Boot with the Windows CD

My PC got hit with a pretty nasty virus, and the damage was so severe that I had to wipe my hard disk clean. Now I'm trying to reinstall Windows, but my PC won't boot off the CD. How else can I install this thing?

Normally, you're supposed to install (or reinstall) Windows from within Windows. With
Windows running, pop the CD into your drive, and Setup should start automatically. This is the method of choice if you're upgrading to a newer version of Windows or simply reinstalling your existing version to fix some problems, since Setup is able to preserve your settings (desktop icons, colors, etc.), as well as installed applications and data.

Note: On some modern PCs, you can press F12 at startup to show a list of possible boot devices; from here, choose your CD drive to boot off the Windows CD for this session.

Of course, on a PC without any working copy of Windows, you'll have to do a "clean install," which typically requires that you boot your computer directly off the Windows CD. However, for this to work your PC must be configured to check your CD drive for bootable discs before booting off the hard disk, and most PCs aren't set up this way by default.

To change the default boot device for this and all subsequent boots, restart your computer. Immediately before the Power On Self Test (POST) "beep," press the key on your keyboard (usually Del, F1, F2, or Esc) used to enter your PC's BIOS setup screen. Refer to your computer's manual for details about your system's BIOS setup.
Once inside Setup, navigate to the "Boot" or "Startup" section (see Figure) with the cursor keys. Using the keys indicated on the screen (usually in a legend at the bottom), move your CD or DVD drive so that it is listed before your hard disk (a.k.a. HDD). Setup screens vary widely, so consult your manual for specific instructions.

When you're done, save your settings and reboot (usually by pressing Esc, F10, or the End key). When your PC reboots, it should poll your CD drive and check for a bootable CD. If the XP CD is in the drive, you'll be asked to "Press the spacebar to boot off CD." Press the spacebar, and in a few seconds you should see a series of unfriendly messages (white text on a black screen) that indicate that Windows Setup is loading.

If your PC won't boot off the XP CD, chances are that your CD or DVD drive is one of the astonishingly large percentage of drives that don't properly support bootable CDs. If you can't get yours to work, try a different drive. Another possibility is that your PC didn't come come with a real Windows CD, but rather something called a restore disc.

Note: When you've successfully installed the operating system, follow the above procedure to change your BIOS settings again, reinstating the hard disk as the default boot device.