How do I reinstall Windows when....

[MulLa]

Hi

I am wondering how I can reinstall Windows on a laptop that doesn't have a built in CDROM.

I am aware that some connect to an external CDROM through a PCMCIA card. I suppose it would need drivers to be recongnised? In that case if I wanted to install Windows from CDROM how would I do it? Or the external CDROM doesn't need drivers at all???

 

[layzass21]

I had this similar issue last week. I needed to install Windows 2000 Pro. I have a Sony laptop and a USB CDRW, that is useful for installing programs. The problem with the USB drive is that I cannot boot to it, or switch to it in DOS. I thought that I was going to have to buy the $250 PCMCIA drive that was made for my computer.

My HDD was already partitioned in 2, C: and D:. In Windows, I copied the entire contents of my Win2K disk over to the D: drive. Then I booted to Windows 98 Startup Disk, formatted my C drive, then ran the Setup from the D drive.

It was a huge hassle, and the PCMCIA drive is probably the way to go, but it worked out fine.

Hope this helps, good luck.

 

[MulLa]

Oh yer thanks for the idea about having seperate partitions. So I guess a PCMCIA CDROM would have some sort of DOS drivers right?

I was just "thinking" as RIS installation is always an option but what if I am nowhere near the company network?! The partitioning trick sure will come in handy. Thanks.

 

[layzass21]

The network install would have been another option. I came sooooo close to running out and buying that CD-Rom. The Sony one was $250, but then I found a generic one made by IOMagic for $150 or something like that. I can't believe how expensive those things are!