Boot windows xp from a usb drive.

Discussion in 'Windows OS's' started by Willz, Dec 8, 2006.

  1. Willz

    Willz MiCrO$oFt $uK$ :D

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    Hi, i decided to put my windows xp cd onto a usb drive, i set the bios to boot from usb fdd, hdd and cdrom, but it still would not boot into the setup, do i need to use some special software to allow windows to boot from a usb hdd and then install?
     
  2. zeus

    zeus out of date

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  3. Willz

    Willz MiCrO$oFt $uK$ :D

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    I dont actually want windows to run from the usb drive, just want to install windows onto my hdd, but instead of using cd, put windows xp cd onto the usb drive because when i use my cd, i get some errors.
     
  4. zeus

    zeus out of date

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    Oh right.
    Ive never messed with usb sticks.... can you "burn/mount" images onto them?
    Im guessing you will need to get the usb stick to boot itself (and not boot from xp floppies) because it wont know where the files are otherwise.

    Who knows, maybe if you try the floppies the setup will find the files on the usb stick.... but will the stick need drivers? Saying that people can boot from usb drives cany they...

    I think its gonna be a matter of endless googling of experimenting. Either way its probably illegal... if you care :)
     
  5. Willz

    Willz MiCrO$oFt $uK$ :D

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    Lol, it doesent matter anyways, my parents gone shopping and i told them to get me some dvd-rw's and cd -rw coz i couldent coz i'm ill, so i can but the xp cd onto that, it would of helped if i stored the xp cd in a good place, then it wouldent of got damaged.

    Oh, and also, from my old emachines computer, i have this wierd xp installation for that, came with the computer, it isntalls via norton ghost, anyway to get that to work on other computers? i tried on my main one, just gave me a Bsod.
     
  6. zeus

    zeus out of date

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    Disks from the factory will probably never work on another PC. I remember messing with a handful of them once for hours. I had to buy Windows Millenium because it was all I could afford :)
    That was on an emachines 633dvd. I found the factory disk the other day, built the pc back up turned it on and got a blank screen. Pulled out the 633 celly and put it in a dell ive got, turned it on and still got a blank screen, rebooted, got a blank screen again but smelled a funny smell this time then I saw smoke coming from the celly. It was crackling by the time I reached to the plug. Turned it off pulled it out and the plastic or ceramic or whatever it is that holds the pins was absolutely ****** boilin'. I burned all the tips of my fingers and theres blood in my thumbnail too!
    Put the 466 back in and the dell worked fine. Im glad I pulled it out so quick because the plastic mount for the cpu would have melted. I didnt know it was that hot at the time though!

    The emachines got binned :) In a throwing out mood I binned a gateway I dont know what to do with too.

    I was gonna get a photo of the celly but the binbag is outside in the rain so I think ill leave it! The CPU looked normal though to be honest, the core went a bluey red like stainless steel goes.
     
  7. Willz

    Willz MiCrO$oFt $uK$ :D

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    Wow, and that was in an emachine computer?, i have a 150dvd, i hope mine doesent end up going like that, but from what i have seen with it, its a preety good computer with a better power supply, its running as a server now, and it never failes.
     
  8. zeus

    zeus out of date

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    I blame the person I lent it to for a year or so a while back, not emachines.
    Hes likes to cut the wires of PSUs and put them back together wrong. All for the sake of an extra fan and harddrive!
    Ive said it before and I still say now that that emachine was the most stable and reliable PC ive owned.
     
  9. Willz

    Willz MiCrO$oFt $uK$ :D

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    At the time i bought my emachines, it was like 2003 i think, i got it for £600, 1.2ghz celeron s, 128mb ram, 20gb hdd, i thought it wasent much, but what the hell i thought, its only a starter computer, i think it was money well spent now concidering its still working now, and its been battered over its time.

    Did you have ago at the guy you lent the computer to?, i mean its vv stupid cutting wires for an extra fan or hdd, he should of just got a new psu, or left the thing!
     
  10. zeus

    zeus out of date

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    no, hes a good mate. I just knew not to give him a spare power supply ive got when he had boot issues. It was the same guy who gave me the gateway and windows 2000 and a handful of games and a stack of sd ram, tools to fix my back wheel.... etc etc. :)
    We've owned, killed, shot to pieces, burned many computers together... this time it was one of my old rigs which kicked the bucket :)

    http://www.hardwareforums.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=474&c=3&userid=290
    http://www.hardwareforums.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=486&c=3&userid=290
    http://www.hardwareforums.com/gallery/showimage.php?i=477&c=3&userid=290
     
  11. Willz

    Willz MiCrO$oFt $uK$ :D

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    Ohhh, i see, your mate seems very kind giving you all that stuff :p
     

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