I have a very old RoverBook Navigator W511WH laptop with a failed hard drive. Since the disk has an IDE interface, and even customized for laptops, it will be very difficult to find one and it will be very expensive. And I don't have any money. I do not want this laptop to stand idle when everything in it is working. I have a 4 GB flash drive, and there are two options for installing the system: either put Windows XP on this flash drive (in addition to the laptop, there is also a stationary PC from which I write, so this is an opportunity) and boot on the laptop from it, or do this so that the flash drive is defined as a full-fledged disk, and not removable. I tried to install the Hitachi driver (well, or something like that it is called) for a flash drive, but after a reboot, the system refused to load it, which is why, in principle, it could not boot. I had to select the "Use Last Known Good Boot Configuration" option. Apparently, without this driver, it is no longer possible to make a disk out of a flash drive. So, you have to install the system on a USB flash drive, and then load the laptop from it. But how to install Windows XP on a flash drive through a Windows 7 PC, and even so that any computer can be booted from this flash drive? I asked on the Internet, but they told me that if so, then it's better to install Linux. But I don't understand it at all, and I also wanted to use the laptop for tests using programs and games for Windows. And in general, I don’t want to leave Windows anywhere. And point.
P.S. Whether it is possible to make it all means of system (Windows 7)? It doesn’t matter what the complexity will be, the main thing is that it should be possible to perform without downloading software. Thanks in advance.
/ Vitaly Vladimirovich 05/15/2017, 12:31
Good question and I'll try to answer it. At one time I was also interested in this issue - starting the system from a flash drive or from an external drive on any computer. As a result, I have a 4 GB flash drive with Windows XP, a 64 GB flash drive with Windows 7, and an external hard drive with Windows 10. I use them when I need to do something with clients or myself to do something with a fallen system.
So, all this can be done in Windows 7, but there is one caveat: if you have 32-bit Windows 7 on your desktop computer, then 32-bit systems will be installed on the USB flash drive.
With the help of this article http://remontcompa.ru/848-usb.html you can install any system on a USB flash drive (see how to work with the WinNTSetup3 program right away, bypassing the partitioning). I advise you not to mess with Windows XP, but to install Windows 7 Home. What is not clear - write, ask, I will definitely answer (especially regarding the missing drivers).
But if you are determined to install Windows XP unconditionally - write, I will look for the method by which I installed it on my USB flash drive.
IgorLikesWindows / 16.05.2017, 02:00
Thank you. Only here there are a few nuances: I have Windows 7 x64 on my computer, does this mean that I can only install 64-bit systems on a USB flash drive? And one more thing: the laptop is so old that, I'm afraid, it will be unrealistic to work on it with Win 7, here are its characteristics: Intel Pentium M 1.6 GHz, 533 MHz FSB, Intel GMA 900 (up to 192 MB of RAM), 512 MB DDR 333 memory MHz (2 Samsung sticks of 256 MB each), display 1280x800. Yes, he will pull the seven, but very slowly. I plan to expand the memory up to 768 MB or 1 GB (depending on the budget), but the processor is single-core, and this is the most powerful processor for socket 479, you can try to install Pentium 4, because. it is for socket 478 and is compatible with 479, but I don't have money to buy it, plus cooling simply won't cope, and plus everything will need to increase the voltage of the connector. But in any case, putting Windows 7 on a single-core processor is suicide, even if there is at least 64 GB of memory. As for me, this can be done purely for the sake of fun and testing the possibilities, but in order to constantly use it on one core ... fate forbid mankind will know these torments, I saw the speed of 7 on 4 stumps and 4 gigs of memory. Oh yes, 512 mb for 7 ... She herself, without programs and autoload, eats up to a giga of memory. So, after all these long talks about 7 and single cores and memory, I still insist on XP. Well, in the most extreme case, I will set the maximum to Vista, because it eats 0.2-0.3 GB and still somehow will really use it.
P.S. About WinNTSetup, I can download it, but I'm such a user that before downloading any program, I have to make sure that it's impossible to do it using the system's methods? Is it possible to install XP on a USB flash drive via com. line?
