i did try that.

What happened is it went to the screen asking me to parition drive c:


does that happen before it asks me to install or repair the exisiting xp? i was scared to move beyond...

We apologize for the inconvenience, but Windows did not start successfully. A recent harware or software change might have caused this.

Start in safe mode.
Safe mode with networking.
Safe mode...

I just tried doing what was mentioned above... but when I trying to repair I get:

The Recovery Console provides system repair and recovery functionality.
Type EXIT to quit the Recovery Console...