Load hardware drivers during installation from floppy

[Just D.]

All,

Maybe it's from FAQ, but nevertheless...

When we install Windows XP from scratch on some machine and the installation
requires some drivers to be installed using F6 the OS wants me to insert the
floppy disk with these drivers. But all current drivers are with CD or micro
CD disks and nobody supports any floppy disks anymore. Even more, I have no
any floppy drive on my machine. When Windows wants the floppy to be
installed it has only 4 options - insert floppy, Esc Ignore, F3 to get out
of here forever. That's a dead loop. My machine has CD/DVD drive installed
on the main controller, two hard drives are installed on the RAID controller
and Windows wants the drivers to be read from floppy. So to install Windows
I have to disassemble machine, reattach hard drive to the primary
controller, DVD to the secondary, then install everything, attach RAID
controller, install drivers when Windows is already installed and loaded,
finally shut down, reattach all hard drives to the appropriate positions and
reboot. Only in this case Windows is able to make me a gift booting up with
these hard disks connected to the RAID controller.

Is there any way to load these drivers from CD/DVD if I say open the CD
drive, take the Windows disk, insert CD with the drivers, click OK to let
Windows grab them, then reinsert the appropriate Windows CD to go ahead with
the installation?

That's so stupid, but I didn't find any official way to get the drivers
installed from CD during Windows installation from scratch!

Just D.

 

[Richard Urban]

All,

Maybe it's from FAQ, but nevertheless...

When we install Windows XP from scratch on some machine and the
installation requires some drivers to be installed using F6 the OS wants
me to insert the floppy disk with these drivers. But all current drivers
are with CD or micro CD disks and nobody supports any floppy disks
anymore. Even more, I have no any floppy drive on my machine. When Windows
wants the floppy to be installed it has only 4 options - insert floppy,
Esc Ignore, F3 to get out of here forever. That's a dead loop. My machine
has CD/DVD drive installed on the main controller, two hard drives are
installed on the RAID controller and Windows wants the drivers to be read
from floppy. So to install Windows I have to disassemble machine, reattach
hard drive to the primary controller, DVD to the secondary, then install
everything, attach RAID controller, install drivers when Windows is
already installed and loaded, finally shut down, reattach all hard drives
to the appropriate positions and reboot. Only in this case Windows is able
to make me a gift booting up with these hard disks connected to the RAID
controller.

Is there any way to load these drivers from CD/DVD if I say open the CD
drive, take the Windows disk, insert CD with the drivers, click OK to let
Windows grab them, then reinsert the appropriate Windows CD to go ahead
with the installation?

That's so stupid, but I didn't find any official way to get the drivers
installed from CD during Windows installation from scratch!

Just D.

When the Windows XP installer was designed for Windows XP, floppy disks were
very much in use. Every computer had them. Now the manufacturers are trying
to lower the cost, in response to what? Why the consumers cry for lower
priced computers - of course. So they drop the floppy drive to save 5 bucks.
Personally I would never build a computer that didn't have a floppy drive
included, whether it was ever used, or not.

Microsoft is not going to redesign the Windows installer and send new CD's
to everyone just because they have no floppy drive.

Unfortunately, it leaves many between a rock and a hard place.

I suggest you purchase an external floppy drive to do what you have to do.
They do work well.

--
Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
Using Windows Vista 5472
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Richard Urban]

All,

Maybe it's from FAQ, but nevertheless...

When we install Windows XP from scratch on some machine and the
installation requires some drivers to be installed using F6 the OS wants
me to insert the floppy disk with these drivers. But all current drivers
are with CD or micro CD disks and nobody supports any floppy disks
anymore. Even more, I have no any floppy drive on my machine. When Windows
wants the floppy to be installed it has only 4 options - insert floppy,
Esc Ignore, F3 to get out of here forever. That's a dead loop. My machine
has CD/DVD drive installed on the main controller, two hard drives are
installed on the RAID controller and Windows wants the drivers to be read
from floppy. So to install Windows I have to disassemble machine, reattach
hard drive to the primary controller, DVD to the secondary, then install
everything, attach RAID controller, install drivers when Windows is
already installed and loaded, finally shut down, reattach all hard drives
to the appropriate positions and reboot. Only in this case Windows is able
to make me a gift booting up with these hard disks connected to the RAID
controller.

Is there any way to load these drivers from CD/DVD if I say open the CD
drive, take the Windows disk, insert CD with the drivers, click OK to let
Windows grab them, then reinsert the appropriate Windows CD to go ahead
with the installation?

That's so stupid, but I didn't find any official way to get the drivers
installed from CD during Windows installation from scratch!

Just D.

When the Windows XP installer was designed for Windows XP, floppy disks were
very much in use. Every computer had them. Now the manufacturers are trying
to lower the cost, in response to what? Why the consumers cry for lower
priced computers - of course. So they drop the floppy drive to save 5 bucks.
Personally I would never build a computer that didn't have a floppy drive
included, whether it was ever used, or not.

Microsoft is not going to redesign the Windows installer and send new CD's
to everyone just because they have no floppy drive.

Unfortunately, it leaves many between a rock and a hard place.

I suggest you purchase an external floppy drive to do what you have to do.
They do work well.

--
Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
Using Windows Vista 5472
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Just D.]

Richard,

I didn't ask to lecture me the history, I spent over 26 years with computers
to know them from scratch. MS also doesn't need to resend the CDs with the
corrected installer. We all know how to integrate the service pack into the
original CD and make a new CD with the latest SP built in. Why we wouldn't
do that?

Re the floppy drive - go to the nearest Fry's Electronics and buy this drive
for 5 USD...) I can see for 15-20 and higher, and just for what? To let me
install some stupid OS that can't be rightly installed without these drives?
I'm not using them anymore. My external hard drive reads/writes over 30
mbytes per second, that means that it reads 20 floppy drives in a second if
you can't count yourself. Floppy drive reads the disk usually in 1 (if it's
fast), but usually in 2 minutes.

You wanted a lecture? You got it. But this doesn't answer the original
question anyway regardless of your MVP.

Sorry.

Just D.

 

[Richard Urban]

One out of 100,000 users (maybe) may know how to slipstream a service pack,
along with the original CD into a new CD. What do you propose to do about
the remaining millions who don't?

--
Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[Richard Urban]

I didn't say that YOU could buy a floppy drive for 5 bucks. I said that the
manufacturers save 5 bucks by not including it in the machine. They buy they
tens of thousands at a time, and they are likely "less" than 5 bucks each.

--
Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

 

[DL]

Dont wish to get involved in.............
Slipstream your drivers into a new winxp installation cd,
or buy a floppy.
No other choices if drivers required during F6

 

[jcbrown]

I thought Richard offered an informative response to your question.
What's with the hostility?

 

[Guest]

Slipstream your drivers into a new winxp installation cd,

Yep. Please see the recent thread : "Stop Message: The ACPI BIOS ..."
One answer there explains the procedure.

Good luck,
--PA

 

[Just D.]

That's simple. I didn't ask why, I just asked how.

Ok, let's stop this thread if nobody knows because it's not informative,
just flame.

Just D.

 

[Guest]

26 years with computers my as*

You would know how to what you need to do if that were so.

You DON'T know, and you're a snot to boot!

 

[Justin - SYNACS]

You're speaking to human beings, friend. Not machines.