Not all laptops and personal computers have a CD/DVD drive. Netbooks generally come without drives. It may also happen that your CD/DVD drive is broken and you don't want to buy a new one. And if this is just your case, and you need to install or reinstall the system, then a bootable USB flash drive with Windows will come to your rescue. The process of installing Windows from a USB flash drive is much faster than from a CD or DVD. After reading this article, you will learn: how to make a bootable USB flash drive with Windows XP, how and why you need to integrate SATA into a distribution kit with the Windows XP operating system, how to install Windows XP from a USB flash drive.
We will need:
1. Program nLite -.
2. SATA drivers -.
3. Package Microsoft.NET Framework 2.0 - . (Microsoft.NET Framework 2.0 is necessary for the nLite program to work. It must be installed by those users who are going to integrate drivers under the Windows XP operating system.).
4. Program Winsetupfromusb -.
5. USB flash drive or memory card with a capacity of 1 GB or more.
6. Disc or image of Windows XP.
Integrating SATA Drivers into a Windows XP Distribution
When installing the Windows XP operating system, laptop / netbook users encounter a problem when the Windows XP installer does not detect hard drives. In this case, you may see a blue screen with an error, or on the screen where it should appear (hard disk partitions), you will see only your USB flash drive / memory card.
Why is this happening? The original distribution of Windows XP does not include drivers for SATA hard disk controllers. This is explained by the fact that SATA controllers were produced later than Windows XP. All modern laptops and netbooks are equipped with SATA hard drives, so it is necessary to integrate SATA drivers into the Windows XP distribution.
Before integrating the SATA drivers, you need to unpack the Windows XP image. To unpack the image, you can use, for example, such a free archiver as 7zip- . If you have a disk with Windows XP, then you need to make a disk image in ISO format, and then unpack the image into some folder. Let's say the folder into which we unpacked the distribution will be located on drive D and called Windows_XP, and the unpacked folder with drivers will be located on drive D and called SATA_DRIVERS.
Run the program nLite by clicking the desktop shortcut of the same name. Choose Russian. We press the button Further.
Click the button Review...
In the window Folder overview select the folder where you unpacked the Windows XP image. In the example shown, this folder is called Windows_XP which is located on drive D. After you have specified the folder with Windows, click the button OK.
Wait a little.
Click the button Further.
Click the button Further.
Click on the button Drivers. The circle on the button will change to green. Click the button Further.
Click on the button Add.
Select Drivers folder.
In the window Folder overview you need to select the folder with the drivers. For a 32-bit operating system, select the 32-bit folder; for a 64-bit operating system, select the 64-bit folder. Be careful when choosing a folder with drivers. If you integrate 64-bit drivers into a 32-bit operating system or vice versa, then you will get an error when installing Windows.
After you have selected the folder with the drivers, press the button OK.
Click on the line that contains the path to the drivers and click the button OK.
Here we select the SATA controller driver.
If you do not know which driver to select, then holding down the left mouse button, select all drivers and press the button OK.
If you are integrating drivers for AMD SATA controllers, then select the second line for a 32-bit operating system, and select the first line for a 64-bit operating system. We press the button OK.
We press the button Further.
Click Yes.
There will be an integration process.
We press the button Further.
That's it, the integration process is complete. We exit the program.
If you have problems integrating the drivers into your distribution, you can install Windows XP in IDE mode.
To do this, before installing Windows XP, you need to go into the BIOS and enable the IDE emulation mode, and install the SATA drivers after installing Windows. But not all motherboards support IDE emulation mode. In some cases, you need to update the BIOS for this option to appear. The screenshot below shows how to enable this mode in the BIOS. Depending on the BIOS manufacturer, the option responsible for setting this mode may appear as: SATA mode, SATA Configuration, IDE Configuration etc. You need to look for it on the tab Main or Advanced.
If you read the article, then you can not reveal the spoiler, if you have not read it, then open it by clicking the mouse.
Create a bootable USB flash drive with Windows XP
Instructions for the old program, version 1.0, the link above is a new version, but the meaning remains the same.
Extract the archive WinSetup-1-0-beta7.
Insert the flash drive into your laptop.
Important! Before creating a bootable flash drive, copy all important data from the flash drive to other storage media, as during the formatting process, all data on the flash drive will be destroyed.
Run the Winsetupfromusb program by clicking on the WinSetupFromUSB_1-0-beta7.
