Windows XP: Installing from Harddrive

Contributor Icon Contributed by Jimmy Selix  
Tag Icon Tagged: Windows installation  

This is another install recipe for Windows XP. Requirements: Windows 98SE Boot Diskette w/smartdrv.exe, Windows XP saved to harddrive (have a seperate FAT32 partition where XP install files are saved).


This recipe describes how to install windows xp from harddrive.

1. First, you need to copy your Windows XP Setup CD contents to your harddrive. NOTE! I recommend saving the xp install files/folders to a seperate partition than where your going to install xp to (ie. have setup files at d:\winxp\ and then install xp to c:\ drive)

2. Now, you will want to boot your pc with the windows 98 se bootdisk with smartdrv.exe on the floppy (increases data transfer speed by ten-fold in dos!). You do not need to boot with CD support since we’re installing XP from the files on your harddrive (in my example, D:\winxp\)

3. Once you get to the command prompt, you can format the partition where you are installing xp if you want (ie in my example, the c:\ ) by typing: format driveletter: replace driveletter with the drive (ie format c: in my example). And go through the prompts.

4. Once that finishes, change drives to the drive with XP on it.
In my example: D: then enter.
THen: CD WINXP (change directory to winxp folder) and enter

Now i will want to enable smartdrv, just type: smartdrv and then type it again. THe second time you type it and hit enter it will show the status of the drives and cache’ing.

5. Now, change directory to the i386 folder, by typing: cd i386 (this folder’s full path in my example would be D:\winxp\i386\).
Then type winnt to start the installation.

Just install XP like normal.

So now your probably asking yourself, why would i do this or need to know this? Well, i re-install my OS quite a bit. I get bored or it gets too cluttered so i just format and re-install. I don’t really have to backup my files either since i have my “my documents” folder located on a seperate partition (got two harddrives: hd1: c: (winxp files, program files) d: (pure program files only) hd2 m: (my music, games) j: (my documents folder) r: (ripping folder)

Hope that helps someone. :-)

 

22 Comments -


  1. Holger said on November 11, 2008

    installing microxp via that, dont have CDS right now, thanks

  2. KB said on January 25, 2009

    Hello there,

    I need some help pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeee

    Here is my problem, right after formatting drive C, I typed ” cd d: ” then D: popped up for a second then it went back to A:

    So it seems like i can NOT access drive D for some reason

    some please help, I don’t know what is going on ?????

  3. redeng said on February 2, 2009

    Thank u .It’s very usefule and important to me becaus i ahve old pc without cd rom but i well install a freedos on by buting the hdd in another machine then boot from it, ihope this workes and iwell post you
    thank u v m

  4. MTA said on April 13, 2009

    use the Hirens boot CD for NTFS Dos and all other Tools mostly used in DOS
    like partition magic , File manager , etc ………….

    can give you downlaod link Mail me

  5. Oliver said on May 21, 2009

    Hi, i have tried these steps but i have a sata hdd and the 98 se floppy will not recognise it

  6. cyrus said on June 8, 2009

    this is what im looking for, but i suggest you guys provide the smartdrv.exe software coz the link you had provided is not free,. :)

  7. rey said on June 14, 2009

    thank you dude..it’s cool
    I am trying it now.

  8. Sharoon said on June 19, 2009

    Hey heres waht im tryna do !! i got the new windows 7 iso all extracted n all…. n i wanna install it clean onto my desktop but it dont have a dvd in it n im not buyin one either!! lolz….anyhow i made a startup usb disc coz i dont have a floppy drive too!!! :) i know im outa resources here!! so i got the windows 7 folder in another hdd on my pc…i got a master n a slave btw!! and i was thinkin how can i install it on my c drive….i got the windows files on d drive…coz 98 start up in dos is not recognizing the ntfs file system…does it mean im gonna have to format it n then try this on fat file sys??!!! sombody point me in the rite direction plz

  9. deed said on June 21, 2009

    That’s just because your BIOS had the CD drive as a higher priority than your HDD. When it saw a bootable disc in the CD drive it started loading from that rather than the HDD.

