The only purpose of a parallel Install is to save your personal data. There is no guarantee that this will be successful. A parallel install is only possible if the hard drive partition is intact and the system is free of viruses. If the partition is corrupted/not recognized by the Windows Setup, then a parallel install is not possible. This procedure is not a fix to a problem and actually may cause more problems. After the parallel install, you will need to do a clean re-install. You will basically have two operating systems on your computer. Some programs will not function because of it. If you can't get into windows but have files that you need to save and a reinstall is your only option, you can try this procedure. If you have no files you need to save then Don't bother with this procedure.

NOTE: This is not a fix for your issue. Just an attempt to access the desktop so you might be able to save your data.

The following is for Windows XP, the procedures may be similar for other versions of the operating system as well.

OS install issues - Known issues that can prevent windows from installing

Follow these steps...

1. Turn the computer off.
2. Disconnect all unnecessary external devices from the computer such as printers, scanners, cameras, external CD-ROM, and external hard drives.
3. Locate your windows XP CD and any driver disks that you have for your system.
4. Boot to the BIOS
5. Set your system to boot to a CD
6. Insert your Windows XP CD
7. Save and exit the BIOS.
8. Press the Spacebar when the message "Press any key to boot to CD" shows up (you have to be quick or you will miss the screen)
9. When you see the Welcome to Setup, Press Enter.
10. Press F8 on the Windows XP Licensing Agreement.
11. A screen appears, showing the hard drive partitions.
12. Highlight the Windows partition using the arrow keys, and press the Enter key.
13. Press the letter C to use the partition.
14. Highlight Leave the current file system intact (no changes)
15. Press Enter
16. Press the ESC key to use a different folder (very important)
17. Change the installation location from \Windows to \Windows Parallel.
18. Press the Enter key.
19. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation.
20. Do not use the same profile name as you did on the first install of windows.
21. for the user name, give it a different name than your first install of windows. If your windows user name was John on the first install, do not name your user name John on this one or you will loose your data. Name it something else.

You may have to load drivers in order to get devices to work.

Once you have the files you want to save, click here for instructions on re-installing the operating system correctly.