I have a Dell Latitude C400...it does not have a cdrom and there is no where to plug one in, so how can i reinstall windows? A network install somehow maybe?
how to install windows on a machine with no cdrom
- Thread starter waylman
- Start date
formatting in another machine is no problem...but how would I copy the CD to the drive and why would I do this?
yea, cause if he were to format the drive in another compy, cant he just do the full install in that compy?
well, i could....but then i'd have to put the drive in the c400 with all the wrong drivers and all...probably wouldn't even boot
Yes, you can install it over the network. You can use Remote Installation Services..
But at any rate you need a network card with a well-known chipset so the drivers will be compatible. First you copy your installation CD to another computer on your network. Then you have to boot to a special boot disk with the ethernet drivers and such, mount a network drive to the server with the install cd, and run the setup off the network drive.
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But at any rate you need a network card with a well-known chipset so the drivers will be compatible. First you copy your installation CD to another computer on your network. Then you have to boot to a special boot disk with the ethernet drivers and such, mount a network drive to the server with the install cd, and run the setup off the network drive.
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Originally posted by: Budman
just use an external USB Cdrom drive.
tried that, got "no bootable device" error
Originally posted by: waylman
Originally posted by: Budman
just use an external USB Cdrom drive.
tried that, got "no bootable device" error
did you select boot from usb iin bios?
If you can't boot from a legacy USB device, then the only option is to copy the CD to the HDD using a different machine. Any drivers you will need to install for the original machine should also be copied to the hdd before re-installing it back to the machine. In short, all of the drivers and the OS should be copied to the hdd. And yes, you can do this.
well, i took the HD and stuck it in my wife's inspirion 9300 and installed windows. then i stuck it back in the latitude and it wont boot
just hangs on boot
just hangs on boot
vailr
Diamond Member
- Oct 9, 1999
- 5,365
- 54
- 91
To do a fresh install of XP, all you need is to be able to boot to a DOS prompt, with a copy of the i386 folder (from the Windows installer CD) on the HD.
Run smartdrv.exe (a file from Windows98: do a Google search), then run i386/winnt.exe to begin the setup installer. There also exists DOS USB drivers, if needed.
Run smartdrv.exe (a file from Windows98: do a Google search), then run i386/winnt.exe to begin the setup installer. There also exists DOS USB drivers, if needed.
Holy crap have they got you by the balls with that laptop. There's an "External Module Bay" connector on the side. You have to use the cable that came with the laptop, to connect to a proprietary docking bay in which you install one of Dell's normal laptop bay devices like a CD drive. It's just an interface to the second IDE port.
Once you have a USB drive plugged in, shut down and boot the computer. Go into the BIOS and the boot sequence ought to have the USB drive listed as an option. If not, then there probably is no support for it, which is just silly.
I was under the impression that copying the CD to the hard drive to install from there required a bit of tinkering, for Win2k/XP.
The hard drive didn't have a hidden partition on it with the "restore" image on it, did it?
Once you have a USB drive plugged in, shut down and boot the computer. Go into the BIOS and the boot sequence ought to have the USB drive listed as an option. If not, then there probably is no support for it, which is just silly.
I was under the impression that copying the CD to the hard drive to install from there required a bit of tinkering, for Win2k/XP.
The hard drive didn't have a hidden partition on it with the "restore" image on it, did it?
xgsound
Golden Member
- Jan 22, 2002
- 1,374
- 8
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Originally posted by: waylman
well, i took the HD and stuck it in my wife's inspirion 9300 and installed windows. then i stuck it back in the latitude and it wont boot
just hangs on boot
If I understand this right, you weren't supposed to install windows, just copy the I386 folder to the hard drive. This can be done by installing the C400 drive as a slave in the 9300 (does it have a slave connector?) or some other machine. If a desktop is used an adapter for the different IDE cable connector sizes will be required. Then the data will be on the hard drive to install windows on the C400.
Jim
By all rights, even installing Windows and getting it completely up and running on one machine, then moving it to another one, usually works fine.
Aside from that, it's perfectly possible to do the first part of the install one one machine, then instead of booting the install for the first time, move it to the other computer then boot it. No drivers are configured or anything else; the first section is just unpacking the files from the CD.
Aside from that, it's perfectly possible to do the first part of the install one one machine, then instead of booting the install for the first time, move it to the other computer then boot it. No drivers are configured or anything else; the first section is just unpacking the files from the CD.
Hi, I've done it many times with older Laptops with no CD. Use any connection between the two machines. A Lan with crossed cable or router with standard cable, Direct Connect with serial (null) cable or parallel cable etc. Copy the cd to the Hard Drive and run it from there. Luck, Jim
Originally posted by: xgsound
Originally posted by: waylman
well, i took the HD and stuck it in my wife's inspirion 9300 and installed windows. then i stuck it back in the latitude and it wont boot
just hangs on boot
If I understand this right, you weren't supposed to install windows, just copy the I386 folder to the hard drive.
Jim
forgot to mention this earlier...it's a brand new HD so I'm not able to do it this way.
Originally posted by: sandorski
Originally posted by: Sundog
Long live the floppy!!!!!!!!!!
Or in thise case: Long live hundreds of Floppies! Oh, and may the Installer live long enough to swap them all! :beer:
there's no floppy on the here either
and I dont have access to any other accessories such as the external drive/docking station
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