Laptop malfunction/ need assistance please

[dizz2k1]

Hello, I was fixing a laptop for a friend and think I made it even worse. The cdrom drive is broken/does not work and so I tried installing windows from the harddrive but that was a failure. So now at this point the C drive is corrupt and I can't install windows it's giving me an error.

What am I to do?

 

[Lexluethar]

What error are you getting? Did the installation complete or did it error out?

Are you just trying to install windows on the machine now and that is it?

 

[dizz2k1]

Forget my original post.

I need to remove the HD from the laptop and place it in my desktop (waiting on 2.5 to 3.5" converter) so I can format/install XP on it. But I cannot install XP from desktop pc (desktop rig has vista, it doesn't allow me to roll back to an older windows). How can I get around this? I just want to install XP on the laptop HD and then put it back in the laptop.

 

[Lexluethar]

You also won't be able to install it from the desktop because the drivers that windows would install are associated with the system you install it on. So windows would think you are installing it on the desktop so all drivers and registry items would be written for the desktop. So when you plugged it into the laptop you'd still get a boot error.

1. You could order a new CD ROM drive.
2. You could use the recovery partition to put the computer back to the original state. Most laptops today come with a small 5 to 10 gig partition that if you boot to it, will reinstall the operating system and any programs that came with the PC. Essentially the computer will go back to it's out-of-the-box state.
3. You could install XP from a network drive (google this, there are tons of articles on it)

 

[dizz2k1]

You also won't be able to install it from the desktop because the drivers that windows would install are associated with the system you install it on. So windows would think you are installing it on the desktop so all drivers and registry items would be written for the desktop. So when you plugged it into the laptop you'd still get a boot error.

1. You could order a new CD ROM drive.
2. You could use the recovery partition to put the computer back to the original state. Most laptops today come with a small 5 to 10 gig partition that if you boot to it, will reinstall the operating system and any programs that came with the PC. Essentially the computer will go back to it's out-of-the-box state.
3. You could install XP from a network drive (google this, there are tons of articles on it)

What if I were to install xp from a system that already has XP? Would rather not order a CD ROM drive unless it was an absolute last resort.

Just ordered this http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.727

The goal is to take the HDD and place it in my other rig which contains xp, thereby formatting the disk and installing xp on it. Will this work?

 

[Lexluethar]

I already said no, you can't install XP from another machine because that machines 'profile (ie hardaware specs and drivers)' would be installed.

If the system already had XP on it you'll have to format the drive then isntall windows. Does the drive have a recovery partition - that would make this a lot easier for you.

 

[dizz2k1]

It does not have a recovery partition. If I were to format my desktop pc which contains XP and then install XP on the laptop hd, would that be fine?

 

[Lexluethar]

No, i don't think you understand. If you install XP on a hard drive that is connected to any computer, that computers hardware will be the one that windows configures for. So you can't install XP on one machine then just pop that drive in another and it works.

This is why you can't swap hard drives that has operating systems unless the computers are identical.

 

[wachtn]

It does not have a recovery partition. If I were to format my desktop pc which contains XP and then install XP on the laptop hd, would that be fine?

Why would you format your desktop's drive to install XP on a laptop?

 

[KSoD]

Lex is completely right. You can't install XP from the desktop and then insert the drive into the laptop again and have it working. The hardware profile and drivers would not match and Windows wont even boot. At that point you would need the XP CD anyways to do a repair install. Since the CD Drive is not working you are right back to where you are now.

The only thing you can do is to format the drive as it is now. Then copy the entire contents of the XP CD to the empty drive. This can be done from the desktop. Make sure you get ALL files. Hidden ones and all. this will be needed so that you can get the XP Setup going. Place the drive back in the laptop and when you boot you should see it go to the XP Setup. This should allow you to install from the hard drive. after that make sure you know what files were used for the setup and install of Windows. So that you remove ONLY those files.

another thing to remember is that the version you are installing has to match the version of the sticker on the laptop. So if it is a XP Home you will have to make sure you are using a XP Home OEM setup CD to copy over. This way you can use the serial on the laptop to activate and be able to use Windows. If you are planning on using any serial but the one on the laptop, like one that came with another system, you can't. OEM licenses are tied to that machine and will die with that machine. they can not be transferred to another machine at all.