Hi guysWould really appreciate some advice. Am trying to do a clean install of Windows XP using the OEM Windows XP Product Recovery CD I got with my PC. My PC is now 2 years old. I inserted the CD and selected the 'Install Windows XP' option. I get an error message saying that the version of Windows on my PC is newer than the version on the CD and therefore it wont reinstall.I thought that Windows SP2 might be the cause of the problem, but when in go to the Add/Remove Programs facility, i very oddly can't see SP2 on the list(??) How would I therfore uninstall SP2 and SP1 for that matter if i dont see them in the program files list in the Add/Remove options.If i do a search for 'SP1' and 'SP2' files, there are numberous files for both service packs on my PC. So how would I get the disk to recognise the original XP version?Very frustrating. Have backed up everything i need onto flash drives, so am quite prepared to lose the rest. Any help greatly appreciated with getting the reinstall sortedThanksErich

Yeah it does that if you try to install Windows while still "inside" your old Windows install. You need to boot off the CD (you may need to enable this option in the BIOS setup). The DOS-like install screen will allow you to format the drive and install Windows clean.

Jimmie,Out of curiosity, if you reinstall windows do you need to install both SPs or just the SP2?ThanksDom

You only need SP2. All the updates prior to the SP2 release are included.Doug

Make sure if you want to delete everything off the drive to press D at the select partition screen, that will delete the current drive and all your info. Once it's loaded, first thing is get an internet connection going and get the latest display drivers, then go to windows update and get all the updates.

Thanks for your input Doug,Dom

Jimmie and Dom, thanks both for your helpI rebooted from DOS and it worked! Just got my internet back up and running today .PC is much faster now - feels like a new rig.Thanks againErich