tkmadison Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 (edited) Here's my issue, and i realize it's not really a big issue....Just got a new computer that didn't come with any installation cds. it's a lenovo and has everything stashed away on a hidden partition for restoring or reinstalling. the setup files are located on the main partition of the hard drive, so making a cd (unattended or otherwise - why even pay for the shipping and handling for a factory copy?) is relatively easy except that the files that usually sit in the root directory of a xp setup cd are absent.now i have another copy of xp - it is dell oem xp pro, but my new version is lenovo oem xp home.can i just use the files from the dell cd? (most importantly the setup.exe file....the others; win51, win51ip, and win51ip.sp2 i don't think will be a problem) Edited June 11, 2006 by tkmadison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prx984 Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 i dont know if this will help, but heres how i make a bootable XP cd after i slipstream the service pack. it might work for your purpose, because xp doesnt use a setup.exe file like the traditional 95/98/ME, you have to able to boot the computer from the cd to get the boot sector to get XP to install. either that, or use the original XP 6 boot floppy's wich are a pain because of how slow they are. so i recommend copying all the files in that partition to a folder, and then follow bart's way to make the XP cd. if you need the win51.sp1 or win51.sp2 or however theyre named, let me know and i can send you those files you need. i hope you can get it working.-brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkmadison Posted June 11, 2006 Author Share Posted June 11, 2006 i dont know if this will help, but heres how i make a bootable XP cd after i slipstream the service pack. it might work for your purpose, because xp doesnt use a setup.exe file like the traditional 95/98/ME, you have to able to boot the computer from the cd to get the boot sector to get XP to install. either that, or use the original XP 6 boot floppy's wich are a pain because of how slow they are. so i recommend copying all the files in that partition to a folder, and then follow bart's way to make the XP cd. if you need the win51.sp1 or win51.sp2 or however theyre named, let me know and i can send you those files you need. i hope you can get it working.-brianBuilding a bootable iso will be no problem. I could use either nLite or CDImageGUI to do it...I suppose that the setup.exe at the root of the CD probably isn't even used for installing xp from a boot, is it? Likely I could get around that. Still, I could use the files that I have and see if it works in VMWare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bezalel Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 http://www.msfn.org/board/index.php?showtopic=63258 You can use all the files on the Dell CD except for the oembios files. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prx984 Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 windows xp uses a file called winnt.exe in the I386 folder to start installing itself. but the best thing to do is build the bootable cd using the files in that directory on your laptop there. is it like all the files copied from an XP CD? if so, then use nLite or any other way to make the bootable ISO then test it. it does work, my dad's dell laptop was the same when he got it. i made him a bootable ISO out of the backup partition. it worked, activated itself and all that. the setup.exe file on the root of the disc is actually just an autorun. if you try to run it through dos, it says "this program cannot be run in MS-DOS mode." you need to use the windows xp boot cd to get it to install correctly. if you just try to install it from the winnt.exe file , it fails if S.M.A.R.T. for HDD isnt enabled. i dont know why it does that, but it will start the install if you boot the computer from the original XP boot cd. hope this helps somewhat.-brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tkmadison Posted June 11, 2006 Author Share Posted June 11, 2006 @BezalelWell I would only need the ones in the root directory (the win51, win51ip, and win51ip.sp2)...however when I ran it through nLite, it said i was missing a file (win51ic) - which I'm assuming is the difference between pro and home? Although I've read that's an indicator of slipstreaming, which I hadn't done.the only cd that i have is pro (dell oem). the newer computer (home) didn't come with any media, but had all the contents of a setup cd on the C: drive (i386 folder, SUPPORT, VALUEADD, etc).But thanks for the link - very interesting stuff. I know you've now given me something to fill my spare time with for a while!@brian10161i know i won't need the setup.exe from the root directory...and i'm pretty sure that i won't have to worry about S.M.A.R.T. being disabled since it seems to be enabled by default. As i said above, i have all the files i'm supposed to have for the new computer (lenovo) except those individual files that would normally be in the root directory of a setup cd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bezalel Posted June 11, 2006 Share Posted June 11, 2006 Pro has win51ip as its tagfile and Home has win51ic as its tagfile. If you just replace the oembios files on the Dell Pro CD You will have a prectivated Lenovo Pro CD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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