideways during the XP install, so I had to kill the process mid-way. Now, I can't even get into Windows 7. In an attempt to fix it, I formatted the Windows 7 partition to start fresh, but as soon as the system rebooted, I got hit with this error message from the subject line. No matter which version of Windows I try to run the installer from, the setup won't even kick off before throwing this error right back at me.

Any of you guys out there have any ideas? Help a brother out.

The error is popping up because your BIOS isn't picking up the bootable media. You basically need to make sure you have a bootable CD or a USB drive ready, and then jump into the BIOS settings to tell the machine to boot from that specific device first.

ps:
Just a heads-up—I’d really recommend unplugging any other hard drives before you start the installation... honestly, it sounds like you might've accidentally installed Windows XP over your Windows 7 setup by formatting the wrong partition.😢
If you're trying to run both operating systems on separate drives, you should probably mess around with BCDedit to get everything lined up correctly...

Thanks for the tip. I’ve got a bootable CD ready to go, so I already set the BIOS to prioritize the optical drive. I'll try disconnecting the other drive and see if that does the trick...

Finally sorted out that mess with Rufus and the USB drive