HOW TO: Start Windows XP Setup from MS-DOS (Q307848)

The information in this article applies to:

 

• Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

• Microsoft Windows XP Professional

IN THIS TASK

• SUMMARY

  Preparing to Run Setup

  Starting Windows XP Setup from MS-DOS

SUMMARY

This article describes how to start Windows XP Setup from an MS-DOS command-line.

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Preparing to Run Setup

Before you install Windows XP:

1. Verify that your computer hardware is compatible with Windows XP. For the latest compatibility information, and to download and install drivers for the listed hardware, see the Microsoft Windows Hardware Quality Labs Web site at:
   
    

   http://www.microsoft.com/hcl/

   To view the system requirements for Windows XP, view this Microsoft Web site:

   ftp://ftp.microsoft.com/services/whql/hcl/WinXPHCLx86.txt

2. Read the following documents on the Windows XP CD-ROM (where Drive is the drive that contains the Windows XP CD-ROM). These documents contain information to help you prepare for the installation.
   
    
   • Drive :\Docs\Read1st.txt: This contains critical last-minute information that was not included in the documentation or any other .txt file on the CD-ROM.
     
      
   • Drive :\Docs\RelNotes.htm: This contains the Windows XP release notes.
     
      
   • Drive :\Readme.htm: This contains late-breaking or other information that supplements the Windows XP documentation.
     
      
3. Create a partition on the hard disk and format it with the FAT or FAT32 file system.
   
   For additional information about creating a partition, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   Q255867 How to Use the Fdisk Tool and the Format Tool to Partition or Repartition a Hard Disk

   Note that Windows XP Setup requires at least 383 megabytes (MB) of free disk space to copy installation files during Setup.

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Starting Windows XP Setup from MS-DOS

1. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM in the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.
   
    
2. Start the computer to an MS-DOS prompt with CD-ROM support. If your computer does not have MS-DOS already installed, or does not allow you to choose to start to an MS-DOS prompt in the Boot menu, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:
   
    

   Q187632 How to Create a Windows 98 Startup Disk that Supports FAT32

3. Start SMARTDrive if it is not already started. To do this, change to the folder that contains the Smartdrv.exe file, type smartdrv , and then press ENTER. If you do not use SMARTDrive, you may notice that the portion of Windows XP Setup that copies files to the hard disk performs slowly.
   
    
4. At the command prompt, type drive : , and then press ENTER (where drive is the drive that contains the Windows XP CD-ROM).
   
    
5. Type cd\i386 , and then press ENTER.
   
    
6. Type winnt , and then press ENTER. Windows XP Setup starts.
   
    
7. Type the path to the Windows XP installation files, and then press ENTER. For example, type d:\i386 .
   
   Windows Setup copies files to the hard disk. When the files are copied, the following message appears:
   
    

   The MS-DOS based portion of Setup is complete.
   Setup will now restart your computer. After your computer restarts,
   Windows XP Setup will continue.
   
   If there is a floppy disk in drive A:, remove it now.
   
   Press ENTER to restart your computer and continue Windows XP Setup.

8. Remove any floppy disks from the computer, and then press ENTER. The computer restarts and Windows XP Setup resumes. Press ENTER to continue.
   
    
9. Follow the steps to select and format a partition in which to install Windows XP.
   
   If your hard disk contains only one partition, do not delete it from the list of existing partitions. Windows XP Setup has copied the installation files to this partition.
   
   You can later convert a FAT32-formatted partition to the NTFS file system.
   
   Setup copies the files needed for Windows XP Setup, and then the computer restarts.
   
   If you chose to format the drive by using the NTFS file system, Windows checks the drive for errors, and then restarts.
   
   Windows XP Setup resumes in Graphical User Interface (GUI) mode.
   
    
10. Follow the steps in the Windows Setup Wizard to complete the installation of Windows XP.
    
     

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