In Windows 7 and Windows Vista, you need to start the program like this - right-click on the program icon and select "Run as administrator".
In field USB disk selection and format should be your flash drive.
Important! If the flash drive is not detected, then format it with the PeToUSB or HPUSBFW utility.
Also, the flash drive may not be detected if it is inserted into the laptop after the Winsetupfromusb 1.0 Beta7 program has been launched, and in order for it to be detected, just press the button Refresh.
Click on the button RMPrepUSB.
We mark such lines as: XP/BartPE bootable, NTFS. Put a tick next to Boot as HDD (C:2PTNS). We press the button 6 Prepare Drive.
We press the button OK.
We press the button OK.
After that, the following Dos window will appear.
Warning! Do not close this window. It should close automatically.
After the Dos window closes, press the button exit.
Put a tick in front of the field Windows 2000/XP/2003 Setup.
Specify the path to the folder with the unpacked Windows XP image by clicking on the box on the right.
A window will appear Folder overview in which we specify the folder with Windows XP. After you have done this, press the button OK.
We press the button GO. The process of writing Windows XP files to the USB flash drive will begin.
After the recording is completed, such a small window will appear. Click OK.
We close the program.
All. We have created a bootable USB flash drive with Windows XP. We just have to go into the BIOS and set the boot priority to the USB flash drive, install Windows XP from the USB flash drive.
Enabling boot from a flash drive
Before proceeding with the installation of Windows XP, we need to go into the BIOS and enable booting from a USB flash drive. To enter the BIOS, you need to press a certain key when the computer boots. On desktop computers, this is the key Del. On laptops, the most commonly used key is F2. Usually, when you turn on the laptop, a screen appears on which at the very bottom there is a line that says which key you need to press in order to enter the BIOS. If you do not have such a line, then you need to look at the information on how to enter the BIOS in User Manual coming with a laptop or PC.
We insert the USB flash drive into the laptop, if it is not inserted.
Turn on the laptop, if it is on, then reboot.
We go into the BIOS.
Go to tab Boot. In it, in the boot order, you need to put our flash drive in first place, using the arrow keys and the keys F5 and F6. That is, with the arrow keys we select our flash drive, and with the key F6 take her to the top. To find out which keys you need to use to set the boot order, see the hints on the right. The name of the flash drive must appear in the line USB HDD. Also, a flash drive can appear in the line USB key. To save the changes and exit the BIOS, press the key F10. (Depending on the manufacturer of the BIOS, the key may be different. See the hints on the right or below).
A window will appear asking Save changes and Exit? Click Yes. After that, a reboot will occur and the Windows XP installation process will start.
Installing Windows XP from a flash drive
A green screen should appear first. Choose Windows XP/2000/2003 Setup.Press Enter.
Next, on this screen, select .
The Windows XP installation process has started.
Click Enter.
We agree with the license agreement. Press the key F8.
Specify the disk partition on which you will install Windows XP.
Be careful not to put windows on a hidden windows recovery partition if there is one.
After you have selected the drive on which you will install Windows, click Enter.
Press the key FROM.
Choose Format partition in NTFS system. Click Enter.
Press the key F.
Formatting in progress.
After formatting, the process of copying files will begin.
After the files from the flash drive are copied to the hard drive, a reboot will occur.
If you don't want to wait 15 seconds then press any key.
After the reboot, this screen will appear. Select Windows XP/2000/2003 Setup and press Enter.
And on this screen, select . Click Enter.
Next, a black screen will appear with a list of operating systems. Click Enter.
The Windows XP installation process will continue.
down Further.
In field Name you can enter any name. We press the button Further.
Here we enter the license key. To switch to English, press the Alt and Shift key combination.
After we have entered the license key, press the button Further.
In field Name computer, enter any name. We press the button Further.
Here you can change the date and time, time zone. The same can be done after installing Windows.
After you have set the desired settings, press the button Further.
We press the button Further.
We press the button Further.
We press the button Further.
We press the button OK.
Click OK.
We press the button Further.
You can mark the line Protect your computer now by enabling automatic updates. Click Further.
Click Further.
We mark the line No, this computer will not be directly connected to the internet. We press the button Further.
