Clean install from HD possible?

  • Thread starter Thread starter JethroUK©
  • Start date Start date
J

JethroUK©

I cant boot from CD - currently i have to boot from floppy, reformat C:,
then install from the CD which is a bit flaky and nerve-racking


I have dumped the whole XP CD to drive D: (NTFS)

Is it possible to do a clean install from HD (drive D:) whilst windows is
still running?
 
Hi,

Run the winnt32.exe file from the I386 folder on drive D:, just don't do an
"in place upgrade" (which results in a repair installation).

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
then is it possible to format from cd immediately after enabling cd drive
with floppy?

currently from floppy i have to:

enable cdrom
delete ntfs partition (drive c:)
create fat partition
reformat c: drive
run smartdrv

then finally run 'winnt' (install from cd)
 
I cant boot from CD - currently i have to boot from floppy, reformat C:,
then install from the CD which is a bit flaky and nerve-racking


I have dumped the whole XP CD to drive D: (NTFS)

Is it possible to do a clean install from HD (drive D:) whilst windows is
still running?
Click to expand...
Have you considered using the Windows XP Setup boot disks?
<http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q310994>
Microsoft Windows XP Setup boot disks are available only by download
from Microsoft. The Setup boot disks are available so that you can run
the Setup program on computers that cannot use a bootable CD-ROM.
 
Hi,

Can't cut the branch off the tree while you're sitting on it, no. Repair or
install to a new folder (which gives you a clean installation), yes.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org
 
there's no benefit in xp boot floppies (6 discs ???)

i'm basically trying to do as little from floppy as possible (as much
install from the CD as poss) to minimise failure/stress :o)

hence i use windows 98 boot floppy (to activate CD rom) and the rest from
the XP CD
 
You have the correct approach but the wrong tools:
You won't be able use fdisk.exe to delete the first
NTFS partition while another NTFS partition exists
inside the extended partition. To do this you need to
use some other tool (e.g. a partition manager) or
you have to run your disk as a slave disk in some
other WinXP/2000 PC. The sequence then goes like this:
1. Use appropriate means to make the first partition a
FAT32 partition.
2. Mark it as active.
3. Boot the machine with your Win98 boot disk.
4. Run ntfsdos.exe so that you can read drive D:. It
will probably become drive E:.
5. Run e:\i386\winnt.exe to install WinXP on C:.
6. Convert drive C: to NTFS if you wish.
 
Process varies, but you're faced with all kinds of "Limitations".
1st to install from WinNT.Exe ( sourced from hard drive ) you'll
need to work from FAT32 drives, Both C: (Destination) and D:
(Source). You can convert them to NTFS - post install. Use a
standard 9X boot floppy that has SmartDrive caching loaded.
Once booted, run the WinNT.Exe to start installation.
 
wondering whether i can sit on tree D: temporarily - it appears not - i have
to sit on tree A: temporarily (decidedly shakier) instead
 
should've said that C & D are two independant logical drives (1 & 2) - so i
do use fdisk to:

delete ntfs/c partition
re-create as new fat partition (dos comp)
format c:

switch to CD rom and install

i was just hoping i could do this bit from CD or HD because i dont really
know what im doing i.e.

install cd rom support from floppy
rest from cd (format c: & install), as per cold boot from CD
 
See below.

JethroUK© said:
should've said that C & D are two independant logical drives (1 & 2)
Click to expand...
*** You probably mean "independent physical disks".
so I do use fdisk to:

delete ntfs/c partition *** Yes.
re-create as new fat partition (dos comp)
Click to expand...
*** No - must be a FAT32 partition.
*** Must be made "active".
format c: *** Yes.

switch to CD rom and install
Click to expand...
*** Or run ntfsdos.exe, then use the i386 folder on drive D:.
i was just hoping i could do this bit from CD or HD because i dont really
know what im doing i.e.

install cd rom support from floppy
Click to expand...
*** You don't need CD ROM support with your
*** floppy boot if you use the d:\i386 folder. On the
*** other hand the boot diskettes from www.bootdisk.com
*** come with CD ROM drivers included.
rest from cd (format c: & install), as per cold boot from CD
Click to expand...
*** You probably mean "Rest from within the WinXP
*** installation process.
 
i do actually create as fat32/active (just didn't specify)

i like the sound of ntfsdos.exe - since i assume this can read/write to ntfs
ergo D: drive ergo HD installation, so i could go:

from floppy:
enable ntfs support (via ntfsdos.exe)
format c: directly as ntfs (without deleting/recreating as dos partition
with fdisk - part that bothers me most)
switch to H/D (D:/i386)
run 'Winnt'

is this doable? - should i still enable 'smartdrv' from floppy, or can i
bypass this step too?

p.s. i am up and running right now, but my pc is relatively old, so i do a
clean install every 6 months or so and i would like to get this otherwise
un-nerving process down pat
 
Not quite. The read-only version of ntfsdos.exe is
free. The read/write version costs money. Furthermore
I doubt that it would work with the WinXP installation
process, especially when it comes to long file names.

You don't need to enable smartdrv.exe if you don't
want to but not enabling it will slow down the installation
enormously.

Re-installing Windows once every six months is a
waste of time. Much better to take a snapshot every
six months, using one of the many imaging products.
 
JethroUK© said:
there's no benefit in xp boot floppies (6 discs ???)

i'm basically trying to do as little from floppy as possible (as much
install from the CD as poss) to minimise failure/stress :o)

hence i use windows 98 boot floppy (to activate CD rom) and the rest
from the XP CD
Click to expand...

The benefit to using the xp setup floppies is you can do what you are tring
to so, format the C: drive with NTFS and perform a clean install from the
CD. I would recommend disconnecting the D: drive during the install so there
is no possibilty of drive letters getting reassigned.
 
Kerry Brown wrote:

Should have ran that through the spell checker :-)

The benefit to using the XP setup floppies is you can do what you are trying
to do, format the C: drive with NTFS and perform a clean install from the
CD. I would recommend disconnecting the D: drive during the install so there
is no possibility of drive letters getting reassigned.
 
JethroUK© said:
I cant boot from CD - currently i have to boot from floppy, reformat C:,
then install from the CD which is a bit flaky and nerve-racking
Click to expand...

One reason my site exists is for pc's that lose their ability to boot
from bootable cds.
 
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