  10. mplo said on June 25, 2009

    after setup files were copied, it prompted reboot and removal of the boot disk. problem was, hard drive can’t boot.. “no bootable device — insert boot disk and press any key” appears.. HELP

  11. Anonymous said on August 11, 2009

    Thanks very much ! you saved me ….. your solution works perfectly….

  12. phunk said on August 17, 2009

    How to fix the “DISK BOOT FAILURE” after the DOS – part of the install.
    Right after formatting load F-Disk and set the C: Drive as ‘active’
    It’s in the menu of F-Disk, just look for it.
    It will allow windows to boot from C: and continue the installation.
    You have to do this before the start of the installation by running ‘winnt’
    It was a lifesaver for me….;-)

  13. Anonymous said on August 17, 2009

    You Have to SET your HDD to 2 or more Partition…
    You’ll also need to set the Active Partition of MS-DOS OS… from the F-disk Menu
    I set it to C:
    and put my WinXp Installation Files on D:

  14. ijstyles said on November 7, 2009

    Worked like charm in my pc though I have to do a lot of troubleshooting. Thanks

  15. Tim said on December 5, 2009

    The guide helped me do a XP install;) Just after the dos part i had to run fdisk from the fdd to make the partition active;)Before that pc started with no operation system ;) Thanks mate anyway

  16. Anonymous said on February 20, 2010

    when i instal from my D-Drive..its start but after some moment an error occur….

    “Eula is not found ”
    it is quite well when i instal the xp from cd…

    why?

  17. Dr-Hax-killed-Chuckles said on July 19, 2010

    William, your PC is freezing because dos cannot be used to install an os if dos itself is installed to the hd. It happened to me too with 98. I had to make a special install cd to install entirely from my cd drive. I used magiciso to make a bootable disk that booted a windows me boot floppy, or in this case, a vfd (virtual floppy disk) image file, in which I ran 98 setup and installed 98 on my computer. This method may or may not work with xp. MagicISO is pay for. I just found a code online.Mainly because I used to make custom boot disks with it. Again, you MUST use a dos floppy. DOS won’t install ANY OS if DOS is installed to the hd. My guess for the reason it can’t find the files is because it deletes them after. I hope I could help.

  18. anoop said on July 21, 2010

    i want to install windows xp while windows7 is running in d drive&also in c drive the setup of xp is in my e drive how i install

  19. Dj said on July 27, 2010

    what in this case where u dont hae a floppy disk? would you copy the win98 SE on the Hard drive to boot??

  20. Bill Wilkison said on November 4, 2010

    I’ve got a trojan virus that has put a lot of crap in my Window’s registry – of course, its a bogus way for somebody to supply me with removal software for this registry crap that they, themselves, installed on my computer (without my permission).

    So, I want to format the hard drive and reinstall Windows XP, (current version has service pac 3, I think) and my Dell Laditude is one that came not with the OS on a disk, but on a D partition of the hard drive.

    Question is …….. once I’ve formatted the disk (C only), how do I reinstall OS from partition D?

  21. Fernando dos santos quaresma said on September 20, 2011

    well creating the First partition to sustain the 98 boot can we have in sam epartition but in diferent folder the winXP install files?
    i.e.

    c:\ smrtdrv
    |_FolderXP/
    |
    |_ xp install files

    would this commit some install errors o it will work just fine , is it recomended to use the first partition in FAT file sistem? because i read other tuts and they advice to do that .

    what do you thinnk about it ?

  22. Fernando dos santos quaresma said on September 20, 2011

    plus the best form to install the xp trough hdd is to copy the MBR and boot.ini from a eepc or (in portugal) magalhaes , they come already prepared to re-install the xp , the command lines are just enought the only thing is that you must slipstream the drivers to yours xp cd installation.

    the best method though

 

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