desperate to install windows--not getting "format" screen??

[amac78]

I'm a doctoral student in psychometrics, and I HAVE TO use Word 2007 to read and edit my advisor's papers (because of the equation editor). Here's the problem:

I have a brand-new copy of Windows XP Pro. I've used boot camp to partition the drive, and begin the installation process. I get to the first blue screen, where I choose the "C: Bootcamp" partition (which already says FAT32 next to it). Once I've selected that drive, it automatically starts the install. Everything seems to go fine. Then it goes to a black screen where I get the message that there is a "disk error." At this point, the computer is frozen, and I have to do a hard restart. If I boot back into Windows, I get the same message.

I've read about 20 different articles/posts/etc about this and they all emphasize that you have to format the drive using windows. And they all say that this occurs on a second blue screen that follows the choice of the partition. I've never seen this screen! Why does my computer skip it, and how can I get back into it??

BTW-On the first screen, the only thing I'm able to do is use the arrows to select up/down and "enter," none of the other keys do anything (not sure if this is important)

Ideally, I'd love to keep my mac "uncontaminated" by windows, so if anyone knows how I could make Word 2004(mac) fully compatible with Word 2007(PC), that would be really appreciated. Annoyingly, Word 2008 (mac) seems to be worse than 2004 in this.

 

[gr8tfly]

On the screen where you select the "C:" drive, there should be a question about using existing format. I'm doing this from memory (I don't do Windows often these days), so I might be off a bit, but that's what I recall.

I'm assuming your copy of XP is SP2 or later. If it isn't, you won't be able to successfully install it.

You might also consider getting a virtualization app such as Parallels, so you can run Windows concurrently with OS-X. Since you're mainly concerned with running Word 2007, it would be much more convenient and productive (you don't need to reboot) to run it in a virtual environment. Parallels also has a "coherent" mode, whereby your Word 2007 windows run directly in the OS-X environment (no XP desktop).

Edit: If you don't have a XP SP2 (or later) disk, you can still install it in Parallels, then update it to SP3 after installation. Boot Camp requires a SP2 disk to install - Parallels doesn't care.