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 »  Home  »  Hardware  »  Install XP from DOS
Install XP from DOS
By  Super Admin  | Published  02/25/2005 | Hardware | Rating:
Install XP from DOS

try these:


Install Windows XP from the hard drive with Windows 98 already installed:

Boot Windows 98
Insert the XP CD into your CD reader
Explore Windows XP through My Computer
Copy i386 folder to C:\
Go into C:\i386 folder and double click on winnt32.exe to launch the setup from the hard drive

Install Windows XP from DOS (ie. no OS on a new hard drive):

Boot with a Windows 98 Start Up disk
Insert the Windows 98 CD into the CD reader
Run smartdrv.exe from the Win98 directory on the windows 98 CD (file caching)
Type cd.. to back up to the root directory
Insert Windows XP CD into the CD reader
Copy the i386 folder to C:\
Go into C:\i386 folder on C: and type winnt.exe to launch the setup from the hard drive.
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Comments
  • Comment #1 (Posted by an unknown user)
    Rating
    Because a lost a lot of time trying install XP from a bootable CD. But the CD will not boot on the target computer because of "non-emulation booting" problem. And there is almost no article which explains how to circumvent that. In addition I don't knew that there was a method (very simple) to install XP from DOS. Now I know it...Thanks very much
     
  • Comment #2 (Posted by an unknown user)
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    typing winnt to install xp in dos was all I need. Thank you
     
  • Comment #3 (Posted by an unknown user)
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    You neglect to mention that when copying the i386 folder to the C: to run the install on a new drive (with no OS) that the partition must first be formatted with the FAT32 file system. Then if a NTFS XP system is wanted, you should outline how to accomplish that by creating a larger partition and formatting it with NTFS for the install. The tools to do that are on the XP install disk.
     
  • Comment #4 (Posted by an unknown user)
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    How can I boot from a XP cd which is not bootable and not have any OS at it?
     
  • Comment #5 (Posted by an unknown user)
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    not for amateurs like me ! very economic in details... I need more
     
  • Comment #6 (Posted by an unknown user)
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    why don't you explain how you "double-click" on a file in DOS? I know what you mean, but I'm a lot people are left hanging. And since Dos, is so ancient, you need to list the proper DOS commands needed to created a new directory and copy files to another hard drive.
     
  • Comment #7 (Posted by an unknown user)
    Rating
    Excellent - straightforward and to the point. I knew the basic idea, but had forgotten the 'smartdrv' command prior to running 'winnt'. Gets my Thinkpad 240X (no CD drive) back running with a pristine XP installation. Many thanks.
     
  • Comment #8 (Posted by an unknown user)
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    thank you sooooooooooooooooooooooo very much whoever posted Comment #3 ... i'd totally forgotten about formatting since i had to use an eraser boot disk to clean the hardrive.
     
  • Comment #9 (Posted by an unknown user)
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    thx, had forgot which file, god i love linux live cd's
     
  • Comment #10 (Posted by an unknown user)
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    not in detail!! very bad
     
  • Comment #11 (Posted by an unknown user)
    Rating
    I'm pretty stupid. this helped a lot.
     
  • Comment #12 (Posted by an unknown user)
    Rating
    I got round it on a HP Pavilion non-emulation by installing windows 2000 then upgrading to XP with my copied disc. Might be a bit of a numpty way of going about it, but the end result is the same!
     
  • Comment #13 (Posted by Mekash Gerki)
    Rating
    I tried to as you have tols me to but I could not as it saays An internal srtup error has ocurred. Could not find a place for a swap file. Could this be because I have no FAT system? I have no idea if I have FAT system or not.
     
  • Comment #14 (Posted by an unknown user)
    Rating
    Could you install XP in this way?:)
     
  • Comment #15 (Posted by an unknown user)
    Rating
    to me, l think that's cool but my problem is that after have partition your hard drive with your startup disk and then booting with cd-rom support. From dos how can you install winxp without booting my system with the cd. by margmagnet@gmail.com
     
  • Comment #16 (Posted by an unknown user)
    Rating
    exactly what I needed. Thanks to who wrote this guide.
     
  • Comment #17 (Posted by Samsul)
    Rating
    For that guy with the Internal Error, I think its because your hard drive is in ntfs format. You have to use FDISK to remove it and make it FAT or use a partition program like PartitionMagic.
     
  • Comment #18 (Posted by angel nikolov)
    Rating
    ok
     
  • Comment #19 (Posted by an unknown user)
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    Excellent!
     
  • Comment #20 (Posted by an unknown user)
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    THIS IS WHAT I AM LOOKING FOR THanks a lot ............ love u
     
  • Comment #21 (Posted by an unknown user)
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    This one is awesome tip... I was trying to install XP on my laptop. I didnt have a A: and XP CD would not boot. I was great to know thing after a day of trying all the options I had. Well, good learning. Thanks, -Ravi
     
  • Comment #22 (Posted by vikram)
    Rating
    y can't we run it directly from the cd??
     
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