There are several different ways to install Windows XP Home or XP Professional. The following write-up discusses those ways, the benefits and disadvantages to each and the screens that you can expect to see during the "DOS" or "Blue Screen" portion of the setup.
These screen shots are from an XP Home installation, but they are identical to XP Pro.
Boot from CD
Boot from Setup Boot Floppy set
Install from CD
Over the Network
Install from GUI with Autoplay or from Run
Install using drive imaging
Install using RIS (Remote Installation Service)
Boot from Setup Boot Floppy set
Install from CD
Over the Network
Install from GUI with Autoplay or from Run
Install using drive imaging
Install using RIS (Remote Installation Service)
Starting an install in this manner eliminates the need to have a partitioned and formatted hard drive prior to installation. Probably on of the most foolproof methods for beginners.
Verify that your first boot device is your CD-ROM drive. Do this by entering CMOS setup. The method for entering CMOS and the actual location of this screen will vary depending on your brand of computer. Consult your motherboard documentation.
Place you CD in your drive and turn on your computer. Setup will start and copy the necessary files into RAM. You will then get the first screen. Press ENTER to begin the installation. The remaining steps are identical no matter how you started the installation.
Boot from Setup Boot Floppy set
Starting an install in this manner eliminates the need to have a partitioned and formatted hard drive prior to installation.
Create the 6 setup boot disks from the file available from Microsoft. Get the files for XP Home or XP Professional from here. You will need