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Serious problems with XP installation

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Here is my dilemma: I have a Toshiba Portege 3505 tablet pc, it has no internal optical drive. It originally came shipped with an external dvd-rom drive which interfaced via Cardbus slot. However, I am not the original owner and I did not get this external drive when this PC was given to me(it was free!) the hard drive is fried, so I ordered a new one along with a USB external dvd-r drive. I figured I would use this to load XP on the new HDD, but the BIOS(tried every boot sequence combo it offered, its BIOS utility sucks!) doesnt have an option to boot from USB and the system is not recognizing the DVD hardware upon reboot either. So, I had the idea of using another machine of mine to mount a bootable image of XP to the new HDD by interfacing the new HDD to my other machine with a 2.5″ USB enclosure. I tried this and while it sounds good on paper, it is not working in reality. I have never been in a situation like this, so I am not sure of what to do. Not sure how to use Sysprep Utility, someone was telling me I could try to use it?! I just want to be able to run XP setup and have a fresh install of XP on the new HDD for my Tablet PC. Ideas?

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In reply to Serious problems with XP installation

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This may be of assistance

In reply to Serious problems with XP installation

If you copy the Windows Setup Files tot he HDD they need to include a DOS Setup utility so that the HDD effectively becomes a Boot Disc like a Floppy would. You also need to format the partition with the Install Files to a FAT 32 Partition and then set the Boot Order to HDD as the first option.

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tablet PC troubles

In reply to This may be of assistance

So if I reformat this HDD as a FAT32 partitioned drive, then add the windows setup files along with a DOS setup utility, remove it from the enclosure & insert the HDD back into the Tablet PC, then set the boot order as HDD in BIOS, setup will launch? where can I find a good DOS setup utility.. And are there any additional steps I may need to follow?

See how you go with this

In reply to tablet PC troubles

http://ms-dos7.hit.bg/#msfv

Burn it to CD using Nero or similar.

Ensure that you have an Active Partition on the new Drive and it is formatted FAT32.
Disconnect the Hard Drive from the PC that you have been using. Set it to Boot from CD in the BIOS. Connect your USB HD and turn on the PC. Insert the DOS CD that you created and follow the prompts to install it to the USB Drive. When you have finished installing DOS shutdown the PC and reconnect the Hard Drive.

Restart the PC and reconnect the USB HD, now you will need to copy the I386 folder from your XP CD to the USB HD. When you have finished doing that, disconnect the USB HD and insert it back into the Notebook. Turn on the Notebook and you should end up with a DOS Prompt. Type in CD I386 and press enter. Type winnt.exe and press Enter

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