Can't boot XP Home CD -- workaround?

  • Thread starter Thread starter John Crankshaw
  • Start date Start date
J

John Crankshaw

For some reason, I can't boot from CDs on my laptop. I can boot an
"Essential Boot" from floppy and read the XP cd in the CD drive.

I need to de-partition my hard drive and format it. Can't I boot from
floppy, then start the install with the program that formats etc. the hard
drive?

John
 
In order to boot from the Windows XP CD,
you must open the BIOS and set the CD Drive
as the first bootable drive.

Clean Install Windows XP
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/

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:

| For some reason, I can't boot from CDs on my laptop. I can boot an
| "Essential Boot" from floppy and read the XP cd in the CD drive.
|
| I need to de-partition my hard drive and format it. Can't I boot from
| floppy, then start the install with the program that formats etc. the hard
| drive?
|
| John
 
turn on laptop,keep pressing either del continously or ctrl+alt+del till the
bios apears go to boot then make cd-rom your first boot device,this then
should allow you to boot from cd.if you wish to boot from floppy the same
applies just make floppy your first boot device,save and exit from bios.
 
John said:
For some reason, I can't boot from CDs on my laptop. I can boot an
"Essential Boot" from floppy and read the XP cd in the CD drive.

I need to de-partition my hard drive and format it. Can't I boot from
floppy, then start the install with the program that formats etc. the hard
drive?

John
Click to expand...
If "Essential Boot" is a DOS System you can start a Windows installation
by running WINNT.EXE from the I386 directory of the Windows CD.

John B.
 
I do have the CD drive ahead of the hard drive in the list. I put it ahead
of the floppy, too. No difference. I can here the boot reading a track from
the CD but evidently doesn't like what it reads and goes on to the next boot
device. Floppy boot works great. btw.

Any other ideas?

John
 
John said:
I do have the CD drive ahead of the hard drive in the list. I put it ahead
of the floppy, too. No difference. I can here the boot reading a track from
the CD but evidently doesn't like what it reads and goes on to the next boot
device. Floppy boot works great. btw.

Any other ideas?

John
Click to expand...

Try this :-
How to obtain Windows XP Setup boot disks
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=310994
 
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