Re: RE-installing XP via Win 98


"Marcus Houlden" <spam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:slrnfaif4v.3g0.spam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Fri, 27 Jul 2007 00:54:14 +0100, Mortimer <me@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote the following to uk.comp.misc:

"Marcus Houlden" <spam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:slrnfai9qf.1h0.spam@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On Thu, 26 Jul 2007 14:05:50 -0700, naffer <timbrook99@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote the following to uk.comp.misc:

I have just bought an old PC (2002) which had XP installed. My plan
is to set it up for an elderly relative to do e-mail and Word.

My guess is that the m/c was originally supplied with W-98, SE or ME
and the "expert" did the XP upgrade. No other CDs are available.

Any ideas how I can go forward at minimal cost. I have tried the W-98
bootable downloads but they provide an DOS 7 rescue diskette.

So........... ideas, please

Any ideas?

Boot with one of the rescue disks. Follow the options that let you get
to
a
DOS prompt. Then type:

SYS A: C:

(this makes the HD bootable)
Change to drive c by typing

C:

Create a directory called C:\WINDOWS by typing
MD \WINDOWS

and

CD \WINDOWS

Copy a file from the recovery disk. Let's go for command.com just as an
example:

COPY A:\COMMAND.COM .

Rename it so XP "thinks" it's part of an existing install:

REN COMMAND.COM WIN.COM

(lines beginning with 2 spaces are what you need to type)

Reboot with the XP CD in the drive and this time it should work.

Does the XP installation program just look for a bootable HDD, the
presence
of a folder c:\windows and a file win.com within it, when installing from
an
upgrade CD? I'd expected the checks to be a bit more high-tech, such as
looking for entries in the registry or the presence of a fairly complex
set
of files. I hadn't realised it was so easy to fool the upgrade program!

It's a trick that used to work on older versions of Windows, I'll admit I
haven't tried it with XP and it looks like there are mixed reports about
whether it works or not. One thing that *might* work if it doesn't is to
copy the existing win.com off the XP CD and into the \windows directory.
An
easier option might be just to find someone's spare Win9x CD and feed it
that when it asks for it.


So you theorised rather than post something that you knew would work.

It doesn't work with XP.


.

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