installing xp without a cd drive


	installing xp without a cd drive	View full version
User #145369 36 posts wade85 Forum Regular	Hi all I have a great little Dell Latitude LS400 lappy, I brought it about 3 years ago, its a great little machine but it does not have a cd drive, floppy and does not support booting from usb. I have reached a point where I would like to do a clean install on it but as it does not have an cd drive are you able to offer a solution - I would prefer to not take the hard drive out... Can I install over a network? If so could you point me toward a work through of similar. ws	anchor posted 2007-Jul-21, 7pm AEST
User #39622 2766 posts tafed00d Whirlpool Forums Addict	Well if it doesnt support booting off USB and No optical drive maybe its time for a NEW BETTER LAPTOP with a optical drive and able to boot USB . Since it sounds older spec its probly a good idea NOT to install XP onto it . Try to contact dell and see if they sell internal laptop optical drives for this model One thing you could do is install a Linux Distro by floppy that then downloads the rest via the internet/another pc on the network . Does this laptop even come with a network card or its that old ? You can deploy windows thou the Network its a lot of stuffing about	anchor posted 2007-Jul-21, 7pm AEST
User #11459 736 posts PTButt Whirlpool Enthusiast	Since you have indicated the ability to connect to this pc via a network, just copy the contents of your installation cd into a folder on the lappy, then install from that location.	anchor posted 2007-Jul-21, 7pm AEST
User #29443 8213 posts Ragnorak Whirlpool Forums Addict	wade85 writes... I would prefer to not take the hard drive out... That's about the only way to do it since I don't think you can install Windows from inside Windows. The article in the link below is probably your best bet. Install Windows XP without floppy or cd drives	anchor posted 2007-Jul-21, 7pm AEST edited 2007-Jul-21, 9pm AEST
User #40365 698 posts finbar7 Whirlpool Enthusiast	Installing Windows XP Professional over the Network www.serverwatch.com/tuto...icle.php/1466511 (Sorry but this method requires floppy)	anchor posted 2007-Jul-21, 7pm AEST edited 2007-Jul-21, 8pm AEST
User #145369 36 posts wade85 Forum Regular	It's already got xp on it, and once its installed I can use an external CD RW but not one that it will boot from. ws	anchor posted 2007-Jul-22, 11am AEST
User #102963 1091 posts sydranger In the penalty box	Is it worth the trouble?	anchor posted 2007-Jul-22, 11am AEST
User #29443 8213 posts Ragnorak Whirlpool Forums Addict	wade85 writes... It's already got xp on it, and once its installed I can use an external CD RW but not one that it will boot from. I'm pretty sure you can't install XP from inside XP so unless you can attach something else you can boot your computer from you'll have to remove the HDD.	anchor posted 2007-Jul-22, 1pm AEST
User #145369 36 posts wade85 Forum Regular	Well I just did it, via USB, copied the Win Xp cd to thumb drive then from in windows opened autorun and went from there as normal, its all done now. ws	anchor posted 2007-Jul-22, 5pm AEST