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How to INSTALL Windows XP Pro from USB Key
Posted on 2005-06-29
I Have a USB Flash Disk and a large number of PC units without Floppy's or CD's or any easy way to put Windows XP Pro on without removing the HDD's and putting them into another PC to get windows XP installed.
The BIOS of these machines can boot by USB and I can get the 'HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool' to put a Windows 98 boot disk on and get into DOS, BUT
1) Windows Setup.exe off the CD won't run from the Dos prompt,
2) I cannot seem to come up with anyway of running, formating & copying, or any other way at all to get XP on via USB.
The Goal is to Boot from a USB key and install (From USB key either directly or by formating HDD after booting from USB & copying locally) windows XP Pro. No CD or Floppy are available on the end machine only USB!
Thanks
Judging by previous experts attempts to come up with a similar solution this is worth considerably more than 500 points.
The BIOS of these machines can boot by USB and I can get the 'HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool' to put a Windows 98 boot disk on and get into DOS, BUT
1) Windows Setup.exe off the CD won't run from the Dos prompt,
2) I cannot seem to come up with anyway of running, formating & copying, or any other way at all to get XP on via USB.
The Goal is to Boot from a USB key and install (From USB key either directly or by formating HDD after booting from USB & copying locally) windows XP Pro. No CD or Floppy are available on the end machine only USB!
Thanks
Judging by previous experts attempts to come up with a similar solution this is worth considerably more than 500 points.
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13 Comments
Have you given any thought to just using a USB CD-ROM Drive?
I know it's a simple answer, but those are the ones that often elude us... :)
I know it's a simple answer, but those are the ones that often elude us... :)
Whilst I havent tried that obvious solution, I could try it, just don't currently posess one, BUT it would still be really great to be able to do it off USB Keys.
Use a Computer with a CD-ROM Drive and copy over the entire contents of the cd to the USB Device, set the USB Device as a boot option before the HDD, the computer should then realize the USB device the same as it would a CD, the only catch is, you have to have a fairly large USB drive.
Josh
Josh
Hi Josh,
That doesn't work, it was one of the first things we tried. the USB device doesnt get picked up as having an MBR or something, just fails to find a bootable device. The only way we have so far been able to create a bootable image is using the HP Tool mentioned.
That doesn't work, it was one of the first things we tried. the USB device doesnt get picked up as having an MBR or something, just fails to find a bootable device. The only way we have so far been able to create a bootable image is using the HP Tool mentioned.
hi mate first make the usb key bootable then copy the i386 folder and all its contence to the usb key boot the computer from the key and when you get to the dos prompt type cd i386 so it looks like this A:\I386 i take A to be the drive letter of the usb key then type winnt.exe hit enter xp shod then start to install
I'm already trying this, but you and I are thinking along the same lines (see http://freepctech.com/pc/002/files010.shtml) and the Windows XP Setup Disks.
I have created the DOS bootup using this images bootsect.bin using the HP Tool. Copying the whole XP CD (as is at the moment, then gonna be running winnt.exe at the end. If this works (I am fairly confident it will), you get the 500 points.
I have created the DOS bootup using this images bootsect.bin using the HP Tool. Copying the whole XP CD (as is at the moment, then gonna be running winnt.exe at the end. If this works (I am fairly confident it will), you get the 500 points.
to install windows xp professtional from dos mode check the following link
http://www.petri.co.il/install_windows_xp_pro.htm
chalapathi
http://www.petri.co.il/install_windows_xp_pro.htm
chalapathi
There *used* to be a non-32-bit version of the NT setup which would run from the DOS command prompt, I dont' have an XP disk handy to see if it's still there but
Look in the "i386" directory of the setup CD (or the image on your ramstick) and look for "winnt32.exe" and "winnt.exe". Either or both may be there. Run them at the DOS prompt with /? and see what the Help says - one or the other may have an option to run from DOS.
Note - for a "normal" install, the *only* option you will need to specify is the "run from dos" option and IF there are two EXEs, then one of them is probably "run from dos" all on its own. However, look at the options, you *may* find that you can automate the setup better if you check some of them out and make yourself a BAT file to start off the install. As you're installing lots of machines you may wish to take this opportunity to simplify things for the future such as
- pre-defining the disk format as NFTS
- moving a copy of the i386 directory to the C drive of the machine for future use
- setting the registry flag to know that the i386 is on the C drive so it doesn't ask for the XP CD in future
etc...
Look in the "i386" directory of the setup CD (or the image on your ramstick) and look for "winnt32.exe" and "winnt.exe". Either or both may be there. Run them at the DOS prompt with /? and see what the Help says - one or the other may have an option to run from DOS.
Note - for a "normal" install, the *only* option you will need to specify is the "run from dos" option and IF there are two EXEs, then one of them is probably "run from dos" all on its own. However, look at the options, you *may* find that you can automate the setup better if you check some of them out and make yourself a BAT file to start off the install. As you're installing lots of machines you may wish to take this opportunity to simplify things for the future such as
- pre-defining the disk format as NFTS
- moving a copy of the i386 directory to the C drive of the machine for future use
- setting the registry flag to know that the i386 is on the C drive so it doesn't ask for the XP CD in future
etc...
Well How about the remote install. Windows supports remote installation of XP Pro. As mentioned, you have large numbers of PC then I think it is a network and all the remote administration and remote installation of XP Pro could be done from Central Location. I don't know but why nobody suggested this option.
Prasmin
Prasmin
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