xp cd is not booting as linux is there in the desktop

[aaaaaarko]

In my home desktop there are 2 partitions for windows xp and redhat enterprise linux 5 server.Right now windows got corrupted and it needs to reinstall,but whenever i insert the windows xp cd it is not booting.plz help

[oz]

Sometimes, the Windows installation CD doesn't want to boot when a Linux bootloader resides on the MBR. If you'll clear the master boot record, your Windows disk should work again.

You can try going to a terminal in Red Hat or booting from a liveCD such as Parted Magic and then run the following command to clear the MBR only, leaving the partition tables intact:

dd if=/dev/zero of=/dev/sda bs=446 count=1

Of course, Windows will write its own bootloader to the MBR leaving you unable to boot into Linux, so you'll need to restore GRUB again after Windows has been repaired.

[devils casper]

You have to remove Linux Boot Loader first. Because of Linux Boot Loader Windows Installation CD/DVD doesn't work in a few machine.

Download SuperGRUB CD or USB and boot up from it. Select Fix Windows Boot Loader. It will remove GRUB ( Linux Boot Loader ) and Windows Installation CD will work after that.
You can re-install GRUB after successful Windows OS installation using SuperGRUB CD or USB.