How to Create a Bootable Windows XP Setup Disk on a Preinstalled / Preloaded Windows System

If you have bought an off-the-shelf computer recently, chances are that it came with Windows preloaded onto the system. Unfortunately, many of these systems with Windows preinstalled do not come with a Windows setup CDR !" at best they include a Recovery Dis# that restores the system to its shipping condition. If you plan to reformat and do a clean installation of your system, you might thin# that you have to buy another additional Windows $% licence even though you have already paid for one for that same machine. &his article shows you how you can re-create a usable and bootable Windows $% installation CD using your running system.

Why Create a Bootable Windows Setup CD?

&here are at least a few reasons why you might need a bootable Windows 'etup disc( ). *ery often, people want to reinstall a system to remove the crap that comes preinstalled on their system. If you have bought any %C or laptop from brands li#e Dell, +cer, ,%, etc, you will #now what I mean. &he manufacturer typically installs tons of demo and trial software, toolbars and other -un# that clutter up your system and slow it down. Uninstalling these programs ta#es a lot of time, and even when it is done, there are still residual pieces of the previous installation littered across your hard dis# and the registry. In such a situation, it is useful to reinstall a pristine copy of Windows, load the drivers and only the software you actually want to use. .. +nother possible reason is that you/ve used your system for some time, and it/s become incredibly sluggish and cluttered. 0ou want to reinstall and start from scratch. &o simplify the process, you want to integrate 1slipstream2 all the Windows hotfi3es, device drivers, applications, etc, into your Windows install dis#, so that when you finish running the Windows installer, your system is good to go, without the need to wait a few hours for Windows Update to catch up with the last few years/ worth of Windows Update. 4or this slipstreaming to ta#e place, you need a Windows setup CD. 5. If you want to do a repair install of Windows, you will need a bootable Windows install disc. I/m sure there are many other possible reasons why you might need a Windows Installation CD, but let/s get on with the procedure for ma#ing one.

Prerequisites

6efore you can recreate a bootable Windows installation dis#, certain things are re7uired(

1. A Windows XP System
&his guide only applies to Windows $% systems, be it $% ,ome or %rofessional. I have not tested this procedure on other versions of Windows.

2. An !"# Dire$tory %&older' on your (ard Dis)

&his is essential. Without this, the procedure outlined on this page will not wor#. &o find out whether you can use the steps listed on this page to re-create your bootable Windows $% setup dis#, loo# for into your system drive 1usually the C( drive2, and see if you can find a folder named I589 in the root directory. &hat is, see if you have the C(:I589 folder on your hard dis#. If your %C or laptop came from the ma-or %C vendors li#e ,%, Dell or +cer, chances are that there is an I589 folder at the root of drive C(, unless you/ve deleted it. ;ote that only c(:i589 contains the files needed for this operation. Do not use the files in <C(:Windows:Driver Cache:i589< or any other folders.

!. Windows *i$ense +ey

When you bought your %C or laptop, it probably already came with Windows preactivated, which means that you could use the computer out-of-the-bo3 without having to enter your Windows licence #ey from !icrosoft or needing to activate the machine. ,owever, when you reinstall Windows, you will need a Windows licence #ey. 0ou can usually find this taped somewhere on your computer 1sometimes on the underside or bac# of the computer2. Without this, you won/t get far in the installation.

,. De-i$e Dri-ers
'ome manufacturers provide you with the device drivers for your system on a CD that comes with your system. thers re7uire you to go to their website and download these drivers. Whichever the case may be, ma#e sure you have all your drivers handy before you start. 6urn them onto a CD or D*D. Do not leave them on your hard dis#, since your clean installation of Windows will probably wipe out everything on your hard dis#. If your computer has '+&+, ID=, 'C'I or other mass storage devices 1for your hard dis#s2 that the Windows installer does not recogni>e out of the bo3, you will need to create a floppy dis# with the drivers for that device. +t the appropriate time, when Windows prompts you

to hit 49 to load the drivers from a floppy dis#, you will need to so. &his is however outside the scope of this tutorial. If your manufacturer has not provided you with any device drivers, or if you have lost the drivers CD or D*D that the vendor has provided you, all is not lost. 0ou can try using a device driver bac#up program to e3tract the e3isting drivers on your currently running system. 6urn the drivers onto a CD or D*D before starting. 0ou can get a device driver bac#up program from the 4ree Device Driver 6ac#up and =3traction Utilities page on thefreecountry.com. ;ote that bac#ing up your device drivers in this manner will not help you if your computer has '+&+, ID=, 'C'I or other mass storage devices 1for your hard dis#2 that Windows setup does not recognise. In such cases, you need the manufacturers/ te3tmode drivers which the driver bac#up utility will not recreate. +nother alternative is to use a commercial software li#e Driver Detective to trac# down and get the latest versions of all the device drivers for your system.

