Re: Slipstreaming XP

"ned" <me@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:3r808aFi8sd3U1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> pmj wrote:
>> "ned" <me@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>> news:3r5c04Fha8guU1@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>>> "pmj" <post@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>>> news:8pZ2f.127318$G8.110995@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
<snip>
>>>> Or you can use the Contents of the i386 Folder (or equivalent)
>>>> that you have, instead.
>>>
>>> Really? Well, that's news (to me).
>>
>> Oh?
>> We discussed all this a while ago, didn't we?
>
> ....... Never at no time did I comprehend that the i386 folder was
> a fallback for the WinXP install CD. That was the bit that was new.

Ah!
Right!
:-)

I see the confuzzlement then!

Yep - A windoze (XP) CD has a whole load of Files in it, which are used
to Install windoze, & those Files are (on the CD) in a Folder called
"i386".

What you may not have realised is that most OEM Installations (such
as yours is) *also* have the Install Files on the Hard Disk.

We did try to establish that & clarify it, the last time this was
talked about, when you were worrying about not having a proper WinXP
Install CD

The Folder where the Install Files are, in an OEM Installation is
*usually* (though not always) called "i386" & is usually referred to
as "the i386 Folder"

It has to have those Files *somewhere*, so that it can get New Copies
of them, to Replace any Corrupted or Missing Copies, when Installing
other stuff.

If that Folder doesn't exist, then WinXP will throw up a Prompt -
"Please insert the WinXP CD", asking for it - you won't have seen
that Prompt, cos when windoze needs any Files (that would be on the
Install CD) it gets them from the Folder with the Files in (on the
Hard Disk).

Anybody can actually Install windoze from a Folder of Files - & in fact
that's the way it's often done in Corporate/Commercial Environments.

The Install Files can be in a Folder with *any* Name, but it's usually
called "i386"

>> When you had that prob with doing the SP1 Service Pack thingy
>> (or was it the SP2 Service Pack)?
>>
>> You said that it all went wrong & various suggestions &
>> recommendations were made, up to & including doing a Format & Fresh
>> Install.
>>
>> You said that you didn't have a WinXP Install CD with your PC
>> & we explained that you could actually use *any* WinXP Install CD
>> (so long as it is the right Version - Home/Pro OEM/Retail Etc.)
>> They are basically the same (apart from the bits that Identify the
>> Version)
>>
>> All you actually need is the Install *Files* & the Licensing stuff
>> is taken care of by the Product Key, which is Matched to your
>> Installation.
>>
>> You can use another CD (or Set of Install Files, from which to make
>> a Bootable CD), so long as you use *your* Product Key with them.
>
> .............. ROFL! Oh yes, no denying all that was gone into.
> It was the little gem about the i386 folder standing in for the
> WinXP CD, that was new.

LOL!!!

OK, but I think there's a slight difference of interpretation here,
when you uuse the phrase "standing in for"?

What do you mean by that?

Yes, you can Install windoze either from a Folder of Files, which can
either be on a Hard Disk or on a CD.

BUT - You need a working (Booted) PC to do the Install that way.

& if you are only doing the Install, cos your PC won't Boot,
then it doesn't really Help, whether or not you have the Files in
a Folder on your Hard Disk, or on a CD.

So...

What is needed is a *Bootable* CD, that *also* contains the i386 Folder,
with the Install Files in it. - That Folder can be Copied from your Hard
Disk or from any WinXP CD.

& that needs to be made *before* you find that you need it.

> And, incidentally, I eventually got a fix for my prob that didn't
> need the HiTech solution.

Yep - I gathered you made it all Fixted OK.
BTW - what did you do to make it Fixted?

The "Bootable Install CD" isn't really a "High Tech" Solution!!!
It's the quick, simple easy Solution to doing an Install.

It takes about 15 or 20 Minutes, from start to finish, to make
a Bootable Install CD from an i386 Folder & a Bootable CD.

Yes, it usually takes longer than that to make it the very *first* time
you make one - cos a lot of what you do to make it, may well be New -
it was for me!

