Preload XP on a hard drive for laptop without CD?

I have a Panasonic CF-27 but no CD-ROM. Laptop does not support USB booting.

Can I load XP on a hard drive with a different system to put it in this laptop somehow?

I know you could copy the cab files to the hdd back in the Windows 9x days... but obviously with NTFS it doesn't work that way!

 

Perhaps Sysprep would help ( http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc783215(WS.10).aspx) just run the Minisetup.

Basically, install windows on the hard drive using another computer. Then take the sysprep tool from the install disc (inside deploy.cab) and run it. Choose minisetup and the computer shuts down. Install drive in your Toughbook and start computer, now it should redetect all the devices.

I'm not 100% certain if it was the Minisetup -option, but still quite sure. There's no need to do any answer files and stuff like that, for this to work only the redetection of devices is necessary.

 

You can install XP on a drive using a system that has optical drive, then install it onto the notebook. Make sure that you have the needed drivers copied on this drive first and do not activate it before installing it onto the notebook.

EDIT: I am a slow typer.

 

Any time I've installed XP on another sys and put it in a different one I get a BSOD at boot.

I'd have to find a system simiar to this one I guess.

 

You get the bluescreen, because you haven't done sysprep...

 

the real question is what resources do you have.....You could take the drive and put it in another system, format to fat32, load a limited with the dos, transfer the windows i386 folder to it, drop it back in the machine, run c:\i386\winnt.exe to install xp, then convert to ntfs.

The question is, do you even have a computer you can mount the drive in?

 

There is an easier way if you have the OS disc or an .iso of it provided you have another computer to do it with: http://store.microsoft.com/Help/ISO-Tool

 

Does that somehow pass the issue that his laptop will not boot from USB, like he said in the first post? Not to mention how he wants to install Windows XP, not 7...

 

Whoops, missed the no USB boot, but OS doesn't matter for that tool, I've installed Linux using it.

If you have a floppy, there still might be a way to use the USB drive: http://www.bootdisk.com/usb.htm

This might be helpful too, specifically under "The first way I suggest to try is also the easiest (lucky you!).": http://www.techtroupe.com/os/windows-xp/how-to-install-windows-xp-on-a-laptop-with-no-cd-drive/

 

I tried the following method once and it worked fine: