Did you run that fix from the Recovery Console?

XP can be installed as often as you want. If it is looking for a previous version then it is an Upgrade CD and you need to have a previous version CD to use the Upgrade.

Yes i ran that Recovery console. what does it do? since nothing seems to have changed it still starts up the same.

as i said before... my computer crashes when i try to reinstall windows. it gets stuck on the process of searching for previous versions of Microsoft Windows.

What other options can i do in this situation. And How?..

So far I've tried:
1. System Restoring..Fails to Achieve anything..
2. Using AVG to Scan the computer for any Viruses
3. Attempted to Repair Install.. could not get to that Stage..it crashed on "searching for Previous Versions of Mircosoft Windows.
4. Reinstall Windows.. It crashes on "searching for Previous Versions of Mircosoft Windows.
5. Recovery console. on 1. Windows>Password>FIXMBR...what does this do?..it hasn't done nothing..
6. Booting the computer on safe mode..this is the only thing that works and is my last chance to fix my computer in my sense..yet nothing has solved my problem so far... i'vedone the Run>CMD>CHKDSK. and so on.. yet nothing has been solved.
7. Attempted to Use my OEM Windows XP Service Pack 2 disc..to Reinstall windows through Safe Mode...From there it restarts my computer and starts setup..but again..." searching For Previous Versions of Microsoft Windows"
8. Attempted to Use my OEM disc And to Start up from Disc Drive..to reinstall windows..again this problem it crashes again on " searching For Previous Versions of Windows"

So I'm not sure what to do. i could leave my computer on all night waiting to see if it actually finds those previous Versions of windows..yet i think i would be wasteing time and electricity...because as the beginningof the thread said...this error has been occuring So often that i reinstalled windows for the 4th time now..and now that option has failed to work this time..
I'm not sure if this is a Crash or is it just taking Long to Find them..only got for..and they're mixed up of XP Home and Professional....

This problem : "searching for previous Versions of windows.."
Could this error be because i deleted a Folder that contained all the documents from the older versions of Windows? but it was unable to deleted everthing..it got stuck and was unable to finis off the task.. Don't Know Why...(when i mean a certain folder it was under/ C.Drive /Documents and Settings)..

So what should i do?..so far Stuck..But this Problem needs solving quickly since..even if i manage to reinstall windows again(Which might never happen)..this error may occur agatapping)in and again....since it has happened 4 times already...

Thank You Jephree For the help so Far thou...


ok..I'm coming to a conclusion..since now i've rung up dell customer service and they identified this error to be Hardrive problem...so im going to back up all my files on an external Hardrive, then Get rid of EVERYthing..he told me some steps is he correct?
: CTRL + F11 (Tapping)
-Reinstall Computer to Factory Settings..

Am i doing the right thing?
can you help me otherwise?
Is there any other alternatives...
Because everytime, thye computer gets worse and Worse so...what should i do?

From what I can see (and I do see other examples posted) your multiple versions of XP are hampering any new install. The easiest solution is to get rid of all the different versions and just load one.

If your Dell Factory restore is still intact then yes: go with that. Then delete the other instances of XP.

i have tried this repeatedly and yet it fails to work every time..ive tried different ways of this method...
1. 1st Press and hold CTRL then Press F11.
2.CTRL + F11 Simulataneously.
3.pressing them many times.

how do i execute a Factory Reset..?
Step By Step Guide Would be Great!

so far it seems that it was not meant for my computer.. I've tried again and again..hmm..

Is there any other way to factory Restore?...CTRL F11 is not working..
Because i just want the computer to just have a Clean Hardrive..

You can use GParted to format the hard drive the install XP from a CD.

I would suspect that your Dell Recovery partition has been damaged or perhaps overwritten.

This is from Dell:

Disconnect the modem or network cable (if present) from the system before starting the restore process to help prevent potential complications.
Power the computer on.
When the Dell screen appears, press and hold the <Ctrl> key on the keyboard, press the <F11> key, then release them both at the same time.

NOTE: Press the keys one time only. If you press them more than once, a keyboard error occurs, and the process has to be initiated again.

The Dell PC Restore by Symantec window appears.
Click the Restore button or press the <Tab> key to highlight Restore and press the <Enter> key.
A caution message appears, advising that all data will be lost.
Click the Confirm button or press the <Tab> key to highlight Confirm and press the <Enter> key.
The Progress window appears. Once the process is begun, Dell™ PC Restore usually takes only 8 to 10 minutes to complete.
When the restore is complete, the message The system recovery process was successful appears.
Click the Finish button or press the <Tab> key to highlight Finish and press the <Enter> key.
The computer restarts.
Your software is now installed as it was when you first received your computer.

I rang DELL again...
ok my computer's internal Hardrive is currupted and is unable to be FIXED..this is because we again tried to Execute a Factory Reset and yet it still fails Again....
apparently my Hardrive is Unreadable and everytime i reinstalled windows the Error just got bigger and bigger..until the computer was unable to Fix it...so they are advising me to buy a New Hardrive..An IDE Hardrive...

Thank You Jephree..but is there anyway to seperatly Reset a IDE Hardrive currently in my computer?

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "seperatly Reset a IDE Hardrive currently in my computer".

If you mean moving another IDE hard drive to the Master position and using that then yes. Just set the jumpers to Master and replace the old drive.

I had this same problem, if you have a system that came preinstalled with Windows Xp, home or pro and are using a recovery disk, Windows will not boot using the recovery disk because the recovery disk has Sp1 loaded and, if you have Sp2 on your system, you have to remove Sp2 first and then use the recovery disk and then be real careful installing service pack 2.

I have Windows Xp Home Edition and their should be a partition on your disk that lets you reinstall Windows and its much faster than if you used a Windows Xp disk, it only took 10 minutes on my machine and I was up and running, but I had to reinstall Sp2.

In BIOS(CMOS) change the first boot device to your CD-Rom drive, Save and Exit.

Put your recovery disk in your CD-Rom, and follow the on screen instructions.

Their should be 3 Recovery options to choose from.

Jephree i meant if i was to dismantle my Hardrive and was to give it to a technician, is there a probability of them being able to fix it..
But dell are telling me that this hardrive is unfixable...but i think this is because they are unable to do anymore tests through the phone..

The odd thing is..my computer is a real Freak of Technology..it NOW starts up perfectly...i seriously do not know Why thou..today someone else switched it on, without my permission, but some how they got it to work..i was like..WOW they must really have the magic touch..
My assumption is that i have moved a Major corruption of some sort into my Portable hardrive...since i did want to Factory reset my computer, so therefore i moved all my important files to the Portable Hardrive ..
but seriously..I can really Predict that this error is going to happen again...

Thank You Jephree!

Winnipeg - i Don't think i have a Recovery disk or was it suppose to come with my package maybe?..i Don't know?
It took you 10 minutes to Reinstall Windows, well it sounds like hmm.. maybe a Repair install...but still 10 minutes sounds short to me..mine normally takes 56mins - 1 Hr..and thats for repair install, other wise longer...but yeah as i have said before i am unable to reinstall windows..

Thank You Winnipeg for information about the recovery disk!