You need to format the hard disk to rid yourself of the previous operating
system. At the moment you have an amalgam of the two and XP is in charge
and that is why it is requiring you to activate.

Have a look at the Microsoft Knowledge Base article 255867 - "How to Use
the
Fdisk Tool and the Format Tool to Partition or Repartition a Hard Disk"
(http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=255867) as well as the file
CLEANHD.TXT
which is in the Win 9x folder on the Win Me CD. This should help you get
started.
--
Mike Maltby
MS-MVP Windows



coffeestain wrote:

Well when I said reformatting, all I did was boot up from the disk and
reinstalled ME. I thought that cleaned the hard drive off by
reloading a new operating system. The exact msg. is "windows product
activation must be activated with microsoft". What should I do to
ensure the hard drive is completely wiped clean before I reinstall?