What kind of computer is this? Dell/HP/etc?

Have you tried starting up the computer with a windows disc in the cd drive? IE, turn on the computer, put the cd in, turn off the computer, then turn it back on? If it does not start windows, then you need to change the boot order in BIOS so that it looks at the CD drive first instead of the hard drive.

Does anything AT ALL come up before you get to the GRUB screen? Something that flashes and says "Press esc to enter setup" or similar?

The delete key is only one of several ways that computers use to get into the BIOS. The manual for your computer should have this info---if not, may be on their website. (I think someone already asked you to identify what the computer is.)

To install Windows on a computer with Linux, you sometimes have to first delete all the partitions. This can be done from any number of utility CDs or a linux live CD.

Don't expect people here to send you e-mail. The whole purpose of the forum is to share the answers with all members.

I can appreaciate your frustration but--if you want to fix it yourself and your want us to help-- you will need to be patient and follow some steps.

ok i have gotten somewhere.. kinda.. i figured out it was F12 (the computer is a dell btw).. i got to the screen you were talking about.. and the boot sequence was in the right order you said it should be in.. i exited and saved the sequence.. and it went right back to the grub screen.. so now what should i do.. yes the windows cd is in the cd drive and everything.. for some reason tho it is not reading the cd first. even tho the sequence is right

o and i dont want any of that information on there.. like i said that computer has not been used in a couple of years bc it has been stuck on that screen .. so that information is well forgoten so i dont need it..

OK, so the CD Rom is the first boot device? That's good.

Now, you must have a windows install cd in the drive when you turn on the computer, if not, it will just skip to GRUB again.

OK, too many helpers, so I'm bowing out. But, I'll watch the thread to make sure progress is made.

k thank you quakeboy for your help!!

um.. well the sequence has been set right this whole time and it still is not loading the cd first.. it still goes to the grub screen..

k now no one is saying anything!

Well I'm at work so I'm trying to help as much as I can when I get a chance to check in.

With the Windows disc in the drive, with the CD drive as the first boot device in BIOS, it should boot the cd.

Actually, look carefully...once the BIOS screen appears, it may say "Press any Key to Boot From CD..." for a few seconds before it goes to GRUB, look to see if that comes up, and hit enter or whatever when and if it does.

i went to the boot menu and went to the cd rom and it says strike F1 to retry boot or F2 for setup utility.. so i dont think its reading the cd for some reason..

Are you sure you have the Windows boot CD in the drive? Is it possible you have some other Windows disk in there? Can you tell me the name on the CD? Also, do you hear it spin up as if the laptop is trying to read it?

the cd is the one that came with the computer.. its from dell... and it says operating system at the top.. and it says reinstallation cd microsoft windows xp home edition including service pack 1 .. and im not sure if its spinning when i turn on the computer.. but the light by the disk drive is blinking.. so that means its reading it right?!

Is the "strike F1 to retry or F2...." screen after the cd loads or are you talking about the bios?

If it's the cd, then press F2 and see if that begins the xp setup.

the cd never loads.. its on the boot menu.. and i scroll down to cdrom and hit enter and then it tells me that.. i have tried F1 to retry boot and it just keeps poppng up with the same text.. then i hit F2 and it brings me to the setup menu.. or bios or whatever its called

Normally you can hear the CDROM spin up and down when the machine reads it. It's sort of a whirring sound. It's important to know whether you can hear that or not. There also should be an LED on the laptop that shows when the CDROM is being read. The manual should tell you which one. That should blink a bit before it goes to the grub display. At this moment, the only two things I can think of are that 1) you misunderstood and the CDROM is not being read before the hard disk, or 2) the CDROM drive is bad. I just had a CDROM drive fail on 9 year old laptop, so it happens.

well the light does flash.. and i got my pregnant ass down there on its level and listened and it is spinning.. so i know it is reading it.. and i have the order right i have checked many times.. and the cd drive worked when the computer was still being used.. thats how we downloaded linux was off of cds.. so i know it was working when the computer was working.. unless that thing can go out while the computer is not being used then i dont know.. but thank you for all of yalls help!!!!!!! it got me some what somewhere lol!! its just not reading the cd for some reason