I have got to boot menu on my xp can not start it from there. i do not have a disk

you can do a clean install from your usb. i use this setup for all my flash drive boots.
WinSetupFromUSB - Install Windows XP from USB Flash Drive

This guide will show you, how to use WinSetupFromUSB to create a bootable USB Flash Drive including all Windows source files, plus the following installation of Windows XP. Compare to the different USB_Multiboot versions, WinSetupFromUSB comes with a Graphical User Interface (GUI) and is in my opinion easier to use.

Here you can get the latest version of the program and you will also find many detailed informations about WinSetupFromUSB.

I've tested this guide with a 32-bit version of Windows XP and a 64-bit version of Windows Vista and it worked flawlessly.
Prerequisites:

All you need is:

a USB Flash Drive with at least 1GB of storage
the original Windows XP Setup CD
WinSetupFromUSB

If you use nLite to slim down your version of Windows XP, please keep the following in mind:
DO NOT remove "Manual Install and Upgrade"
under Operating System Options!

I also recommend to integrate Service Pack 3 into your Windows XP source files.
1. Preparations

Download and install WinSetupFromUSB. Default installation path is C:\WinSetupFromUSB.

Create a new folder with the name WINXPCD in the root directory of drive C:\ and copy all files from your Windows XP Setup CD into this folder. Depending on your version of Windows XP, the content of C:\WINXPCD should look approximately like this:

Content of WINXPCD

The following files will show you, which Service Pack is already integrated into your CD:

WIN51IC.SP1, Sevice Pack 1
WIN51IC.SP2, Sevice Pack 2
WIN51IC.SP3, Sevice Pack 3

2. Start WinSetupFromUSB

Connect the USB Flash Drive to your PC and start WinSetupFromUSB. It should show up under USB Disk Selection :

WinSetupFromUSB - main window
3. Select your Source Path

Click on Browse under Windows 2000/XP/2003 Source and navigate to the folder with your Windows XP Source Files. It should be C:\WINXPCD:

Browse to Folder

Click OK and C:\WINXPCD should show up under Windows 2000/XP/2003 Source :

WinSetupFromUSB - source path
4. Format USB Flash Drive

PeToUSB or HP Format Tool are used to format the USB Flash Drive. There is no need to download these programs seperately as they are already included in WinSetupFromUSB.

USB Flash Drives up to 2GB should be formatted with PeToUSB in FAT16, USB Flash Drives with 4GB or more with HP Format Tool in FAT32.

I will use PeToUSB to format my Kingston Data Traveler with 2GB.

In the main window of WinSetupFromUSB click PeToUSB under Format target using to start the program. The USB Flash Drive should show up under Destination Drive. Check USB Removable, Enable Disk Format and Quick Format. Uncheck Enable File Copy under File Copy Options :

PeToUSB

Click Start and answer the following two questions "Continue?" with Yes.
All existing volumes and data will be lost!

If everything goes well, the message "Operation Completed Successfully!" should appear. Click OK and close PeToUSB.

The process with HP Format Tool is similar.
5. Copy Windows XP Source Files

To start the process of copying the Windows XP source files to the USB Flash Drive, click GO in the main window of WinSetupFromUSB. Depending on the write speed of your USB Flash drive it may take a while to copy all files.

WinSetupFromUSB - file copy

At the end the following notice about the Windows installation process should be displayed:

WinSetupFromUSB - notice

Click OK and close WinSetupFromUSB with EXIT.
6. Windows Installation - Part 1

Connect the USB Flash Drive to your PC and turn on the computer. Press ESC at the boot screen and you will be able to select the USB Flash Drive as your boot device from the boot menu.
The ESC key is used by ASUS for the Eee PC series.
Other manufacturers may use other keys, e.g. F8 or F12.

After booting from USB Flash Drive, the following menu should be displayed:

Windows XP/2000/2003 Setup - First and Second parts

Press Enter or wait 10 seconds to get to the next menu:

First part of Windows XP Home Edition setup
Second part of XP Home Edition setup+Start Windows for first time

First part of Windows XP Home Edition setup is already selected. Press Enter or wait 10 seconds to start the Text mode part of setup. During this part you can create, delete and format partitions and finally the setup files are copied to your hard disk. At the end the system will restart automatically.
7. Windows Installation - Part 2

After restart, boot the PC again from your USB Flash Drive. The same menu should be displayed:

Windows XP/2000/2003 Setup - First and Second parts

Press Enter or wait 10 seconds to get to the next menu:

First part of Windows XP Home Edition setup
Second part of XP Home Edition setup+Start Windows for first time

