Reinstall Windows XP with no disk

[ashanta]

Okay- this question may seem a bit silly-- but here goes
In the time of need--say for instance when your system does not recognize your hard drive--or displays NO OPERATING SYSTEM FOUND--
How do you put in the cd boot disk if your computer did not come with a Windows xp Operating system disk--Because it was preinstalled on the computer--
As goofy as this may seem--I would really like to know what to do--as I am face with just such a problem--
Any suggestions??
Any help will be much appreciated>>>

[EzyStvy]

Besides purchasing a XP you could look and see if you got some sort of recovery cd with your system.

[ktkendall]

If you did not even get a restore disk, or if there is not a restore utility on the PC itself, then you'll have to take it or send it in for service. Look under programs for a restore utility. My Sony laptop had one from which I was able to restore the laptop to full factory load because they hide a restore partition right there on the harddrive.

[jayb1234]

Or check with the manufacturer and see what they want for a windows cd. They usually charge about ten bucks when you order it with the machine and you might be able to get it at that price.

[puccini]

I happened to see this on another site the other day:

Reinstal Windows without an installation disc:
A folder named 'i386' containing the Windows installation files is probably in the root directory of drive C: or in your C:\Windows folder. Your system may have several i386 folders, but the one you want has a lot of files with extensions ending in underscores (_), along with the executable files expand.exe, regedit.exe, and winnt32.exe. Copy this folder onto a CD for safekeeping, though you'll use the version on the hard drive to actually reinstall Windows.

Keep your Windows Product Key handy--you'll need it to reinstall the OS.

You'll also need a bootable CD for starting the install process. Bart’S free PE Builder creates a CD-bootable version of XP called Bart's Pre-install Environment, or BartPE, from either a Windows CD or the i386 folder.

Open PE Builder's main dialog box and select the folder or drive containing your i386 folder, but not the folder itself. Check Create ISO image, click Burn to CD, and select your CD-RW drive from the Device drop-down menu. If PE Builder doesn't support your burner, double-click the PE Builder--created .iso file to launch your CD authoring program and burn the CD.

To reinstall Windows, boot from the BartPE CD you just created and select Go, Programs, A43 File Management Utility. Navigate to the hard drive's i386 folder (do not use the i386 folder on the CD). Double-click winnt32.exe to start the installation process. When the installation program closes, reboot your PC, remove the CD, and select Microsoft Windows XP Setup from the resulting boot menu. The installation will pick up where it left off.

Hope this may help.

[ashanta]

Well this clarifies the issue for me---
Thanks for everyones input---
I will be looking into the root directory for the folder containg the instillation files--Thanks again!!

[glc]

If the hard drive is not even recognized, you are out of luck without any reinstall media. Contact the manufacturer/vendor of your machine or buy a new copy of Windows.

[doubledragon5]

You can get a copy cheap at newegg.com. This is all you need....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116056

[ITlover]

Originally Posted by ashanta Okay- this question may seem a bit silly-- but here goes In the time of need--say for instance when your system does not recognize your hard drive--or displays NO OPERATING SYSTEM FOUND-- How do you put in the cd boot disk if your computer did not come with a Windows xp Operating system disk--Because it was preinstalled on the computer-- As goofy as this may seem--I would really like to know what to do--as I am face with just such a problem-- Any suggestions?? Any help will be much appreciated>>>

Reinstallation of winxp can take place without winxp cd but their should be a backup of i386 folder in your HDD from where you can run the setup.
I think he hasnt given you winxp cd because their might already be a backup of i386 folder in your HDD.

Can you boot your Computer from a bootable win98 CD or a bootable floppy disk?
If you have a win98 bootable floppy disk , just reboot your computer, go into the BIOS setting by pressing F2 key(if the screen says to press F2 to run the BIOS setup) otherwise press any other key that is mentioned on the screen to run the BIOS setup as soon as the computer boots.

Select Floppy drive as your 1st boot priority in BIOS setup and then come out of the BIOS setup ,you will see a dos prompt (A:/>) where you simply enter the drive letter with a colon and press enter, and then enter "dir" which will display all the files and directories in that drive. If you find i386 folder their just go into it and enter "winnt.exe" to start installation.

before starting installation, just write C: in the dos prompt and press (enter) and then write dir and press enter to see if you have windows folder,

If after entering Dos prompt if you are not able to select any drive then it means that your HDD is not detected by the system.

[doubledragon5]

I have run into people who have had the same situation.. Bought a PC with no restore disk or even a copy of windows.. In the future I would recommend that when purchasing a new or used PC insist that it come with a genuine copy of windows or don't bother purchasing it...

[glc]

Or at least with a utility to create your own restore media from the recovery partition.

[puccini]

glc, is it true that if you have reinstalled or repaired XP, using F11 won’t enable you to restore from the recovery partition?

If it is true, can I access the recovery partition, delete the data and use the space for something else?

[glc]

If the recovery partition is still there and hasn't been touched, it can still be used for a system recovery. Hitting F11 is a bios thing, not a Windows thing.

If you really want to get rid of it, you can use Disk Management to delete the partition and create a new one that can be used - or use Partition Magic to expand the system partition after deletion.

[puccini]

Thanks for reply.

(I meant to write CTRL+F11)

[glc]

I know what you meant - you are referring to a Dell. You also have a small FAT partition at the front of the drive for diagnostics.

[puccini]

Yes, it’s a Dell. And the small FAT partition is the one I was referring to. I was told it was probably ‘a special, hidden recovery partition’.

[glc]

No, that's system diagnostics. Leave that alone, you press F12 to access it. If you blow that away the only way you can run diags is by booting with a compatible Dell resource CD. The recovery partition is at the end of the drive, usually about 2 or 3 gigs or so. The diag partition is about 32 megs.

[puccini]

Thanks a lot. V. useful info'.