Re: setup 2000 on laptop w/out CD drive?

From: Bilbo (anonymous_at_discussions.microsoft.com)
Date: 09/23/04 

Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2004 16:04:59 -0700

>> Also, what is drive d:? My laptop only has one hard
disk
>> and it's not d:. I also don't have Win98.
>*** I said "drive D:" - there was no mention of a second
>*** disk. You can split your existing disk into two or
>*** more drives. Having Windows on drive C: and your
>*** data on drive D: has some big advantages, e.g. when
>*** re-installing the operating system.

I agree that there are advantages to partitioning a hard
drive; however, you suggested, "I recommend you take your
laptop to a dealer and pay him a small fee for copying
your Win2000 CD to your hard disk, preferably to drive D:.
You could then boot your laptop with an ordinary Win98
boot disk and start the setup process." If I'm having
trouble booting my system from the Win2k CD, then why
should I expect any less trouble trying to boot from a
Win98 boot disk?

>> I do have a Win2k install disk and I keep wondering why
a
>> big, rich, successful company like Microsoft can't make
a
>> product that works better -- i.w., why all us happy W2k
>> users have to go through all this crap just to reinstall
>> our OS. It just shouldn't be this difficult.
>*** It seems that MS became rich and successful because
>*** they deliver a product that meets the needs of many
>*** people. The Ford Motor Company did this too, yet
>*** few people would be able to exchange an engine by
>*** themselves - yet this is precisely what you're trying
to do.

I'm not going to debate how MS became rich, other than to
point out that there are other reasons, including the fact
that their business practices have been declared illegal
in more than one country. Also, I would hardly put a
software install in the same category as exchanging a car
engine. Few people ever need to exchange a car engine,
but ordinary people need to install software all the
time. Indeed, it is a well-known fact that hard drives
wear out, so installing OS software is obviously something
that many ordinary people need to do. Also, since a new
hard drive contains has no other software to cause
conflicts, installing OS software should be the easiest of
all. Sorry, but there just isn't any good reason for
Win2k to be this much of a pain to install. I'm not
blaming you, but I am frustrated that a company like
Microsoft doesn't do a better job of simplifying something
that should be a whole lot easier than they have made it.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Boot Problem
    ... Was either disk set up as a Microsoft dynamic disk? ... Do not change the boot sector signature. ... I ensure all OK by swapping over drives. ... installing XP as it insisted there was no drive to install itself on! ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)
  • Re: Wont boot from SATA drives
    ... The only tricky part of the command, is verifying the disk is at /dev/hda ... I have had to do that on occasion, to be able to install an OS on a hard ... in that the add-in Silicon Image RAID ... "6 Using Hard Drives as Non-RAID ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)
  • Re: Installing XP-Pro
    ... The disk spins, various programs are read from it ok, and then when it ... Setup did not find any hard disk drives installed in your computer. ... hit the F6 key to install a third party SCSI or RAID driver. ... A similar program is VirtualBox. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.basics)
  • Re: Wont boot from SATA drives
    ... The only tricky part of the command, is verifying the disk is at /dev/hda ... I have had to do that on occasion, to be able to install an OS on a hard ... in that the add-in Silicon Image RAID ... "6 Using Hard Drives as Non-RAID ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)
  • Re: 4 CONSECUTIVE CORRUPT DISK DISASTERS WITH WIN2K
    ... Disk and drive controller. ... The application install is responsible for placing the shortcuts. ... unreadable / corrupt. ... Restoration of data files from backup hard drives during re-installation ...
    (microsoft.public.win2000.general)