jaclaz

To be picky, the variable is %0 and %~dp0 is a possible expansion of it. http://www.robvanderwoude.com/ntfor.php try also %~f0 @gunsmokingman this may interest you: http://www.robvanderwoude.com/ntset.php also a few new (to me at least dynamic variables): The %=D:% may answer the question "Has drive D:\ ever been accessed during this CMD session?". I have no idea right now where and why this can be useful, but it is "good to know". jaclaz

Maybe it is not an XP setupldr.bin but rather a Server 2003 one? jaclaz P.s.: ooops, sorry cross-posting with cdob

Well, the good thing is that you need not any particularly specific Windows 7 "additional" knowledge, and since as said, in the given thread the OP finally succeeded and believe me we had almost *all* possible problems, including a stoopid BIOS with a 240 head translation and what not, and the OP was (when she started, not after we finished ) a complete newbie, it means that it can be done allright, even starting from 0. Xp is in itself a "plug n' play" OS, removing it's automatical loading of drivers when new hardware is found would be (even if possible) much more work than simply "forcing" it to load the correct "vital" ones (basically Mass Storage and Video) and later, with the booted system, tackle eventual problems with "accessories" (I presume that for gaming Audio drivers are also "vital" though not as vital as those that would prevent either booting or actually be able to see if it has booted). The steps are not exceptionally difficult or complex "per se" but each needs some attention and possibly a few attempts: set video "as standard as possible"=VGA clone the disk on the new disk (or clone the partition and adjust Disk Signature and DosDevices entry in the Registry) add provisions for USB booting see if it boots The thing that would have worried me the most is the actual disk and the USB controller in it's enclosure, we have found (in the mentioned threaad and elsewhere) that some disks (so called "green" ones) don't play well with some BIOSes, but if you get to a BSOD it means that this is not a problem and the initial part of booting works. Making an XP that can boot TWO different machines is a further (and greater IMHO) issue, if possible at all I would stay (hopefully) with it woking with just one of the two notebooks, at least initially. jaclaz

The scope should be clear: http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager.html#intro'>http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager.html#intro You try booting from it (rest assured that it is very unlike that your PC will explode or catch fire by doing this). If you are lucky, you will see something very similar to: http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager.html#screenshots'>http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager.html#screenshots If you see the "USB" line and you can select it by using the arrow keys and pressing Enter, compare with keys available: http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager.html#bootmanager'>http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager.html#bootmanager Whether this will produce the desired effect (booting from the USB connected hard disk) or not is the scope of the test. You may notice how both the above links (as well as the one I previously posted) all bring you to the same page: http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager.html The whole page (as I see it) represents "the instructions" but you are right there isn't actually a line saying: Probably since it is a boot-manager and most keybard driven bootmanagers use this same paradigm (highlight choice by selecting it with arrows keys then press ENTER) this part was omitted. BTW, you are perfectly free to ignore my posts, should you not appreciate my words. Whatever you choose to do, have fun while doing it . jaclaz P.S.: At my local chess club, at least when I was a kid, there was not an instruction sheet with this piece of info: How to move a chess piece: grasp piece with your fingers (you can use either of your left or right hand), NOT your feet. hold it, firmly. FIrmly. [1] move it across the checkboard hovering a few millimeters above it's surface in a gliding like movement until you reach the destination only some movements are allowed, depending on the piece that you chose to move, thus you need to verify the destination with Rules before you iintiate the move when moving the knight, since it is possible that another piece is in the way, you need to LIFT the knight enough to avoid knocking over such other piece(s) when you finished moving the piece to the destination, let it go and remove your hand and arm from over the checkboard maybe that is the reason why I never learned to play that game decently and took on reading sci-fi instead. [1] but not too firmly. Compare with Susan Calvin in Risk! - Isaac Asimov's "Rest of the robots" 1955: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Risk_(Asimov)

Sure , I am pretty familiar with the "fair use" provisions , it was just the "anything" that cracked me up . And I intentionally quoted a sentence that cannot really be considered "creative work" but rather "factual data" (exempted from Copyright protection) . BTW, one thing is Copyright (which gives you some rights on the copy) and another is - within your Copy Rights - to prohibit reproduction of "anything". IMHO the Creative Commons is more "near" the philosophy of both GNU and BSD than applying your copy rights this way. The article/tips are very nice, as said very good work! jaclaz

This must have been one of the best replies in years! jaclaz

What you want to do (though doable ) is NOT "easy-peasy" as you seem to expect . Bascially having an install of XP work: on different hardware from a USB connected disk is something that needs a lot of knowledge or a lot of time to learn how to do it. Depending on your current familiarity with this kind of things (and a little bit of luck, that is always a factor) the length of the "path" can be very variable. Casually, recently on 911cd we managed to get an almost completely newbie to succeed in this, so if you review this thread, it is the longest possible path: http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=24161&hl= and contains ALL the needed info/steps (and even many more than those strictly needed) jaclaz

With all due respect , you are making a fuss out of nothing, WHAT is so difficult: http://www.plop.at/en/bootmanager.html#noinstall I have RARELY seen in my life such simple, direct, easy and comprehensive set of instructions. Of course, if you need a map , I can draw one for you . jaclaz

Yep, but IMHO that says that the feature/specific use/scenarios of the program are not supported (which does not necessarily mean that it is "illegal" or "a breach of license" or "an actual crime"). AFAICU what the MS keyb says is layman's terms : jaclaz

Is it not more or less what many software houses do? jaclaz

Exactly. Yep. I would suggest first doing a backup of the CDRW "as is" (i.e. of it's "viewable" contents), and only later erase it , though . jaclaz

