advice on reinstalling xp from i386 folder

April 17, 2009 11:36 AM

I want to reinstall xp but i dont have an xp disc. Can I just click on winnt32.exe?

Is this simple to do?

I don't have an XP CD and can't find much info other than this wikihow article.

I also don't know if it would be a repair install or a completley fresh install and i don't fully understand how a repair install works.

What could go wrong?

Would it be safer to burn the c/i386 folder to a cd and somehow run it from the startup/boot screen?

posted by jcwilliams to computers & internet (3 comments total)

You cannot reinstall Windows in any of the ways you're talking about. You need the CD. You also need to have your product key ready if you're doing a full re-install or a repair install and it needs to be a key that matches up with the disc.

If you don't have a disc, try calling the manufacturer or vendor of your computer and asking them to send you the restore media. There may be a shipping charge.
posted by odinsdream at 11:47 AM on April 17

Yeah, there really isn't any way of doing what you're talking about. At least not in any way that will have results that you like. You really do need a disc for this to work properly.

The c/i386 folder is not a WinXP system disc image, and burning it won't do you any good.

Track down a real or pirated disc before you bork your system.
posted by valkyryn at 12:40 PM on April 17

I followed the instructions on this page once and it worked fine. Scroll down to Part II. It does involve burning a boot cd.

You still need a valid licence key (there should be a sticker somewhere on your machine). The instructions are for a specific machine, so customize where necessary.
posted by mail at 9:26 PM on April 17