Second part of XP Home Edition setup+Start Windows for first time is already selected. Press Enter or wait 10 seconds to start the GUI mode part of setup. During this part you will be asked for your product key, timezone, usernames and other necessary informations. At the end the system will restart automatically.
8. Windows Installation - Part 3

After restart, boot the PC again from your USB Flash Drive. The same menu should be displayed:

Windows XP/2000/2003 Setup - First and Second parts

Press Enter or wait 10 seconds to get to the next menu:

First part of Windows XP Home Edition setup
Second part of XP Home Edition setup+Start Windows for first time

Second part of XP Home Edition setup+Start Windows for first time is already selected. Press Enter or wait 10 seconds to Start Windows for the first time. The Windows installation process will be finished and finally the Windows Desktop will appear.
DO NOT disconnect the USB Flash Drive too early!

At next startup you can boot into Windows from your hard disk.
Notes:

After successsful installation, the following boot menu will always be displayed during startup:
Please select the operating system to start:

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
USB Repair NOT to Start Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

If you don't plan to use the repair option and want to boot directly into windows, you have to do the following:

Open the file boot.ini in the root directory of drive C:\ with Notepad:
[Boot Loader]timeout=30
Default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS
[Operating Systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)WINDOWS="USB Repair NOT to Start Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

Delete the following line:
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(1)partition(1)WINDOWS="USB Repair NOT to Start Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
DO NOT delete the wrong line!
Your computer may not boot the next time!

Save changes to the file.

At next startup the boot menu will not be displayed.

If you want to keep the repair option, you can reduce the time to display the operating system options from 30 to 5 seconds:
[Boot Loader]
timeout=5

Save changes to the file.

At next startup the boot menu will be displayed only 5 seconds.

gd luck

Are you trying to install this OS (Operating System) , or is it already installed on a hard drive?
If you are installing it, make sure you change the boot order to the optical drive (DVD drive). If it's already installed, was it installed with an OEM disk? If yes, then you might need a new Windows XP disc. This is because, when using an OEM disc, if you change the hard drive or motherboard, it doesn't really work.

If you just formatted the partition with the second XP installation on there, it should remove the boot menu where you choose which installation to go to.
Here are a few options for you to choose from.

• Option One: Open Start-Run and enter msconfig Click the tab "BOOT.INI" The contents of the boot.ini file are shown and a number of configuration settings are available. Under Operating systems, delete the one you don't want. Be careful not to delete the wrong one.
• Option Two: Right-click on "My Computer" and choose "Properties" from the context menu. The System Properties dialog box will open. In the section "Startup and Recovery" click the button "Settings". To delete the unwanted operating system from the boot display menu, use the "Edit" button on the right of the entry.
  
• Option Three: If the OS is Windows XP Professional, it has a command line utility for manipulating boot.ini called bootcfg.exe.
  Click start, type CMD, click OK and you are presented with the command prompt. Type bootcfg /? It will list the description and parameter list. Once again, you can delete the unwanted OS.
• Option Four: Boot to the XP install disk and open up the command prompt utility of the disk. Enter "fixmbr" and press enter. Restart the computer and remove the disk.
  

Download Hiren Boot cd from http://www.torrentzap.com/torrent/622163/! (9Down.COM) Hiren's BootCD v10.0
Instruction on how to use it...

The disk is downloaded as an ISO file. The ISO files can be burned using software programs such as Nero. Burn the disk to a DVD instead of a CD by using a program such as IMGBurn.

Booting

Once the disk is burned, place it on a DVD or CD drive on the computer and restart the computer. After the computer displays its default first screen, the disk will scan and load the Hiren's Boot menu. The menu gives users three options. The options are to start the computer normally, load Mini Windows XP or load the disk. Choose the disk-loading option to work within the disk parameters and run in DOS. DOS is a simplified process that uses only text. The CD provides shortcuts to each utility.

Mini Windows XP

To clear a virus and use a large collection of Hiren's Boot tools, choose the Mini Windows XP option. A simple version of Windows XP will load on the computer. It might take a few minutes to load everything because it processes files directly from the CD. Once it has loaded, wait for the Hiren's Boot disk menu to pop up. Select the "Menu" option and scroll through the programs. The disk features Windows password hackers, registry cleaners and a large collection of antivirus software.

Antivirus

A main portion of the disk feature antivirus software. Spybot-Search and Destroy scans a computer for the most likely spyware and removes it. Malwarebytes Anti-Malware finds root kit viruses and Trojans that could affect computers and spread through networks. Super Antispyware is an all-in-one scanner that detects and eliminates all types of viruses. Run one scan at a time. Do multiple scans because one program might find a virus that another program misses.

