Windows installation issues (tutorials aren't helping)

I really need some help here 😁

So, I was trying to install Windows XP Professional sp3 on this old desktop I have—just grabbed an ISO from a torrent since it used to run XP just fine—but I keep getting hit with this error message in the screenshot... and the second I click "OK," the whole thing just restarts, and then it's back to square one, over and over again in this endless loop



I actually went ahead and downloaded some other versions of Windows, but honestly, I have no clue how to actually get them onto the machine now. I tried looking through some tutorials right here on the forum, but most of them seem to be geared toward completely blank, brand-new computers, so they weren't really helpful for my situation...

I've messed around in the BIOS and set the boot order so the CD drive is first, but even then, when I reboot, nothing happens—it doesn't even act like there's a disc in there or give me the option to boot from it
I also tried booting into Safe Mode, but yeah, I just get that same error message again

Basically, my computer is totally stuck and useless right now... can anyone please tell me how to break out of this loop and actually get Windows installed?

Thanks so much 🙂

Let’s tackle one thing first... If you grabbed an XP sp3 torrent—whether it’s the Pro or Home version—you probably ended up with an ISO file, right? If that’s the case, just grab a tool like ImgBurn and burn that ISO onto a blank CD or DVD. Once you've got your Windows XP disc ready, head into your BIOS settings, set your optical drive as the primary boot device, save your changes, and exit.

When the computer restarts, you should see a prompt along the lines of "press any key to start installation"—so go ahead and hit any button, maybe Enter... once the installer loads, follow that tutorial link you posted earlier. The most critical part of the whole process is handling the partitions. You'll need to delete your existing partition(s) and create a single new one so you can perform a completely clean install of Windows XP. This usually happens under the "D" drive option, and since everything is laid out in the screenshots, you should be totally fine.

Larry Ortiz5 said:First things first—let's get one thing straight... If you grabbed an XP sp3 torrent—whether it’s the Pro or Home version—you downloaded it as an ISO file, right? If that’s a YES, then just grab something like ImgBurn and burn that ISO onto a blank CD or DVD. Once you've got that disc ready, you'll need to jump into the BIOS, set your optical drive as the primary boot device, save those settings, and exit.

Once the computer restarts, you should see a prompt along the lines of "press any key to start installation"... and obviously, you just hit any button—maybe Enter... once it loads up, follow that tutorial link you posted earlier. The most critical part of that whole process is handling the partitions—you really need to delete the old partition(s) and create a brand new one so you're doing a totally clean install of Windows XP. You usually handle that through the D: drive option, and since there are pictures in the guide, you should be fine...

Thanks for the help, but honestly, it's not working... 😢
I already did the first part—downloaded ImgBurn and burned the Windows files—but when I restart, it just boots right back into my old Windows and shows that same error message again. And as soon as I click OK, it just loops back to the beginning... 😢

Hey, shoot me a PM when you get a chance.

yeah 😁