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**TheOutcaste** · 05-13-2009, 04:18 AM

First, what are the specs for that PC? Will it even run XP is a usable manner?
While the minimum specs for XP are pretty low, it will run like a dog on some older systems.
Best to have at least a PIII 700MHz or faster processor.
256 MiB RAM (increasing to 384-512 will make a very noticeable difference) 1GiB is even better.
20 GiB hard drive. For example, XP, Office 2003, and Norton SystemWorks 2003 easily takes 10 GiB

The Invalid System disk error means either you didn't save the setting to boot from CD first, or the XP disk is not bootable, and it falls through to the HD, which doesn't have an OS any more. double check the BIOS settings, and try booting with the disk on another PC to verify the CD is bootable.

If you are going to install XP and the CD won't boot I'd recommend using the XP setup floppies rather than a DOS/Win9x floppy. This will let you format the partition as NTFS rather than FAT32 for one thing.
XP Floppy images can be downloaded from Microsoft
Be sure to get the version that matches the Service Pack on the CD.
To check the Service Pack included on a CD, check the root of the CD for these files:
WIN51
WIN51IP
WIN51IP.SPX
The P is XP Pro, if it's C it's XP Home
The X is the Service Pack Number. If that last file is not present, it has no Service Pack.

HTH

Jerry

05-13-2009, 04:18 AM	#5 (permalink)
TheOutcaste TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 815 OS: MS-Dos 6.22 - Win7	Re: win ME upgrade to win xp First, what are the specs for that PC? Will it even run XP is a usable manner? While the minimum specs for XP are pretty low, it will run like a dog on some older systems. Best to have at least a PIII 700MHz or faster processor. 256 MiB RAM (increasing to 384-512 will make a *very* noticeable difference) 1GiB is even better. 20 GiB hard drive. For example, XP, Office 2003, and Norton SystemWorks 2003 easily takes 10 GiB The Invalid System disk error means either you didn't save the setting to boot from CD first, or the XP disk is not bootable, and it falls through to the HD, which doesn't have an OS any more. double check the BIOS settings, and try booting with the disk on another PC to verify the CD is bootable. If you are going to install XP and the CD won't boot I'd recommend using the XP setup floppies rather than a DOS/Win9x floppy. This will let you format the partition as NTFS rather than FAT32 for one thing. XP Floppy images can be downloaded from Microsoft Be sure to get the version that matches the Service Pack on the CD. To check the Service Pack included on a CD, check the root of the CD for these files: WIN51 WIN51IP WIN51IP.SPX The P is XP Pro, if it's C it's XP Home The X is the Service Pack Number. If that last file is not present, it has no Service Pack. HTH Jerry __________________ Microsoft MVP - Windows Desktop Experience Of course I know all the answers; I just don't always match the answers to the right questions. Rated R for Violence -- When your PC flies through a window, that's violent, right?