Windows bootup and Partioning Questions

[Silvertype]

Hi guys,
I have some questions regarding windows bootup and partioning and wonder if
anyone can help me with them. First of all, I wanted to bootup my system
from my Windows XP Installation CD. However, whenever I bootup my system,
the system will always bypass the CD and go straight into Windows instead.
I've checked the CD-ROM and it runs fine. Is there any other configuration
that I should set before the system could boot up from the CD instead of
the harddisk?

My other question is about harddisk partioning. Right now, my harddisk is
partioned into 2 drives, C and D drive with C as FAT32 and D as NTFS. I
wanted to reallocate the space for those 2 partitions. How do I do that?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Rich Barry]

You probably have to go into the Bios and set the cdrom drive as first
boot device. How to do that differs on each
computer. I have to tap the Delete button on Startup. You may have to tap
F1. To reallocate space on an already used
partition gets tricky. You will have to use a good third party partition
manager such as Partition Magic. If you just want
to format both your existing partitions then you can use a simple
partition manager such as Cute PM. It's free. Do a google
search for it.

 

[Silvertype]

I see. Thanks

You probably have to go into the Bios and set the cdrom drive as first
boot device. How to do that differs on each
computer. I have to tap the Delete button on Startup. You may have to tap
F1. To reallocate space on an already used
partition gets tricky. You will have to use a good third party partition
manager such as Partition Magic. If you just want
to format both your existing partitions then you can use a simple
partition manager such as Cute PM. It's free. Do a google
search for it.

 

[Silvertype]

Hi Barry,
I did as you suggested and set the cd rom drive as the first boot device.
However, after I reboot, I was greeted with the following message:

Verifying DMI Pool Data
Boot from CD: ............

After that, Windows is started again. Any idea what went wrong?

 

[John John]

Is your cd bootable? Is the cd an original cd or is it a burned (home
made) cd, like a slipstreamed cd? These home made jobbies tend to fail
regularly, especially if they are burned on the cheapest cd's available.

John

 

[John John]

Try it with the real Windows cd and see if it boots. The other
alternative is to boot with the 6 floppy boot diskette set. As I said,
these burned cd's often fail to boot, sometimes even after a very short
period or very few uses. They just aren't as reliable as the real
factory cd's.

John

 

[Silvertype]

I see. Actually, I'm using an original CD, but I just found out today that
it's faulty. Will try to get another disk to try it out. Anyway, where can I
get this 6 floppy boot disk set?

 

[Silvertype]

Got it. Thanks.

You can download them from Microsoft's site:

How to obtain Windows XP Setup boot disks
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310994

John

 

[John John]

You can download them from Microsoft's site:

How to obtain Windows XP Setup boot disks
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/310994

John

 

[John John]

You're welcome.

John

Got it. Thanks.

 

[Katmandu]

I have the same issue as Barry.

I'm using a slipstream CD that won't automatically boot up. It does have
the Autorun file installed, so it "should" work right ????


-ERIC

 

[John]

I have the same issue as Barry.

I'm using a slipstream CD that won't automatically boot up. It does have
the Autorun file installed, so it "should" work right ????

Autorun files are only used once Windows is installed and running to
select an application to run whatever is on a CD. To create a bootable
CD you need an image of a bootable image along with the data that will
be installed. Most people extract the 'Microsoft Corporation.img" file
from their original XP CD using isobuster or a similar program. Some CD
burning software can supply a bootable image although I doubt that image
would be ideal for slipstreaming an XP install CD. Your best bet is to
use the real deal from your XP CD.

A good tutorial is here ...

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/windowsxp_sp2_slipstream.asp

and here ...

http://www.helpwithwindows.com/WindowsXP/winxp-sp2-bootcd.html


Once you understand the process Autostreamer helps as well ...

http://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=223562


John