Need to get XP Home onto a laptop with no bootable CD drive

[yukichigai]

Okay, so I have an interesting problem with a laptop I've been given to get running, a Sony Vaio. The CD drive isn't on the unit but rather on the docking station, which isn't too much of a problem (it's a light laptop). What IS a problem is that the CD drive is done, finished, kaput. It also doesn't seem to be a "normal" laptop CD drive, so I can't just swap it out. A replacement docking station is fairly pricey even for an old (2003) laptop, around $200.

The problem is that Sony, in their infinite wisdom, didn't allow for this laptop to boot from anything but the integrated hardware and, optionally, via "i.Link Boot" over firewire, but ONLY to recognized Sony "i.Link" devices. This means I can't get a windows CD to load in this thing. I've tried hooking up an external drive and using the floppy to force it to boot to the external, but that invariably results in it reading one of the crytpography dlls (cryptui.dll) as corrupt. No idea on that one.

I've tried network boot, but I don't have a spare Win2k3 server lying around and the process outlined by WINNER doesn't seem to include the drivers necessary for the network card the Vaio uses.

The only tactic left that I can think of is to somehow load the mid-install version of XP (after you reboot the first time) onto the laptop's hard drive via an external reader. Of course, given that this is a pretty unique problem I haven't found any utilities to help me with that at all. I'm fast running out of ideas. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: yukichigai
I've tried network boot, but I don't have a spare Win2k3 server lying around and the process outlined by WINNER doesn't seem to include the drivers necessary for the network card the Vaio uses.

While it might not solve all your issues, you can certainly put a virtualized trial version of Server 2003 onto most any other PC using Virtual PC or Virtual Server. You can download the .VHD files, so you don't need to actually INSTALL Server 2003. Yes, it's work. But it can be done if all else fails.

 

[amdhunter]

Stick the laptop drive in your desktop computer, format the hard drive as FAT32.
Create an i386 folder (or whatever you want to call it) and copy the contents of the XP cd there.
Place the drive back into your laptop.
Boot off a bootable floppy, then browse to C:\i386
Type WINNT and press enter.

Now sit back as Windows excruciatingly copies files for the setup to begin. It's going to be painfully slow because SMARTDRV isn't loaded. I really don't remember how to load SMARTDRV so whatever.

You might be asked where the files are located, I don't remember. If it does ask, type c:\i386.

After the files copy, XP will install like normal. The whole process might take hours...be patient. (If you load SMARTDRV somehow, it'll just take a few minutes.)

Have fun.

 

[coolVariable]

Originally posted by: amdhunter
Stick the laptop drive in your desktop computer, format the hard drive as FAT32.
Create an i386 folder (or whatever you want to call it) and copy the contents of the XP cd there.
Place the drive back into your laptop.
Boot off a bootable floppy, then browse to C:\i386
Type WINNT and press enter.

Now sit back as Windows excruciatingly copies files for the setup to begin. It's going to be painfully slow because SMARTDRV isn't loaded. I really don't remember how to load SMARTDRV so whatever.

You might be asked where the files are located, I don't remember. If it does ask, type c:\i386.

After the files copy, XP will install like normal. The whole process might take hours...be patient. (If you load SMARTDRV somehow, it'll just take a few minutes.)

Have fun.

There are some great guides out there on how to install via network boot.
Had to do it once with a toshiba which couldn't boot of anything except hdd and network.

 

[vailr]

Originally posted by: amdhunter
I really don't remember how to load SMARTDRV so whatever.

Find a way to enable booting to a DOS prompt. If the floppy drive is bootable, use that.
Then run smartdrv.exe. This file can be found via Google search; was originally included with Win 98.
Then navigate to the /i386 folder & run winnt.exe.
The XP installation setup should begin at that point.
Note: there also exist DOS drivers for USB, if required.

A second method involves a series of 8 Win XP floppy discs that install the boot drivers, to then allow installation from any accessible CD drive or /i386 folder. This set of floppies can be downloaded directly from Microsoft. There are different versions, according to the Service Pack version of the install CD being used.

 

[yukichigai]

Originally posted by: vailr
A second method involves a series of 8 Win XP floppy discs that install the boot drivers, to then allow installation from any accessible CD drive or /i386 folder. This set of floppies can be downloaded directly from Microsoft. There are different versions, according to the Service Pack version of the install CD being used.

That's the method that won't work for me, or I would have gotten this done a long time ago. Apparently the version-specific boot disks require the disc layout to be EXACT, and since my only printed XP Home OEM disk met with an unfortunate accident (snapped in half when my Sager landed on it) I've had to rely on disc images. Using a boot disk with a burned XP Home OEM CD is what leads to the damn "cryptui.dll" errors as best I can tell.

I'll try the other option though. Thanks.

 

[irishScott]

Update the BIOS and see if it allows for more boot options. If so, get a USB cd drive.

 

[yukichigai]

Originally posted by: irishScott
Update the BIOS and see if it allows for more boot options. If so, get a USB cd drive.

Negative. Sony's recommended method for updating the BIOS on your Vaio laptop is to purchase a new laptop.

 

[yukichigai]

Hey, what do you know, it worked! I copied the i386 folder in its entirety and it installed just fine, like gravy. The only weird thing is that I wasn't able to install the East Asian language fonts during install. Other than that it worked great. I was even able to convert the drive to NTFS without a hitch. Thanks!

Now to hunt down all the obscure drivers for this damn thing.

 

[irishScott]

Originally posted by: yukichigai
Hey, what do you know, it worked! I copied the i386 folder in its entirety and it installed just fine, like gravy. The only weird thing is that I wasn't able to install the East Asian language fonts during install. Other than that it worked great. I was even able to convert the drive to NTFS without a hitch. Thanks!

Now to hunt down all the obscure drivers for this damn thing.

http://www.driverguide.com/

Might help.

 

[yukichigai]

It was more a matter of battling through Sony's entirely unhelpful main site. I finally just Googled "Sony Vaio Support" and got the link to the support site. No big.

Now to figure out what happened to all those tiny screws....