Windows reinstall from OEM installation

  • Thread starter Thread starter jules
  • Start date Start date
J

jules

Is it possible to do a normal Windows reinstall from the files in the
I386 folder on the hard drive of a computer with OEM preinstalled
Windows?

Often, when searching for a fix to some problem or other, I find advice
to reinstall Windows or do a repair install using the Windows XP CD.
But I have never actually come across a computer that had a Windows XP
CD. Only, if I am lucky, an OEM restore CD that will return the
computer to the factory state using a disk image. This is a rather
drastic remedy for many minor, though still annoying, problems.

However, I notice that in the I386 folder there is a WINNT.EXE and a
WINNT32.EXE, which I believe are the files used to start Windows Setup.
Is it possible to execute one of these and perform a Windows reinstall?
I don't want to risk trashing my own setup, which is running fine at
the moment, just to find out.
 
Hi

winnt.exe is used if it is possible to boot to a FAT32 drive via a 9x floppy
disk - not possible if the drive is NTFS formatted.

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Will Denny
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User
Please reply to the News Groups
 
Yes (Qualified) it should work. However, usually the contents of the
source i386 are downstream from your current version. So, to use it
as a source you'd need to slipstream the latest Service Pack into it.
I'd also as a security measure - burn the i386 to a CD-R before doing
any changes to it.
 
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