[Musjunk22]

I just switched from Red Hat Linux to Windows XP because I was tired of the incompatibilities with programs. I popped in my XP disc and set BIOS to boot from cd, I fromatted my hd and the installer started. At the side, the installation is at the "Preparing Installation" stage, At this point a message pops up saying:
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FATAL ERROR
An error has been encountered that prevents Setup from continuing.

Setup was unable to retriev the Product Identification of the system you are installing.The Windows XP media may be damaged

Please Contact Product Support
Press OK to view the Setup log file.
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The Log File Says:
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Fatal Error:
Setup was unable to retrieve the Product ID because of the following error: RegOpenKeyEx(SYSTEM\Setup\Pid) returned error 2 (2)

***

Fatal Error:
Setup was unable to retrieve the Product Identification
of the system you are installing. The Windows XP media may be damaged.
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What's wrong? I had this OS from the same cd on this computer before. Should I do a Full format instead of a Quick?

[wannabe_hacker]

I think when you do a quick format, it only erases the FAT system or the equivelent to NTFS. Doing a full format would erase all data and allow you to choose another file system. I would just do a full format of your HD.

[Musjunk22]

ok thanks, I'll go try it.

[wannabe_hacker]

Are you sure you want to delete everything. If so, I would back up anything you need in order to save time and/or money down the road.