It is I already pointed you to it Basically what apparently comes from your post is: I have a problem. You should tell me how to solve it. Since I don't know anything about the steps involved, I assumed it is just a matter of following a few steps clearly explained and custom-tailored to my specific PC/OS/whatever. Which has as correspondent replies: Yes Done. This may prove harder than you might think, right now it's like going to (say) a carpenter and ask him "How do I build a house?" More specifically, before asking the question, you should know wat a hammer is, what nails are and what a saw is and be able to use them. About #3 I will gladly assist you if you have problems but you might understand how it will be difficult to do an entire PC tech course starting from your declared 0 (zero) knowledge in the field. jaclaz

Yeah, life is tough . All the waiting time, and no replies, I feel for you. WHERE from? Probably not . In some cases it is possible to create a "good enough" source Vista .iso from the files you have on the DVD (the one you DID NOT burn when prompted to ) or from the Recovery partition on your hard disk. Or you can contact HP/Compaq, it should be possible to have (paying for it) a copy of either the recovery DVD or of the install disc. Or you can buy a "full" license that comes with the actual install DVD. Compare with: (example only) You may find specific instructions here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-compaq/ http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-compaq/120228-clean-vista-install-no-activation.html but there are so many different ways your PC may have been set up that cannot say (expeciallly with no meaningful info about the model) jaclaz

Well, it must be a VERY COMPREHENSIVE and "liberal" employer, in order to allow his/her employee attempting to install the thingy on 3 (three) different computers (but same exact model), unless of course I got it wrong and the peep has three identical DELL's at home (a setup that is not AFAIK very common ). I do agree on the opinion that jaclaz was correct, though. jaclaz

HOW? Meaning which app/method do you use to "backup"? If you simply copy the files to the CDRW what you describe may be "normal". The way CDRW work is different from what you are probably are used to (floppies and hard disks). When you delete a file on a CDRW you don't actually delete it, you simply "hide" it. See if this helps explaining the issue: http://askbobrankin.com/cant_delete_from_cdrw.html jaclaz

Short answer: YES. http://homepages.tesco.net/J.deBoynePollard/FGA/questions-with-yes-or-no-answers.html Long answer: I presume that yes, a very limited amount of people, approximately ranging in the tens or hundreds of thousands or more, made it! As a side note, managing to use it even BEFORE it was ever released must have been a challenging actvity :unsure.: http://www.oldapps.com/nLite.php?old_nlite=9 jaclaz

Hmmm. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042286/quotes?qt=qt0123017 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042286/quotes?qt=qt0123018 http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042286/quotes?qt=qt0123022 jaclaz

See if this helps: http://www.techsupportforum.com/forums/f15/temp-monitor-106750.html nxsensor: ftp://cstula.ru/TOOLS/SOFTWARE/Test/System/NextSensor/ I have no idea if the mentioned software will run on win9x nor if it will work on your MB/processor, though. jaclaz

Today I feel like being sued for copyright infringement! Here: http://www.distasis.com/cpp/scitetip.htm (highlighting is mine) Seriously VERY good work! jaclaz P.S.: Just in case, it was only a little joke, if you feel seriously that citing the above is a Copyright infringement I will remove it as soon as you notify me.

Does this mean that you were caught committing an "actual crime" in the past? jaclaz

No, no confusion, as said two different "techniques" or "approaches". What you wanted to do (and jds is helping you about) is: boot the IO.SYS on the floppy from the booted from floppy environment load the rest of the system from USB device What I suggested you trying was another thing : boot the PLoP on the floppy (or add it as an option to the boot menu of your internal hard disk) from it load the IO.SYS and all the other files from USB device "Your" way you will have floppy access after boot (besides dutring it), "my" way (provided that it works ), you won't, and if it works and you add it to internal HD you won't need the floppy at all. If you prefer I was replying to the question: and not to : PLoP is written EXPRESSLY to detect and access a USB (or PCMCIA) device the BIOS knows nothing about. Whether it will work on your particular hardware/setup is to test and see. jaclaz

Well, yes, you have probably not "ported over" the Disk Signature, thus you need to fix "MountedDevices" key in the Registry. Are you familiar with the above? Easiest would be to copy now the disk signature from the old disk to the new one. Another way is to access OFFLINE the Windows 7 Registry and delete all keys under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\MountedDevices (they will be re-initialized correctly if your is a "standard" install, there may be problems with "strange" partitioning setups and/or drive letter changed during original install). Another way is to read the current disk signature and edit the relevant keys with the new value you find. Data is in the registry exactly as written in the MBR, see here: http://www.911cd.net/forums//index.php?showtopic=19663 (the format has not changed in 7). If you run the Windows 7 Recovery procedure from CD/DVD it should be able to fix the issue. jaclaz

We are talking two different "languages". I am talking of booting, you are talking of accessing "post boot". jaclaz

Are you sure it is an "actual crime"? It thought that deploying by mistake a copy of XP would have categorize as a license infringement (civill, NOT criminal) something you may be sued for and eventually have to pay a (huge) fine for: http://www.allbusiness.com/business-software-licensing/15636003-1.html or really will the F.B.I. guys or the U.S. Marshals break in and arrest you? jaclaz

NO way on XP if the USB device is seen as "removable". But this thread is an "exercise" to see what can be done "WITHOUT EXTRA TOOLS". If you want to "play the game" it's OK of course. If you want to actually have a working install from the USB stick, use any of the tools provided in this Forum, it will be faster. jaclaz