Creating a Startup Disk

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Ben Stevenson

I have XP Home.
Is it advisable to have a startup disk? If yes, how do I create one?
 
In
Ben Stevenson said:
I have XP Home.
Is it advisable to have a startup disk? If yes, how do I create
one?
Click to expand...


Because the Windows XP Installation CD is bottable, that's
normally your startup disk, and no startup diskette is needed.

Also be aware that if your hard drive is NTFS, a DOS startup
diskette won't be able to see it anyway (at least not without
special third-party software) and will not generally be useful.
 
That was a good site. But couldn't find the program that would answer my
question. Could you please indicate which one.
Also would you know of any similar site offering diagnostics?
Thanks
 
Thanks for your response.
Since mine came preinstalled what do I have to look for in the CD to be
sure it
is bootable, bearing in mind that these OEM versions come in all types? Mine
is the NTFS system.

Also, how would I go about using it?
Thanks
 
In
Ben Stevenson said:
Thanks for your response.
Click to expand...


You're welcome. Glad to help.

Since mine came preinstalled what do I have to look for in
the CD
to be sure it
is bootable, bearing in mind that these OEM versions come in
all
types?
Click to expand...


All XP installations CDs are bootable. To be sure, just try to
boot from it (see below),

Mine is the NTFS system.
Click to expand...


Then, as I said, a boot diskette wouldn't really be of use to
you.

Also, how would I go about using it?
Click to expand...


Make sure your BIOS is set so that the CD is the first boot
device, then put the XP CD in the drive and restart the computer.
It will boot from the CD. But if you're just doing this to see if
it works, be sure to cancel it immediately after booting; don't
actually do anything there.
 
Did a restart with the CD in. Got the msg:
"Welcome to the NEC Recovery Program. (Mine is an NEC computer came
pre-installed with XP Home).
Attention: Please take note that this utility is meant for System Recovery
only. Press OK if you want to continue or Cancel and return to DOS."

Hit cancel and got the DOS prompt. Keyed in exit but nothing happened.
Cntrl+Alt+Del and the computer restarted and back to the same message above.
Hit OK this time and got the messge:
1. Standard System Restore
2. Cancel and return to DOS.

Obviously I don't want to do System Restore, so I quit, same way as above.

Anything else I can do?
TIA
 
In
Ben Stevenson said:
Did a restart with the CD in. Got the msg:
"Welcome to the NEC Recovery Program. (Mine is an NEC computer
came
pre-installed with XP Home).
Attention: Please take note that this utility is meant for
System
Recovery only. Press OK if you want to continue or Cancel and
return
to DOS."
Click to expand...


Unfortunately, you don't have an XP installation CD, just a
recovery CD. Personally, I would never choose to buy a system
that came that way, without a complete generic installation CD.

Bear in mind, however, that with an NTFS drive, a DOS boot
diskette still won't be of any value to you., at least not
without third-party software to let you access the drive. You can
download a free version of NTFSDOS, but that just lets you view
the NTFS drive; you need the paid version to be able to write to
it.
 
Thanks for all your help.

I'll talk to the NEC people and see if they will do anything about it. You
think they will? Or is there anything in particular I should negotiate with
them about?
 
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