Urgent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 

Hello,
I have a problem in formatting linux and installing XP.

I have linux installed on my laptop without any partioning and now I want to format it and install from fresh. When I tried to boot it from installable CD its entering floppy drive as not able to format harddisk and prompting for bootable floppy for formatting.
But the laptop doesn't have floppy drive can any one suggest as what need to be done.

Thanks in advance.
linux-user.

You should enter the BIOS when u start ur laptop and change the first boot device to CDROM instead of floppy.

Thanks for your response.
But the CD which is already in is bootable CD so I should goto CD drive then eject it and insert the CD having fdisk and after formatting put back the old bootable CD??

So, is ur problem solved?
You don't need a CD with fdisk to format your hard disc and install XP. The XP install CD(bootable) has all the features to format hard discs.
Anyway, if I am taking it incorrectly, please provide the details about the exact problem which u r facing to get better help.

Perhaps I am misreading and if I am please forgive me but he is say you need to go into the bios of the computer and set boot device to the cdrom so it looks there first for the boot files rather than going to a floppy.

Hi, Thanks for the reply.
CD for XP I have is I got the XP with Service Pack2 and burnt the contents as bootable image. And it looks like its not able to do the autoformat so have to do manually using bootable floppy. So how do I format now from CD drive prompt??

Thanks & Regards
Veena

If you can't use your Windows XP CD to format your hard disc, you can use any Windows 98 bootable CD or a floppy that has fdisk and format commands.
First run "fdisk" and define your partitions and then format these newly created partitions using "format" command.

OR

You can use a Windows 98 bootable CD with Disk Manager (DM) and use DM to create and formats on partitions your hard disc. Personally, I prefer DM.

Is this a legal copy of XP?

No!! I got from my freind along with some other tools.I just burnt the XP with SP2 as bootable image in a CD & tried to install. I dont even have Windows 98. So the best way would be to buy a legal copy of XP and then I will try to install.
Thanks anyways!!

Or use Partition Magic, available for free from the same pirates that gave you the XP CD :-) Of course, I get my XP CDs free and they are legal from my friend who is a Microsoft partner :D

You do not need to burn it as bootable image. It already is bootable. By attaching another boot image you make it useless.

I can't believe that you are still waiting for a solution to this problem. It doesn't matter whether u have a legal copy of the windows XP cd or a pirated one to make it bootable.
Let me tell u an example. I hope u have used NERO.
If you choose "Copy entire disc" in Nero and the Cd which u r copying is a bootable CD, then u get an exact copy (bootable) of the CD.
If you open any Windows CD (bootable or not) in explorer and copy all the contents of the CD on you new CD compilation, and burn it, you can not get it bootable.

I have seen numerous failed copies of ISOs that customers have done, the problem!? I look at the CD in Explorer and what do I see? One ISO file sitting right there on the CD!

Yes I used Nero. The last try am giving is buying a new XP installation CD. Its for my personal Laptop. So posted the problem incase I get any solution. But didn't get any other solution. Have a personal PC too so using the PC.
Thanks linux-user.