How to Cancel a Windows XP Install
- 1). Press the "F3" key on the "Welcome to Setup" screen to cancel the Windows XP installation. This is your first chance of many to bail out of the installation.
- 2). Press the "Esc" key on the "Licensing Agreement" screen to disagree with the Licensing Agreement and return to the "Welcome to Setup" screen, where you can press "F3" to quit.
- 3). Press "F3" on the "Install" or "Delete Partition" screen. If you're not creating a partition, this is your final chance to cancel the Windows XP installation. If you are creating a partition, you'll get a few other chances.
- 4). Press the "Esc" key on the screen that prompts you to confirm the deletion of the partition you're creating to return to the "Install" or "Delete Partition" screen, where you can quit the installation by pressing "F3."
- 5). Press "Esc" on the second partition deletion confirmation screen that says, "You asked Setup to delete the partition." This will send you back to the previous screen, where you can press "F3" to go to the screen before that and cancel with the "Esc" key.
- 6). Press the "F3" key on the "Install" or "Create a Partition" screen to quit the installation.
- 7). Press "Esc" to cancel the creation of a partition and go back to the "Install" or "Create a Partition" screen, where you can quit with "F3."
- 8). Press "F3" on the screen that says, "The following list shows the existing partitions and unpartitioned space on this computer."
- 9). Press the "Esc" key on the screen that prompts you to select the file system you want to use to format the partition you've chosen. This is the final chance for you to cancel the installation without having to eject the installation CD or turn off the computer in an inappropriate manner during the installation process. Ejecting the CD or turning off the computer can cause the computer to have a partially complete operating system in place and leave it in a state where it can't be used without restarting and finishing the installation.
Source...