Here we mark the line No, some other time. We press the button Further.
Attention! You may not need to change the boot.ini file in all cases. In which cases - it is written below.
Changing the boot.ini file - method one
You installed Windows XP, but before loading the operating system, a list of operating systems appears like this.
You installed Windows XP, but after rebooting or the next time you turn on the laptop, instead of loading Windows, you get an error hal.dll or
In all these cases, you need to change the boot.ini file.
If your Windows does not boot due to the errors mentioned above, then you need to:
1. enable booting from a USB flash drive with Windows XP in the BIOS.
2. choose Windows XP/2000/2003 Setup and press Enter.
3. choose Second part of 2000/XP/2003 setup / Boot first internal hard disk and press Enter.
To edit the boot.ini file right click on the icon My computer- select - Properties. Click on the tab Additionally. In the group and restore click on the button Options.
In the window that appears, click the button Edit.
Remove the line with a non-existent operating system. Check that in the parameter (rdisk) value stood 0
After you have made changes to the boot.ini file, click on the menu File and select the item Save.
Users who have boot from a flash drive enabled the next time they turn on the laptop or reboot, they will need to go into the BIOS and enable boot from the hard drive.
Changing the boot.ini file - method two
You are installing Windows XP and getting an error during the installation process Can't start Windows due to disk setup hardware errors...
What to do in this case? You need to make changes to the boot.ini file through the Windows XP Recovery Console. Below is how to do it.
1) Boot from a flash drive with Windows XP.
2) Select Windows XP/2000/2003 Setup. Click Enter.
3) Select First part of Windows XP Professional SP3 setup from partition 0. Click Enter.
4) The Windows XP installer will launch. Press key R
The computer will go to reboot. Go into the BIOS and enable booting from the hard drive. Before Windows loads, a list of operating systems will appear. Choose the first option from the list. After loading Windows XP, lines with non-existent operating systems can be removed by changing the boot.ini file, as written in the first method.
Installing operating systems using removable media has long ceased to be a big problem. If you don’t have a blank CD / DVD disk at hand, or the drive itself turned out to be faulty or simply doesn’t exist (for example, in netbooks and ultrabooks), then every second person currently has a 1-2 GB flash drive. So, after reading this guide, you can create a bootable USB flash drive with Windows XP (and not only) and thereby greatly simplify your transition from one OS to another.
What do you need?
- Download in advance working iso image of Windows XP. It is advisable to choose the distribution kit that does not have any third-party modifications, which means that the probability of its instability is minimal. If standard XP does not suit you, we recommend choosing a build from Zver.
- Removable disk (flash drive), at least 1 GB. Subsequently, it will be completely cleared, so copy all important data from it.
- Program WinSetupFromUSB v.1.3. It can be downloaded absolutely free on the official website of the developer.
Create a bootable flash drive
There are several ways to prepare a removable drive for installing Windows XP from it. But, despite this, we will use the simplest WinSetupFromUSB program and after some half an hour we will get a ready-made bootable USB flash drive. You just need to follow these steps:
BIOS setup
Windows XP in terms of installation is slightly different from its sisters - Vista, 7 and 8. Therefore, you need to pay a little more attention to setting up the BIOS:
- The first step is to set the boot priority to a removable drive. Therefore, in the process of starting a computer / laptop, press F2 or Del to get into the BIOS window.
- In the Boot section or in the Boot Device Priority list, put your bootable USB flash drive in first place (depending on the manufacturer of the motherboard, BIOS versions have significant differences, so these instructions are very general).
- Most modern computers work with the S-ATA data transfer interface, while Windows XP has built-in drivers only for the outdated IDE. Therefore, in the BIOS, set the Storage Configuration to Compatible.
- Save changes and restart your computer by pressing F10.
Installing Windows XP
- After successfully booting from the removable drive, Windows XP will greet you. Following the instructions in the installer, press Enter (<Ввод>)
- Violation of the Microsoft Product License Agreement is punishable by law. So confirm by pressing the F8 button that you are confident in your own actions and continue installing the system.
- This window contains the entire list of hard drives on which it is possible to install Windows XP (by default, only HDDs with IDE data transfer technology are displayed). Select the disk you need and proceed to the next step.
