Re-install XP without CD

[cy]

Hi,
I need to re-install XP OS on my friends Tiny PC, unfortunately like
many other computer manufacturers they did not give him an XP disc.

Basically he is having major problems booting the PC up, it gets stuck in a
loop. My question is, how can i re-install XP without a boot disc as i have
no way at the moment of accessing his files etc? Can this be done?

Any help would be great.

Thanks

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

Hi,
I need to re-install XP OS on my friends Tiny PC, unfortunately like
many other computer manufacturers they did not give him an XP disc.

Basically he is having major problems booting the PC up, it gets stuck in
a
loop. My question is, how can i re-install XP without a boot disc as i
have
no way at the moment of accessing his files etc? Can this be done?

Any help would be great.

Thanks

Microsoft requires all PC manufacturers to do one of the following:
a) Supply a bootable Windows installation CD, or
b) Supply a factory recovery CD/DVD, or
c) Supply a boot CD that restores Windows from a hidden partition on the
hard disk.

Your friend needs to read the manual that came with his PC to see which
method applies. Note that options b) or c) are often totally destructive. If
your friend neglected to back up his important files then he must do it
before restoring Windows, e.g. by connecting the hard disk to some other PC.

 

[cy]

Thanks for the info, will pass this on. Was hoping we might have been able
to do it without going to Tiny as they will probably be a nightmare to deal
with.

Thanks again.

 

[Bassplayer12]

Thanks for the info, will pass this on. Was hoping we might have been
able
to do it without going to Tiny as they will probably be a nightmare to
deal
with.

If there is a sticker with a key on your friend's PC, you can use your own
XP disk. Me think anyway.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Hi,
I need to re-install XP OS on my friends Tiny PC, unfortunately like
many other computer manufacturers they did not give him an XP disc.

Basically he is having major problems booting the PC up, it gets stuck in
a
loop. My question is, how can i re-install XP without a boot disc as i
have
no way at the moment of accessing his files etc? Can this be done?

Any help would be great.

Thanks

There's a quick and inexpensive trick that can sometimes fix this
looping-reboot problem. You need to gain access to the disk; I carry a
USB to IDE / SATA drive adapter. Connect the drive to the adapter, and
attach that to another running OS. Or, attach the drive directly to
another WinXP system, Or, download a bootable Linux CD, such as Ubuntu, and
boot the system from that CD.

Once you have access to the drive, look in the root for the large file
'pagefile.sys'. Delete it, empty the wastebasket if possible. That's it.

Now put the system back the way it was, and reboot. Rebooting will take
longer, and you may have to interrupt the reboot with the power switch. By
the 2nd restart, if pagefile corruption was the problem, the system will
boot normally and the problem is solved. This has worked well for me a
number of times.

HTH
-pk

 

[Patrick Keenan]

If there is a sticker with a key on your friend's PC, you can use your own
XP disk. Me think anyway.

That can work, IF the disk type matches the COA key type, ie OEM COA for OEM
CD.

HTH
-pk