Copy XP to floppy?

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Is it possible to copy Windows XP to a floppy disk? I "inherated" a computer
recently but it only has a floppy drive. There is no operating system
installed either. I have a Windows XP disc but can it be copied to a floppy?
If not, does anyone have any suggestions about how I can install Windows to
the laptop, other than using an external disk drive? The simplier the better.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you
Llegssssss
 
Llegssssss said:
Is it possible to copy Windows XP to a floppy disk? I "inherated" a computer
recently but it only has a floppy drive. There is no operating system
installed either. I have a Windows XP disc but can it be copied to a floppy?
If not, does anyone have any suggestions about how I can install Windows to
the laptop, other than using an external disk drive? The simplier the better.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you
Llegssssss
Click to expand...

It's too big. Get an external CD drive or network the laptop and do a
network install.
 
Is it possible to copy Windows XP to a floppy disk? I "inherated" a computer
recently but it only has a floppy drive. There is no operating system
installed either. I have a Windows XP disc but can it be copied to a floppy?
If not, does anyone have any suggestions about how I can install Windows to
the laptop, other than using an external disk drive? The simplier the better.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you
Llegssssss
Click to expand...

There's no 'simple' way to do this.

It requires removing the HD from the laptop, using an adapter to convert the the 2½ drive
connector to a 3½ IDE connector, installing it as a slave in a PC that has a working OS,
formatting it as a FAT32 drive with an active partition, 'sys'ing the drive to make it bootable,
copying the i386 folder to the drive, then putting it back in the laptop and running 'winnt.exe'
from the i386 folder. I've left a few steps out, but you can see that it's not at all "simple".

If it's pretty new, and the BIOS supports booting to a PCMCIA device, you could beg, borrow,
rent, or buy a PCMCIA CD-ROM drive and do the install that way.

If you have access to another computer, you could use a boot floppy with network support to do a
network install. You'll need another shave by the time it installs that way tho...
 
Llegssssss said:
Is it possible to copy Windows XP to a floppy disk? I "inherated" a
computer
recently but it only has a floppy drive. There is no operating system
Click to expand...

If the computer is so old that it doesn't have a CD drive, I think it's
unlikely that WinXP will run on it...
 
Thank God Opinicus pointed that out. Hopefully the chap that posted the
question read that.
 
: Llegssssss wrote:
:
: > Is it possible to copy Windows XP to a floppy disk? I "inherated" a
computer
: > recently but it only has a floppy drive. There is no operating system
: > installed either. I have a Windows XP disc but can it be copied to a
floppy?
: > If not, does anyone have any suggestions about how I can install Windows
to
: > the laptop, other than using an external disk drive? The simplier the
better.
: >
: > Any help would be appreciated.
: > Thank you
: > Llegssssss
:
: It's too big. Get an external CD drive or network the laptop and do a
: network install.
:
: --
: Rock
: MS MVP Windows - Shell/User

Talk about being in between a Rock and a hard place....

- Winux P
 
Llegssssss said:
Is it possible to copy Windows XP to a floppy disk? I "inherated" a
computer recently but it only has a floppy drive. There is no
operating system installed either. I have a Windows XP disc but can
it be copied to a floppy? If not, does anyone have any suggestions
about how I can install Windows to the laptop, other than using an
external disk drive? The simplier the better.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thank you
Llegssssss
Click to expand...

No.

I just don't see a way unless you have network resources [Windows Servers
that can provide remote installation facilities] or somesuch. Otherwise, I
think you will have to consider an external drive.

Or

Windows 95 and 98 used to be available on floppy disks. If you can get your
hands on a set you might install one of those instead?
 
You can do what you want but you'll need 100's of floppies. Get a USB/Serial/Network canle and create a network connection. Copy to disk that way.
 
Llegssssss said:
Is it possible to copy Windows XP to a floppy disk? I "inherated" a
computer recently but it only has a floppy drive. There is no
operating system installed either. I have a Windows XP disc but can
it be copied to a floppy? If not, does anyone have any suggestions
about how I can install Windows to the laptop, other than using an
external disk drive? The simplier the better.
Click to expand...


A standard floppy disk holds 1.44MB A CD holds about 650MB, the equivalent
of over 450 floppy disks. No, you can't come close to fitting Windows XP on
a floppy.

Bear a few things in mind:

1. Presumably your Windows XP CD is one that's installed on a machine you
already have. The license for Windows (all versions since 3.1) resticts a
single copy to a single computer. You can't do what you want without
violating the license.Moreover, in Windows XP, there's now an enforcement
mechanism (product activation) that prevents (or at least makes it very
difficult) to do.

2. If your Windows XP came preinstalled on a computer, it is likely
BIOS-locked to that computer and wouldn't run on another computer anyway.

3. If the laptop is so old that it has no CD drive, it very likely doesn't
have the needed hardware to run Windows XP. If it can run it, it may be able
to run it only so slowly that the machine would be well-nigh unusable.

4. Laptops usually need special drivers for the special hardware within
them. Again, because this is apparently an older laptop, it's very likely
that Windows XP drivers for this hardware doesn't exist.

So what you want to do is probably completely infeasible. You are probably
best off finding an old copy of Windows 98 on floppies and trying it. Even
there you may have trouble finding appropriate drivers.
 
Winux said:
: Llegssssss wrote:
:
: > Is it possible to copy Windows XP to a floppy disk? I "inherated" a
computer
: > recently but it only has a floppy drive. There is no operating system
: > installed either. I have a Windows XP disc but can it be copied to a
floppy?
: > If not, does anyone have any suggestions about how I can install Windows
to
: > the laptop, other than using an external disk drive? The simplier the
better.
: >
: > Any help would be appreciated.
: > Thank you
: > Llegssssss
:
: It's too big. Get an external CD drive or network the laptop and do a
: network install.
:
: --
: Rock
: MS MVP Windows - Shell/User

Talk about being in between a Rock and a hard place....

- Winux P
Click to expand...

Don't I know it. Been that way my whole life.
 
If the computer is so old that it doesn't have a CD drive, I think it's
unlikely that WinXP will run on it...
Click to expand...

Not true. I have a not-too-old Dell Latitude LS with no CD drive OR floppy.
It runs XP just fine. 700 Mhz, 512 Meg, & Wireless. I use it as an Auto Navigator running
DeLorme Street Atlas 2006 with GPS. It's tiny size is perfect for sitting on the console with a
bungi cord.
 
I guess I should have explained a bit further. The desk top that I have came
with XP on it. Just before I purchased this machine, I ordered XP from
Amazon. It has never been used. The laptop that I inherited has no operating
system installed. I wanted to install the most up to date Windows on it
before I donate it to a local abuse shelter. The women and their children can
then keep in touch with family and friends without anyone knowing where they
are physically. Also, they can use it to search for jobs, living spaces and
other resources. If 95 or 98 can be obtained on floppy, anyone have an idea
where I could find one?

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far.
 
Llegssssss said:
I guess I should have explained a bit further. The desk top that I
have came with XP on it. Just before I purchased this machine, I
ordered XP from Amazon. It has never been used. The laptop that I
inherited has no operating system installed. I wanted to install the
most up to date Windows on it before I donate it to a local abuse
shelter. The women and their children can then keep in touch with
family and friends without anyone knowing where they are physically.
Also, they can use it to search for jobs, living spaces and other
resources. If 95 or 98 can be obtained on floppy, anyone have an
idea where I could find one?

Thanks to everyone who has replied so far.
Click to expand...

ebay.com for plus or minus twenty bucks. Go to the computer section then
search using the term:

windows on floppy
 
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