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Have a Nice Day

Try to re-install 2 Operating systems use this order,
1,Install windows XP by booting the XP cd,
2,and then install Win 7 by booting from Win 7 cd.
Then while you restart computer there will be a prompt menu asking to select OS to start. Thanks

Hello #1: Use a Windows startup diskOne of the first things you should reach for when troubleshooting a Windows XP boot problem is a Windows startup disk. This floppy disk can come in handy if the problem is being caused when either the startup record for the active partition or the files that the operating system uses to start Windows have become corrupted.
To create a Windows startup disk, insert a floppy disk into the drive of a similarly configured, working Windows XP system, launch My Computer, right-click the floppy disk icon, and select the Format command from the context menu. When you see the Format dialog box, leave all the default settings as they are and click the Start button. Once the format operation is complete, close the Format dialog box to return to My Computer, double-click the drive C icon to access the root directory, and copy the following three files to the floppy disk:

• Boot.ini
• NTLDR
• Ntdetect.com

After you create the Windows startup disk, insert it into the floppy drive on the afflicted system and press [Ctrl][Alt][Delete] to reboot the computer. When you boot from the Windows startup disk, the computer will bypass the active partition and boot files on the hard disk and attempt to start Windows XP normally.
#2: Use Last Known Good ConfigurationYou can also try to boot the operating system with the Last Known Good Configuration feature. This feature will allow you to undo any changes that caused problems in the CurrentControlSet registry key, which defines hardware and driver settings. The Last Known Good Configuration feature replaces the contents of the CurrentControlSet registry key with a backup copy that was last used to successfully start up the operating system.
To use the Last Known Good Configuration feature, first restart the computer by pressing [Ctrl][Alt][Delete]. When you see the message Please select the operating system to start or hear the single beep, press [F8] to display the Windows Advanced Options menu. Select the Last Known Good Configuration item from the menu and press [Enter].
Keep in mind that you get only one shot with the Last Known Good Configuration feature. In other words, if it fails to revive your Windows XP on the first attempt, the backup copy is also corrupt.
#3: Use System RestoreAnother tool that might be helpful when Windows XP won't boot is System Restore. System Restore runs in the background as a service and continually monitors system-critical components for changes. When it detects an impending change, System Restore immediately makes backup copies, called restore points, of these critical components before the change occurs. In addition, System Restore is configured by default to create restore points every 24 hours.
To use System Restore, first restart the computer by pressing [Ctrl][Alt][Delete]. When you see the message Please select the operating system to start or hear the single beep, press [F8] to display the Windows Advanced Options menu. Now, select the Safe Mode item from the menu and press [Enter].
Once Windows XP boots into Safe mode, click the Start button, access the All Programs | Accessories | System Tools menu, and select System Restore. Because you're running in Safe mode, the only option on the opening screen of the System Restore wizard is Restore My Computer To An Earlier Time, and it's selected by default, so just click Next. Then, follow along with the wizard to select a restore point and begin the restoration procedure.
#4: Use Recovery ConsoleWhen a Windows XP boot problem is severe, you'll need to use a more drastic approach. The Windows XP CD is bootable and will provide you with access to a tool called Recovery Console.
To boot from the Windows XP CD, insert it into the CD-ROM drive on the problem system and press [Ctrl][Alt][Delete] to reboot the computer. Once the system begins booting from the CD, simply follow the prompts that will allow the loading of the basic files needed to run Setup. When you see the Welcome To Setup screen, shown inFigure A, press R to start the Recovery Console.
Please let me know if you have any further questions or concerns.
Thanks.

When formatting a floppy diskette, users have the option of creating a MS-DOS startup disk, follow the below steps to do this.

1. Place diskette in the computer.
   
2. Open My Computer, right-click the A: drive and click Format.
   
3. In the Format window, check Create an MS-DOS startup disk.
   
4. Click Start
   

Boot from your system disc and do windows over again,and then go to format selected partition. First go to your bios and go to boot disk priority then select first boot device on boot from disk. Then exit and safe with changes. Put your system disk in and there you go

Hi, your best bet is to start XP in safe mode, or, if that does not work, do a repair after booting from your installation disk.

To use a Safe Boot option, follow these steps:

1. Restart your computer and start pressing the F8 key on your keyboard. On a computer that is configured for booting to multiple operating systems, you can press the F8 key when the Boot Menu appears.

When you power on your computer, be sure the disk is in the drive. The disk should automatically read and bring you to the xp installation screen. If it does not go to the screen automatically than you will have to enter the boot menu and start windows with disk. To do this hit F10 I believe is the key, if not when your computer starts it should show options at the bottom of the boot screen. Once your at the installation screen for xp its as simple as following the onscreen instructions. Hope this helps.