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XP Laptop installation Problem

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  • 01-03-2004 4:49pm
    #1
    Brenner
    Closed Accounts Posts: 170 ✭✭


    Hey,

    I've got a dell laptop that I've formatted and the floppy drive and cd rom drives both insert into the same slot in the laptop, when I try to use a 98 or XP startup disk the system on the floppy attempts to detect the cd rom drive, can't find it and so doesn't install the cd drivers so that i can use the XP install CD in the machine.

    I've tried going through the setup process step by step and can't seem to find the right spot to insert the cd rom drive so that it will be recognised by the machine.

    Can anyone give me a hand with this?
    Cheers,
    Bren


Comments

  • Options
    #2
    Brenner
    Closed Accounts Posts: 170 ✭✭Brenner


    Help??

    Cheers.
    *bump*


  • Options
    #3
    Ryaner
    Registered Users Posts: 1,714 ✭✭✭Ryaner


    It normally wont be able to pick up the cdrom if you have to swap it with the floppy disk.
    Why aren't you just booting directly from the cd rom?


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    #4
    Brenner
    Closed Accounts Posts: 170 ✭✭Brenner


    It just doesn't see the cd drive at all, I've tried 98 cd and XP install CD too...

    Any thoughts?


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    #5
    BigEejit
    Registered Users Posts: 3,739 ✭✭✭BigEejit


    get a loan of one of those little cables so you connect the floppy drive externally ... but if you have a proper bootable cd it should work without the need for a floppy


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    #6
    SantaHoe
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7,488 ✭✭✭SantaHoe


    Hmmm, ok here's an idea.
    If you could format your laptops harddrive as FAT32 and use the format c: /s switch to make the drive bootable... then transfer the contents of your boot floppy to your harddrive (config.sys, autoexec, cdrom drivers etc etc)
    Then just boot from the HD.
    Then you could leave your CDROM connected and still have all the floppy drives funtionality (for all intents and purposes).
    Might take some fidgeting, but it should work.


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    #7
    joePC
    Closed Accounts Posts: 1,637 ✭✭✭joePC


    If you set the system to boot from CD i.e. in the BIOS and its not booting from the CD then are you sure the CD's your using a bootable or just update versions of the OS, try booting a different system using these CD's that will tell you, as for loading CD-rom support from the floopy its not needed the drivers are on the windows installation CD's

    Thanks joePC


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