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    Best way to install XP with no optical drive?

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by Mythcell, Aug 14, 2006.

  1. Mythcell

    Mythcell Notebook Guru

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    My Toughbook cf-28 with a blazing 600mhz cpu and 128ram will be ariving soon. I'm wondering if i should buy a usb enclosure for an extra plextor drive i have sitting around. It looks like it only has one usb port, Floppy and i dont know what else. has anyone done a network install before? This laptops so dated maybe it'll come with a BNC :D
     
    Mythcell, Aug 14, 2006
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  2. tuurtje97

    tuurtje97 Notebook Guru

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    your laptop is pretty old so i dont think you will be able to boot from usb.
    I am not sure if you can install xp from a floppy but this reading this might help
    if nothing works you can just take out the hd put it in a different laptop with optical drive and put the hd back.if you dont have a second laptop you can also use the hd in your desktop systembut you will need this
     
    tuurtje97, Aug 14, 2006
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  3. zolo

    zolo Notebook Evangelist

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    Why do you want to install windows xp on this machine with 128mb RAM?? xp uses almost 256mb alone, so it'll be slow as hell. You better off installing older version of windows IMO.
     
    zolo, Aug 14, 2006
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  4. tuurtje97

    tuurtje97 Notebook Guru

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    no xp will run fine on that configuration i have xp installed on a old compaq presario 1805(PII 266mhz 128mb ram 2mb video 10gb hdd) i even get an hour of battery life with it.
     
    tuurtje97, Aug 14, 2006
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  5. qohelet

    qohelet Senior Member

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    yeah it would run fine with that config.. but i'm not sure he can install xp without an optical drive..
     
    qohelet, Aug 14, 2006
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  6. zolo

    zolo Notebook Evangelist

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    well, GL with that. I'm just saying XP consumes more ram.
     
    zolo, Aug 14, 2006
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  7. Mythcell

    Mythcell Notebook Guru

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    I know It'll swapin like theres no tommorow but im going to run with min graphics and its going to be for work not play. XP is just more compatible these days so thats why i want to run It. I remember when i first got it XP beta and was running on a p200 96ram, It looked so fresh and new.
     
    Mythcell, Aug 14, 2006
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  8. nferra2

    nferra2 Notebook Geek

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    If you put the hardrive in another computer and activate windows XP, then switch to the new computer, wouldn't WPA see it as an invalid copy of windows in the new machine???? If not, I have found the solution to getting a fresh install on my moms computer.
     
    nferra2, Aug 14, 2006
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  9. qohelet

    qohelet Senior Member

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    better buy an external optical drive..
     
    qohelet, Aug 14, 2006
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  10. qohelet

    qohelet Senior Member

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    haven't tried this.
     
    qohelet, Aug 14, 2006
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  11. vassil_98

    vassil_98 Notebook Deity

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    The best way to install XP without a disk is through another OS. In the begining of WInXP I did not have any disks and dual booted with Win98. The reason - if something goes wrong (it will with this config), you will need the CD to repair. XP won't take anything else and therefore the easiest thing to do will be to reinstall.
     
    vassil_98, Aug 15, 2006
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  12. tedd1

    tedd1 Newbie

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    Hi,
    Try >HERE<, Should get you started... :cool:
     
    tedd1, Aug 15, 2006
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  13. playstationfx

    playstationfx Notebook Enthusiast

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    I recommend win2000 or installing a slim version of xp from a usb drive
     
    playstationfx, Aug 15, 2006
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  14. Sykotic

    Sykotic Notebook Evangelist

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    I recomend puting the drive into another computer, copying the install files then swapping back before doing the actual instal. Also with such an old computer windows 98se or ME might be best solution. GL
     
    Sykotic, Aug 16, 2006
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  15. digital8doug

    digital8doug Notebook Consultant

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    Win XP will run better with only 128 MB than 98se (MS No longer supported as of June 06[?) At least it did on an IBM Aptiva PII 350 Mhz that I worked on last winter. 98se very slow on I net, XP Pro ran OK.
    Sykotic-How would that work, I thought even after XP copied files and rebooted it still requires a good set of files on the CD for actual HDD installation.
    zolo- the more you give it the more it takes, until it stops @ ~3.2GB RAM!
    Would Booting from a Seagate Pocket HD work?
    IMHO installing OS on a sytem, than swapping HD to another works only some of the time. Activation can be problem, but correct drivers are even harder to fix!
    I installed XP on 2.5 HDD in USB enclosure, but no boot, configuration errors :(
     
    digital8doug, Aug 16, 2006
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  16. Sykotic

    Sykotic Notebook Evangelist

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    Actually, I never tried, thought it might be a solution. I noticed that during install it would copy install files first, then install.
    Also you could copy the entire cd into another partition on the drive and boot that partition. As to boot a usb drive, you first have to have a bios that supports usb boot option, also the usb drive has to be formatted to be booted from. HP makes file that will work.
    I think that unless your installing onto a close identical computer activation will give you problems, this should be able to be solved with a call to MS. Drivers can be found on net. Take a while, yes.
    GL
     
    Sykotic, Aug 17, 2006
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  17. iOsiris

    iOsiris Notebook Evangelist

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    I'd agree with Zolo, there's a difference between being able to run XP and being able to run it good.
     
    iOsiris, Aug 17, 2006
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  18. ramian

    ramian Notebook Consultant

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    ramian, Aug 17, 2006
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