xp install from dos

[Guest]

I have a clean c: drive and can boot to dos with my cd drive active. The
problem is that I want to install xp using my update disk and when I enter
setup.exe it tells me that this program cannot be run in DOS mode. There
isn't an OS on the computer, so how can I load XP from my CD?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Ralph

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I have a clean c: drive and can boot to dos with my cd drive active.
The problem is that I want to install xp using my update disk and
when I enter setup.exe it tells me that this program cannot be run in
DOS mode. There isn't an OS on the computer, so how can I load XP
from my CD?

Set your BIOS to Boot From the CD Drive first and boot with the XP CD.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

How to start the Setup program from MS-DOS in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307848

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Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Tinkerer]

Thanks for this link Wes. I've printed this out and put it in a safe
place...

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Cheers,
Tinkerer


How to start the Setup program from MS-DOS in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307848

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I have a clean c: drive and can boot to dos with my cd drive active. The
problem is that I want to install xp using my update disk and when I enter
setup.exe it tells me that this program cannot be run in DOS mode. There
isn't an OS on the computer, so how can I load XP from my CD?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Ralph

Simply boot from the WinXP installation CD. You'll be offered the
opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part of the
installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the order of boot
devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.)

HOW TO Install Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;316941

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

http://www.webtree.ca/windowsxp/clean_install.htm


--

Bruce Chambers

Help us help you:



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both at once. - RAH

 

[cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)]

Ralph wrote:

Simply boot from the WinXP installation CD. You'll be offered the
opportunity to delete, create, and format partitions as part of the
installation process. (You may need to re-arrange the order of boot
devices in the PC's BIOS to boot from the CD.)

That's all very well, but you lose a lot of control this way:
- can't create FAT32 volumes over 32G
- can't specify installation directory path
- can't use an "answer file" to control the install

Now Win9x's install used to give you more interactive control, so that
the need for an "answer file" wasn't so apparent. But that's the only
way to avoid C:\WINDOWS as the installation path, AFAIK.

I've been installing XP from DOS mode diskette boot with CD-ROM driver
support, just as the poster describes. Here's the logic...

H:\i386\WinNT.exe /u:C:\CQSetup.txt /s:H:\i386

....where H: is the CD drive, and C:\CQSetup.txt is the answer file. I
don't think you need to use an answer file for this to work; the trick
is most likely to be using the right executable to start the
installation, e.g. WINNT.EXE and not WINNT32.EXE

I see you were using Setup.exe, most likely in the root of the CD. If
that worked, I'm sure I'd be using that too, instead of scratching
around within the i386 file set itself - so try the above, rather.

BTW: Win9x tools can't create FAT32 volumes on really large HDs
either, though they do a lot better than XP's useless tools.

So download and use BING from www.bootitng.com instead. Cancel it
when it wants to install to the HD from the boot disk, so that it
falls into "partition maintenance mode" and do the stuff from there.

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