reformat c?

ab777, Did you set up your CD-Rom as the first boot device in the BIOS? You can find the directions here by looking under Installing/Reinstalling XP.

I tried reinstalling xp with no luck...i need to clean (format) my c drive so I can start from scratch.

ab777,

During the installation you must delete the C:\ partition, create a new C:\ partition from the unpartitioned space that results, partition it, then complete the installation of XP. After that is done, install drivers (chipset driver first), the applications. A format before the installation will not do anything different than a format during the installation. If you did not delete and recreate C:\ then format it, your reinstallation didn't clean any problems off the hard disk.

ab777,

Formatting is an integral part of the installation of XP. You say you tried reinstalling with no luck. What failed to work with the reinstallation? Did you receive any error messages?

there were no error messages but even after the reinstallation...my computer is still running incredibly slow...this is the problem I am trying to fix by formating...?