Installing Windows XP or Vista OS it gives error message?

I have an older Alienware Area-51 laptop and i have an XP and a Vista disk that i have tried but it starts to download on my laptop and then gives an error message. It is on a blue screen and says that a problem has been detected and needs to shut down or damage might occur. What is wrong? I cant figure out what the problem is i am using a legit valid XP disk. can anyone help me out?

 

You don't have a legit Windows XP disc, and I'm assuming you don't have a legit Windows Vista disc either!

 

yes i tried illegally downloading one and stopped. My friend has a legit Windows XP OS that he gave me and he was trying to help me with it. I also have another friend who gave me a Vista upgrade disc but he said it worked as an OS for his dad. theyre legit trust me.

 

Where did/will you get the serial keys from?

 

He never used his XP disc. he said it just came with his laptop and that his laptop already had XP on it so we are assuming it has not been used.

 

If it came with the laptop, it could be specifically for that brand.

 

And specifically for the laptop too!

 

daaannnng. ok well we havnt even gotten to the screen where it asks for a key code. it just is at a blue screen downloading files because my laptop has no OS wutsoever and then it just stops and text says a problem has been detected and needs to shut down or damage might occur.

 

All the hoohawing about whether or not your discs are legal or illegal is probably irrelevant to your problem, which appears to be something like overheating hardware, or some other physical problem that would lead to catastrophic physical damage if the system were allowed to continue running.

When was the last time you ran this thing with an OS installed, and when was the last time you opened it up, cleaned it out thoroughly, and did a good, detailed inspection of the hardware? Dollars to donuts, you've got a GPU that's about to burn out, or the heatsink on the CPU has come loose. Another possible problem is severely damaged/corrupt RAM. From there it just gets worse, leading up to some sort of short-circuit/fault on the motherboard which effectively renders the whole thing useless.

 

If a laptop comes with an OS installed and a disc, the disc is an OEM version that may only be used on the laptop it came with.

An exception may be if you buy 2 identical laptops - at the same time - then recovery discs may be interchangeable between those two.
(With the same OS on both too, when bought)

 

ok so because i have disks that friends gave me, should i possibly try buying the real OS for $100 and then trying that, if that doesnt work would i be able to return the OS to the store i got it from and contact the person i bought the Alienware Area-51 from? Because i have had the laptop less than a week and they accept 14 day returns if there is a problem.

 

my desire to help a complete stranger as a hobby and in the process hopefully learn a little has nothing to do with this members os legality. in fact, although it's another given in the equation that we need to sort through, i would rather deal with the information at face value (even if this person has previous posts and a name that would suggest certain, uh, peg legged behaviour). so as long as you follow forum rules and don't brag about piracy to me, i will help whomever i can.

so back to what we know. you bought an older laptop within the last 2 weeks which didn't work right away? so the seller told you no OS was installed? odd, since when it was originally sold it came with an os, and may even have a windows sticker on the bottom of the machine (not familiar with the aliens).

if that is the case, you should go into bios first and
A. run a memory test
B. verify a hard drive is present.
C. reset to default/original settings.
usually the error you are describing is coming from the hardware and this would be the first place i would look. (the other advice on opening up the case is sound advice, but if you just bought it, and you are relatively new to the game, that may be more trouble that it may be worth.)

 

I'd return it ASAP if I were you; as I mentioned earlier, it sounds like you've got hardware problems - these are generally not the sort of problems you want to stick with if you don't have to because they can get very expensive very quickly on a notebook. Alternatively, run the tests described by petermichaelw to see if you can diagnose what the hardware problem might be.

 

That's exactly what I would do as well. It appears you have hardware issues with that laptop. Either exchange it for another one or get your money back.

 

ok, i will try what petermichael said (btw thanks for the good info peter and shyster). I am not sure how to run the tests like peter described but i will be with my friend tonight who knows a little more than me and if he doesnt know i will post in this topic directions. If that doesnt work i will definitely contact the seller.

 

Good luck!

 

ugh ok it didnt work. i contacted the seller and also notified him i wanted to talk about getting a refund. lets see wut happens