Looking for a permanent fix for XP users.

Was wondering if, anyone could provide links to legally downloadable copies of XP, just like they have for vista and 7, where you can then use your key and do a clean install.
My system and a few of my friends' have increasingly started to give numerous issues and since we have no clue where are XP disks are coz our comps are way too old, i thought i must ask around here for help.

 

Xp doesn't have the OEM activation scheme as Windows 7/Vista, it uses SLIC 1.0. Not only do you need the OEM 1 liner in the BIOS, however the problem is the OEM files is different. Fujitsu OEM Xp would be different from Hp and so on.

 

I figured, since my PC came with a Xp disk, I must probably have had the retail version ... i could be wrong, but dosent having a Xp Home Edition disk mean you have the retail version?????

 

No they have OEM Windows Xp Home Edition.
Google around for solutions you will see.

 

Automatic offline-activation provided by SLIC is not the problem. Users should still have valid XP license sticker (which is their own license code afterall) in their computers.

There is non-branded OEM discs that work with the sticker keys, branded OEM discs that activate automatically (slic) and Retail discs that consumers could buy from shop. Then add in Upgrade discs, Home/Pro... all of those need matching license/cd and sometimes it can be a pain to find.

Unfortunately, as fas as I know, XP has never been officially downloadable like Win7 is now. So there is no "legal links" available.

 

Get a technet account. You will find all the xp flavors there.

 

and remember, downloaded install media is one thing, having legal license keys is quite another.......

 

It's too bad that XP licensing doesn't work like Vista/W7.

One alternative is to create an install ISO from the i386 folder, which is not that complicated, and then slipstream SP3 if needed.
This gives you a clean install.

 

Nice tool for that job: c't Slipstreamer, Download bei heise
Unfortunately there seems to be no english interface

Michael

 

Thanks for the tip, I'm going to try it some day!

There are alternatives, this is what I was thinking of, it works with pretty much all brands (PM me if you can't find the needed files).

Another way is to manually start the install, just remember to look up the key as described here, because it's not the same as the one on the sticker.

 

stonesrubber:
This is the easiest method -

Yes, it's in German, but there are so few things to do in the program that i's very easy to explain.
I'm assuming that you still have the i386 intact on your computer?

1 - Download c't slipstreamer.

2 - Unzip it, start slipstreamer.exe.

3 - Installationsdateien means installation files, simply browse to your i386 folder.

4 - Zielordner means target folder, that's where the created ISO will be saved.

5 - Add Service Pack 3 if you want to. I'm not sure what the check box option means, but I hope Michael can explain.

6 - Choose version and click start. Fertig means finished!

7 - You should try the ISO with VirtualBOX or similar first.

8 - Do a clean install, it will give you a better result.

9 - It won't have any SATA drivers so you have to change the SATA switch in BIOS before you actually do the reinstall.

I gave michael_recycled a rep for this, very useful!

 

Yes, I can
An OEM install might have some customised configuration files inside. Checking the option "OEM-Dateien mit SP-Dateien überschreiben" (= Overwrite OEM files with corresponding files from the Service Pack) removes these customisations.
In case you intend to reinstall Windows on the same computer, I'd not select this option since some manufacturer tweaks are useful (integrated Sata drivers, serial# already included etc.).

I agree. But then the customisations as described above should be removed.

It depends. If you leave the OEM tweaks, then you might not need to switch Sata operation mode.

Thanks

Michael

 

I only have experience from my HP nx9420, and while the restore discs installs SATA drivers, the ISO made from i386 does not. It doesn't install any other machine specific drivers at all, actually.
Also, it works in VMWare without removing custom settings.

 

I second this advice.

 

It is NOT necessary to use a third-party slipstream utility to slipstream XP/SP3 into an otherwise unmodified XP source. The SP package itself is capable of doing the slipstreaming all on its own.

You command line would look something like this (modify the directory paths for your own system layout):

C:\xp_image_work\XP_Service_Pack_3_installer\WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ENU.exe /integrate:C:\xp_image_work\XP_working_directory /log:C:\xp_image_work\XP_Service_Pack_3_installer

a) dump a fresh, UNMODIFIED XP cd/dvd to a working directory.
b) run the SP3 package with the /integrate flag specifying necessary directory paths.
c) re-burn the resulting working directory as a bootable ISO.

all done!

 

newsposter: We're not talking about slipstreaming here. It's about making an install ISO out of the i386 folder.
The program we're talking about is capable of slipstreaming too, but that's not the main feature.

It's very useful, it took me maybe two minutes to create an ISO, no need to buy a technet account if you still have the i386 folder.