- Formatting your hard drive is a must, so make sure all your files are safe before selecting the third option, "Format partition as NTFS".
- After preparing the HDD and copying the necessary system files to it, Windows XP Setup will move on to the final processes. First, set the System Language and Input Methods.
- Enter a username. The organization field can be left blank.
- Enter the serial code, which looks like XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX-XXXXX
- Select a computer name and set an administrator password (the latter is optional)
- Next, set the date and time, as well as the time zone.
- Leave network settings as default
- If the computer / laptop is home, then leave it in the WORKGROUP group. If the organization where you work has a domain network, then check with your system administrator.
- Congratulations! Windows XP has been successfully installed and is ready for full operation.
Bootable flash drives with operating systems ready for installation are a very convenient and useful thing for any user. Having a few of these “little rescuers” in stock, you can quickly and easily help yourself or your friends / colleagues restore a faulty Windows OS or install a new one for them.
Enjoy your use!
A lot of time has passed since the moment when Windows xp went into series. However, not all users need over-the-top software. Indeed, why invest a lot of money in new capacities when it is possible to create decent functionality on weak hardware? The simplest and easiest way to install is to create a flash drive for the operating system.
Creating a bootable USB can be easily implemented using special programs. The most popular of these is UltraISO, but there are other worthy alternatives. We will talk about some of them and installation methods further.
WinToFlash
You need to download this program from the network and insert a bootable USB stick into your computer. After all commercials have passed, the application will display its main window:
This utility offers two options for burning a bootable flash drive:
- Special master;
- Advanced mode.
The wizard is an automatic configuration and installation of the Windows xp bootloader. But the advanced mode suggests entering your settings into the flash drive entry:
- Open a special tab called Advanced Mode.
- Select the Transfer program .... item, which is already set by default.
- Click on the Create button.
- Specify the path where the Windows xp files are located. Such a file can be an uploaded virtual disk image of Windows xp, an entire physical disk with Windows xp, or an installation folder.
- We select exactly the USB flash drive that will be written to the boot. It should be understood that the application, before creating the next bootable USB card, will wipe it clean.
- We are waiting for the recording to a bootable USB flash drive.
Both ways to create flash in this program are equally simple and convenient. You can use the wizard or advanced installation. Advanced mode, however, provides additional options:
- Determine the type of flash drive bootloader;
- Fix typical errors when starting a bootable flash drive.
Please note that you do not need to install any additional download programs for downloading from the network. Such applications may contain malicious elements in their code.
WinSetupFromUSB
There are other programs that allow you to burn a bootable USB stick without much effort. For example, this is WinSetupFromUSB, which is also easy to download from the global network.
To create a bootable USB, you need:
- Insert the flash drive into the computer and run the program.
- Select the path to the USB to which Windows xp will be written.
- Open the Bootice window and click on the Perform format button.
- Select the item in this window called USB-HDD mode (Single Partition) and confirm.
- Once the flash drive is formatted, click on the Process MBR button and select GRuB for DOS.
- Click on the Install / Config button.
- Close the Bootice program.
- In the Windows 2000/XP/2003 field, specify the path to the Windows xp installation files.
- Press the GO button and wait for the end of the recording.
Also, advanced users can find many additional settings for themselves in order to create a more adaptive bootable USB stick for specific tasks and configurations.
UltraISO
UltraISO is the most popular program that helps you create a bootable USB flash drive for Windows xp. The most important thing here is the ability to translate the usual installation files into the ISO format required for download. Let's say if there is a physical disk with Windows xp, but there is no ISO image, then you can easily create it:
- Insert the disk into the drive.
- Select a physical disk in the program.
- Click on Tools.
- Open Create CD Image.
- Click the Make button and wait a few minutes while the virtual image is created.
- Insert the bootable USB into the computer.
- Click on the item Open in the File menu of the UltraISO program.
- Open a virtual disk image of Windows xp.
- Click on Boot at the top and select Burn Hard Disk Image.
- Click on the Record button.
- We press Yes.
All these procedures are quite enough to create a boot flash drive. Next, you need to insert it into the computer, select boot from USB in the BIOS, and the installation process will start. Each computer has a dedicated button to enter the BIOS menu. You can read at boot what you need to click to get there. Naturally, each manufacturer implies its own procedure. It should be remembered that after booting from a USB flash drive, you need to return the boot in the BIOS to the hard drive again. Otherwise, each time the computer will start its work from a USB drive.
