reinstalling xp over the network

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I need to reinstall xp on a client. the client does not have a floppy or
working cdrom drives. the OS is up and running so I would do a network
installation. i've only done this once in class and need to refresh my
memory. don't i just create a shared folder, copy the i386 folder to that,
and then from the client browse to that folder and to the winnt32.exe file?
does anyone know of a link that has thorough instructions for network
installs? also, any tips, reminders, or pointers from those of you with
experience doing this?

All suggestions/assistance is greatly appreciated.

Thx!
 
rfIPS said:
I need to reinstall xp on a client. the client does not have a floppy or
working cdrom drives. the OS is up and running so I would do a network
installation. i've only done this once in class and need to refresh my
memory. don't i just create a shared folder, copy the i386 folder to that,
and then from the client browse to that folder and to the winnt32.exe file?
does anyone know of a link that has thorough instructions for network
installs? also, any tips, reminders, or pointers from those of you with
experience doing this?

All suggestions/assistance is greatly appreciated.

Thx!
Click to expand...

You have the right idea. However, a far simpler method would
be to have a CD drive in your tool case. They cost very little
and they make life much easier for you!

If you do it your way then you have to spend a lot of time
preparing things (which costs money!):
- Create a FAT32 partition on the target drive
- Create a suitable network boot disk (which can be a real challenge!)
- Install WinXP
- Convert the partition to NTFS

Now how much does this CD drive cost?
 
Good Morning. Thanks for replying to my post. I agree with you on the
external CDROM. I don't know all of the details but regarding this client, it
is my understanding that there are severe issues with the existing, installed
optical drives and the system. My boss feels that if we reinstall xp with an
external CDROM drive he will have additional problems so he doesn't want to
use it this time.

A followup question to your comments below: If I am just doing a reinstall,
I don't have to create the partition, do I? Don't I just browse to the
winnt32 file, execute that and go from there? Since the system doesn't have a
floppy drive, I can't boot off a disk so I'm hoping I can just install over
the network.

Thx!
 
Your boss is wrong. Using a CD drive will cause fewer
problems, not additional ones, as you will see when you
create a DOS network boot disk.

If you go ahead with the network installation then you
must create a FAT32 partition for WinXP, as mentioned
in my first reply.
 
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