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I tried to reinstall Windows XP on my Lenovo S10e netbook, but I got this error:

No previous version of Windows NT can be found on your computer. Setup cannot verify that you qualify to install this upgrade product. To quit setup, press F3

This notebook has no optical drive, so I am installing XP via an USB pendrive.

Hennes
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malakrsnaslava
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  • You say reinstall, but was XP on that computer previously? – Xavierjazz Jul 25 '14 at 15:23
  • Yes it was, I dont know wich service pack – malakrsnaslava Jul 25 '14 at 15:24
  • MS-XP, MS-Vista, MS-Windows7, MS-Windows8, MS-Windows2000 plus some others are all NT. It looks like it is looking for one of these. Microsoft products are proprietary, as such you are not free to use them as you wish. One such lack of freedom is in installing the software, it does not matter that you have paid for it, you have to follow the rules. – ctrl-alt-delor Jul 25 '14 at 15:27
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    You are using an CD with an upgrade from a previous windows installation (e.g. NT or w2k) to XP. If you try to do that on a clean disk (e.g. after repartitioning and formatting) then this will not work. – Hennes Jul 25 '14 at 15:27
  • Also, is that the full error or do you get this?

    `Setup cannot find a previous version of Windows installed on your computer. To continue, Setup needs to verify that you qualify to use this upgrade product.

    Please insert your Windows NT 3.51 Workstation, Windows NT 4.0 Workstation, Windows 95, or Windows 98 CD into your CD-ROM drive. When the CD is in the drive, press ENTER. To quit Setup, press F3.`

     – Hennes Jul 25 '14 at 15:32
  • No, I wrote the full error. – malakrsnaslava Jul 25 '14 at 15:33
  • @Hennes so, you are saying that I should get other XP copy and try again? How should I know wich one is not an upgrade ? – malakrsnaslava Jul 25 '14 at 15:40
  • What I should say is "do not install XP. It was mainstream end of life since 2009. Now, (2014), there are no more public security upgrades for XP. Which means that you should keep computers with XP off the network. Glue shut USB ports to prevent potentially infected pen drives. Remove the wireless card.Poor glue in the wired NIC port, ..."

    Ofcourse I realise that sometimes you just want an OS on something and that people are not willing to pay for a recent windows OS, nor willing to use one of the many free options (e.g. BSD, Linux).

     – Hennes Jul 25 '14 at 21:08
  • Just realise that your new XP install will be very vulnerable and never use that netbook with any passwords (e.g. no logging into gmail, no internet banking etc etc). Just running a local game on it without a network is fine though.

    To get XP on that, consider these options:

    1. Get an external USB CDROM and a right OEM XP CD (one from Lenovo, with a key pre-entered in combination with your netbooks BIOS). YOu can probably order these from Lenovo, though they will check if XP was the OS when you bought the netbook.
     – Hennes Jul 25 '14 at 21:09
  • Get a legal XP CoA en CD combination. That is indeed a regular, normal XP installation CD (preferably one with SP3 included). The CoA is what people often call the 5-part key.

    • Note that these two must match. E.g. a CoA for XP home will not work on an XP home CD.

    1. Or better get hold of a legal windows 7 iso. LEGAL link here. You will need a legal key for that. which is affordable if you are a student. Than configure win7 to look and act as XP.
    – Hennes Jul 25 '14 at 21:12
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    Failing all of that, consider Linux, one of the BSDs, or just buy windows 8.1. Just do not use XP. Note that all of these (as well as windows 7) can be installed from an USB pen drive with no need for an optical drive). – Hennes Jul 25 '14 at 21:15