The principle of programs for recording is the same. You need to select the system image and the media to which you want to write. So, having understood the algorithm of work, for example, UltraISO programs, you can easily understand similar applications. Booting from USB avoids the problems associated with a broken disk drive or no disk drive at all. Now you do not need to look for worn out disks to install the Windows xp operating system. It is enough to launch, for example, UltraISO, and in a couple of minutes create any bootable USB flash drive with the desired operating parameters.
Relatively recently, I talked about installing Windows 7 from an external HDD without using third-party software.
Making an installation flash drive with Windows 7 or Vista is not difficult, and using the UltraISO program generally reduces this process to a couple of mouse clicks.
It makes no sense to describe here the process of creating bootable flash drives with Win7, and our topic is different. For those who are interested, they can easily find the necessary information on the network - since everything is musseled there and instructions are walking from one site to another.
But with the installation of Windows XP from a flash drive, everything is far from being so smooth and transparent. However, I found an easy way to create an installation distribution for a flash drive or memory card, but first I'll tell you how I went the wrong way. Perhaps my experience will be useful to someone, and someone will bring what they have started to its logical conclusion. Although ... I no longer see the point of picking in the Windows XP installer - the system is no longer supported and is clearly living out its last days. Those who are interested read further, but for those who are already impatient, go to the end of the article.
inf file txtsetup.sif corrupted or missing status 18
Initially, I made a bootable USB flash drive with Windows XP using the UltraISO program, similar to Win7. I went, as it seemed then, along a simple path, and it was a mistake.
UltraISO does not make Windows XP installation flash drives!
Highlight something in red?... When you try to boot from such a flash drive, you will get a black screen and a message with the following content:
Inf file txtsetup.sif corrupted or missing status 18
The network is full of "knowledgeable" pros who stupidly copy the same stupid instructions from each other without bothering to check the work. Then, in the comments, a flame is bred on the topic of crooked distributions of Windows and any other dregs. But the fact is that Windows XP has a rather tricky installation script, without modifying which nothing good will come of it.
I tried to cheat a little and quickly got rid of this error by copying txtsetup.sif from I386 to the root of the memory card and renaming I386 to $WIN_NT$.~BT. The installer started, but when it got to the point where a screen should appear asking you to select a disk partition for installing Windows, I was in for a new disappointment.
The CD drive could not be found.
Check if the CD-ROM drive is powered on and properly connected to the computer. If it is a SCSI device, check if the chain terminator is set to SCSI device. For more information about this, see the documentation for your computer or SCSI adapter.
The installer cannot continue. Press to exit
Experiments with the $WIN_NT$.~BT\WINNT.SIF file, namely turning off the CD search, did not lead to anything, and as a result, I gave up trying to bring the Windows XP installer to mind on my own. It was decided to dig towards ready-made solutions - programs that do this thankless job for you.
How to make a bootable USB flash drive with Windows XP?
I will say right away - do not expect a very simple installation of WInXP from a USB flash drive. There are several pitfalls - the disk must be Primary Master and the installation takes place in 2 stages.
WinSetupFromUSB- one of the programs that allows you to very easily create a bootable USB flash drive for Windows XP. Developer's page with a description of the work and version history from the utility: How to install Windows from USB.
As soon as all sorts of "specialists" do not complicate the work with this program, supplementing their descriptions with a bunch of absolutely unnecessary actions, thereby casting mystery on a rather simple process. In general, here is my version, which will be clear to any beginner:
All that is required is to specify the USB flash drive and the location where the distribution kit with Windows XP is located (if you have an ISO disk image, you can unpack it with the 7zip program).
P.S.: I'll tell you a little about the boot itself from the prepared flash drive, because. the process of installing WinXP from it is slightly different from the traditional one.
When booting a computer or laptop from a USB flash drive, you will initially need to select the menu item First part of Windows XP Professional SP3 setup from partition 0 and the initial (text) stage will occur, after which (boot from a USB flash drive) you will need to select Second part of 2000/XP/2003 setup/Boot first internal hard disk.
