have you simply tired hookup up an external CD drive to the usb port?

http://komku.blogspot.com/2008/11/install-windows-xp-using-usb-flash-disk.html

http://www.pctipsbox.com/installing-windows-xp-using-a-usb-flash-drive/

heres a couple tutorials on doing it from a flash drive

I have worked with the beetle before and if memory serves me correctly you can open the case and connect an IDE cd rom drive to install the OS

Blimey that was quick.

Ah yes good point, I did try that.  Sadly the wee beastie just doesn't boot on anything in the USB port.  I even tried a bootable USB stick, no joy.  

Just to clarify, you did try using an IDE cdrom?

The problem is that the only available IDE slot inside the machine is one of those nice 44 pin jobs, not your normal size.  So of course I don't have an IDE cable that fits.  The IDE cable to the HDD has only one port on it so I can't hang a CD-ROM of that either.
Tad frustrating.

How about if I try using the Windows XP 6 disk install that MS provide? will that give me USB support so that I can plug in a USB CD-ROM ? any ideas...........

you need one of these to connect both your HDD and your ROM drice at the same time
http://www.cablesonline.net/162dr44pinid.html

and one of these to connect your CD ROM to the cable
http://tekgems.com/Products/et-32282-ada-adp2535s-bulk.htm

you would also need a 40 or 80 conductor cable which will connect the ROM drive to the adaptor.

simply it will be like this:

motherboard->44 pin dual socket cable.
1st conenctor of the dual socket cable->HDD
2nd connector of the dual socket cable->adaptor->40/80 conductor cable-> CDROM drive

hathehariken.

Ah I see where your coming from.  A slight change though, the 44pin male is on the motherboard, with standard 40 pin male on both HDD and CDROM.  So I would need the adapter in the second link :
http://tekgems.com/Products/et-32282-ada-adp2535s-bulk.htm
plugged into the motherboard (if it will fit) and then a standard dual connected ribbon cable for the HDD and the CDRom plugged into that.
I'll give it a go and see. - back in a bit.

of course - you are right.

i skipped a lot of the thread when i was reading it, so i may have missed the part where you mentioned the HDD was a 3.5/40 IDE.
no matter - if you convert 44 to 40 on the motherboard you get 80 conductor IDE (ATA133) on the cable (if your mobo supports it)

you may need to snip away a little bit of the convertor PCB to make it fit on the motherboard (mind the copper tracks on the PCB)
better would be to add a 44F-44? cable to the mix.
connect the convertor to the mobo with the cable.

then you can do whatever!

i know - lots of cable, risk of CRC errors. but chances are pretty low
if you get a lot of "disk not accessible" or somesuch, wrap the cables in alluminium foil. and ground the foils to the 0V bus.

hathehariken.

Hey guys, thanks to everyone who suggested things, I have a working solution now though.  I went for the simple approach, USB external CD-ROM and the windows XP build floppy disks.  Boot with the external CDROM plugged in, by the time it reaches disk 6 it has found the external CDROM and I'm ready to roll.
So thanks to everyone again, your efforts are very much appreciated.