I tried installing Mandrake Linux 8.2 on my Compaq Presario 1720US
laptop w/XP. The only thing appearing on the screen after reboot is "i
01 01 01...". Used the Compaq Restore Disks to reinstall XP. XP
reinstalls OK according to the Dialog boxes. When I remove the 3rd XP
CD and reboot, "i 01 01 01..." is all that appears. How do I get XP to
come up?

sugarbear777-ga,
It sounds like the linux boot partition/boot loader is the thing
that's giving you problems.  Basically, Linux and Windows uses a very
different booting system and sometimes the linux boot loader (LILO) is
left over.  The simplest way to correct this is to use fdisk to remove
all the linux partitions and remake them into FAT32 or NTFS drives. 
If you are looking for simplicity, I recommend you use FAT32 simply
because they are easier to troubleshoot when problems arise.
The "Windows 98 OEM" disk, located at
http://www.bootdisk.com/original.htm should have fdisk on it.  Boot
using the floppy, navigate to the virtual drive that it makes and type
in 'fdisk'
A screen should pop up and contains instructions on how to proceed.
After removing the Linux partitions, reinstall Windows XP and
everything should be fine.

Hope that helps.

-Tox-ga

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Clarification of Answer by tox-ga on 12 Nov 2002 15:22 PST

Another way to remove LILO:
http://www.linuxdocs.org/HOWTOs/LILO-crash-rescue-HOWTO-1.html#ss1.5

You can also do this within the windows XP setup, when it asks you
which drive you wish to install it on.  You can format the linux
partitions into FAT32/NTFS within the setup itself.

-Tox-ga

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Request for Answer Clarification by sugarbear777-ga on 13 Nov 2002 18:21 PST

Ran FDISK twice, reinstalled XP with Compaq QuickRestore Disks. When I
reboot, Compaq logo appears then disappears, the small, blinking,
white rectangular box appears in the upper right hand corner, stays
for 2 seconds then disappears. Compaq logo appears again, disappears
again, box appears again and this cycle keeps repeating until I turn
off the laptop. Any ideas on how to get past this cycle to finish the
setup of XP?

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Clarification of Answer by tox-ga on 14 Nov 2002 21:11 PST

sugarbear777-ga, 
I suspect that after the modification of the MBR using fdisk, your
compaq quickrestore disks may not work as they should.  A clean
windows XP install will be your best bet.  If that is not an option
then ask again for clarification and I'll be glad to find a better
solution.

Hope that helps.
-Tox-ga

good answer. made a XP boot disk to get XP to boot. FDISK did the job
on the Win 98 boot disk.