But once you've found out about it & done it, then the next time you
want to make a Bootable Install CD, it's much quicker.
:-)

What's that?
I can hear you saying "there won't be a *next* time, surely?
Why would anybody want to make a Bootable Install CD more than once???
:-)

Well...
I won't answer that here.
:-)

>>> So, all the time I thought I was deprived, not having the WinXP CD,
>>> the guts of the thing was safely tucked away in \C: .
>>
>> Yep!!!
>> Well ,maybe not C:\
>>
>> More like C:\Windows\i386\
>
> <pedantic mode>
> .................... I think that *is* in C:\ , isn't it? :-))
> </pedantic mode>

Not really?...
:-)

Yes the *Windows* Folder (which contains the "i386" Folder) is in
"C:\" ,but that doesn't mean the "i386" Folder is in "C:\"!!!
Notice the "\"? - That means "the Root" of the Drive

Yes, the "i386" Folder *is* in (or on) "the C: Drive", but it's
not in the *Root* of the "C:" Drive, (as signified by"C:\")

It's a *sub-Folder* within the windoze Folder & by Convention
Sub-Folders aren't counted as being in the Root - that's (on of) the
Distinction(s), between Folders & Sub Folders!
:-)

A Sub-Folder *is* a Folder, yes.
& a Folder *can* be a Sub-Folder (but isn't always).

If a Folder is in the Root of a Drive, then it's not a Sub-Folder,
by definition.

I'm not trying to be "Pedantic" here, just trying to clarify some of
the Terminology & Conventions, so you can Find the stuff (& refer to it)
when you need it.

"C:" Refers to the whole of the Drive, but "C:\" refers *specifically*
to the Root of the "C:" Drive

>> That's the Default Location, but it can (& does) vary.
>>
>> I thought that (at that time) you did actually check that you had
>> the i386 Folder (with the Install Files in it)?
>
> Yes, I can vaguely recall checking that I had the i386 folder, whether
> I would have recognised an install file is another matter. :-)

I think I mentioned what to look for & how to recognise whether what
you were looking at (when you have found something!) is what you need.

To do a windoze Installation, you need a whole bunch of "Install Files",
Not just one!
:-)

>>> Would it then make sense to copy that to CD for safety's sake,
>>> in case of melt down?
>>
>> Yes!
>> Definitely!
>> :-)
<snip>
>>> Ta muchly.
>>> I may not use it but its nice to know where help is.
>>
>> Yep!!!
>> But really, the point is, (as you say) you may not use it - but I do
>> think you need to do it, *before* you find that you need it!
>>
>> Cos when you actually *need* it, then you won't be able to do it,
>> will you?
>>
>> It needs to be done in advance, while you have a working System.
>> & while you can find out *how* to do it!
>> :-)
>
> Whoa, there boy! I think we are heading in different directions.
> My interest (not intent!) was solely in the 'i386 in lieu of a WinXP
> install disc' scenario.

Ah, I see!

& the fact that something *can* (or can't) be done, doesn't mean that
it makes it something that you want to do?
:-)
> I am in the most fortuitous position of owning a Slipstreaming XP
> disc. 'Cost hard bucks from a vel lelyabl source but saved a lot of
> hassle.

Yep - But making *your own* (which is basically how that one was made)
means that you can even include your very own Product Key on it.

Which means that you wouldn't have to Type in the Product Key during
the Installation.

>... You see, while I am capable of fixtding all that ails the
> planet (!), sadly, I have to allocate my resources where they will be
> most effective ............ so, preparing slipstreamed XP recovery
> CDs doesn't even appear on the prioritised 'To Do' list - currently
> topped by 'Fix wheelbarrow'.
> :-)

Fair enough!

But have you yet actually *tried* using that Install CD?

Have you tried Booting off it?
Not actually *doing* an Install, but checking that it Boots off it OK
(& that you know how to Boot off it)

That only takes a few minutes to check (& maybe a little while longer,
finding out how to, if you find out when you try it that you don't
know how to)

These are genuine Qs - Cos I'm always puzzled when people say they
"haven't got time" to do stuff like that, yet when their PC gets
Brokted & they *have* to find out about & do it, they seem to be
perfectly prepared to spend *loads* of time (& also, often even
money!!!)
doing it, when it could be done a lot quicker, (& cheaper) if they had
practiced, before they needed it.

--
pmj


.

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