How to reinstall Dell Dimension 2400

after installing windows xp from the cd you need to install drivers. first and foremost you need to install the 'chipset' drivers. your machine came with a purple windows xp cd breastled "operating system - already installed on your computer - reinstallation cd". this is probably what you used to get windows installed. you machine also came with two or more blue and white cds (depending on the option you ordered). one of these cds is breastled "drivers and utilities - already installed on your computer - dell dimension resource cd". this one has the chipset, video, sound drives. the other blue and white cds include such things as the modem driver, cd recording software, dvd playback software, antivirus software, etc. if you are missing these blue and white cds then you can download the drivers from support.dell.com. however you can not get the cd recording software or dvd playback software. as for the floppy, you could get an external usb floppy drive from any vendor, or you could get the floppy kit from dell that includes the drive, the bracket for mounting inside of the system, and the data cable to connect it to the motherboard. alternatively, you could get a usb 'key', or 'thumb drive' that you stick into the usb port on the front of the machine and treat as a floppy drive. it easily moves from machine to machine like a floppy is much higher capacity and more reliable.