.. CD/D0D Burnin1 So2tware

0ou will need to have a CD?D*D burning software that will allow you to create 6ootable CDs. ;ot all D*D or CD mastering programs allow you to do this, especially the =! versions that are bundled with new computers or D*D?CD writers. 4or the purpose of this tutorial, I will use Img6urn, a free burning software that you can find listed on the 4ree CD and D*D 6urners and Copying 'oftware page. 0ou can of course use other software, but since it is difficult for me to write a tutorial that covers every possible burning software around, this guide will assume that you are using Img6urn. 'ince the software is available free of charge, I doubt that this choice will pose significant hardship for anyone.

#. Windows Setup CD Boot Se$tor

0ou will also need the boot sector of an e3isting bootable Windows .@@@, $% or .@@5 setup CDR !. &he easiest way to get this is to download the file w3p)@.>ip from one of the lin#s on http(??www.nu..nu?download.phpAs4ileBw3p)@.>ip. In fact, you should do this now. Download the file and save it on your des#top. 0ou will need the file later. I would also strongly suggest that you ma#e a bac#up image of your entire system before you reinstall it. 6y entire system, I mean the whole system and not -ust your data. &his is important in case there is some glitch in your installation or some fault in the setup CD that you create, resulting in an unusable system. In such a situation, you will be able to restore your wor#ing system from your bac#up image. 1If you are not sure what a bac#up image is, or thin# that I/m

only tal#ing about saving your documents to another location, or worse, thin# that <image< refers to some sort of picture, please do not carry on with this procedure.2 If you don/t have a decent hard dis# bac#up and image software, you can chec# out the 4ree ,ard Dis# 6ac#up and Restore, ,ard Dis# Image and Cloning Utilities page. If you are tin#ering with your system, you owe it to yourself 1and your sanity2 to get a good hard dis# image 1bac#up2 program.

mportant 3ote
;ote that there are 34 56A7A3899S with the procedure I outline here. It is possible that it does not wor# - for e3ample, if your vendor has deleted some essential file in the I589 folder 1which we will need2, your installation may well fail at some crucial point after it has formatted your hard dis#C It is also possible that my procedure will not wor# on your system, or that I made some mista#e in describing it here. So do it all at your own ris). +nd ma#e sure you have an up-to-date bac#up of your system that you #now wor#s.

Steps to Creatin1 a Bootable Windows Setup Dis) 2rom the !"# Dire$tory/&older
). Create a temporary wor#ing folder at the root 1top2 of the C( drive called <$%'=&U%< 1without the 7uotes2. +ctually, you can name it anything you want and put it anywhere you li#e, but for ease of e3planation, the remainder of the steps below will assume that you have created the $%'=&U% folder in the root of drive C(. &his C(:$%'=&U% folder will be where you will create the CDR ! directory structure for your bootable Windows CD. .. Copy the entire C(:I589 to C(:$%'=&U%. When you have finished, you will have C(:$%'=&U%:I589. ;otice that I said <copy<, not <move<. Do 348 drag and drop the I589 folder into the $%'=&U% directory. If you do so, you may end up moving it into the $%'=&U% folder 1depending on where you created the $%'=&U% folder2. It is important to wor# from a copy of the I589 directory so that if you ma#e mista#es, you can simply go bac# and start all over again. If you move the directory or drag and drop it, and you ma#e a mista#e, your mista#e will be permanent. 'o once again, C %0 the entire I589 folder to $%'=&U%. It may ta#e a while for the copy operation to complete, but it/s safer this way. If you/re not sure how to copy, follow the following procedure( ,ighlight the I589 folder using Windows =3plorer. Right-clic# the folder and select <Copy<. &hen open the $%'=&U% folder. &he folder should be empty at the moment. Right clic# the empty space in the window and clic# <%aste<. + very lengthy copy procedure will ta#e place.

&o verify that you have copied the folder and not moved it, return to the top of C( and chec# that the I589 folder is still there and that the original files in that folder are still there. 5. Create an +'CII te3t file with only the word <Windows < 1without the 7uotes and including the final space after the word <Windows<2 in it, followed by a new line. &o do this, open up ;otepad. ;otepad can be found in your 'tart menu -D %rograms -D +ccessories -D ;otepad. &ype the word <Windows< without the 7uotes and following my case e3actly 1that is, <W< is a capital letter and the rest are in small letters2. &hen type one additional space. 4inally, hit the =;&=R #ey. Do not add anything else to this file. Do not change anything - for e3ample, do not type everything in capital letters or anything li#e that. &he contents of the file must be e3actly as I said, or Windows setup will issue an error message. 'ave the file with the filename <WI;E)< 1in$lude the 7uotes so that ;otepad will not add a <.t3t< e3tension behind your bac#2 in C(:$%'=&U%. +gain, the filename/s spelling and case must be e3actly li#e mine. If your %C or laptop originally came with $% ,ome, ma#e a copy of the file you -ust created and call it <WI;E)IC<. If you are using $% ,ome 'ervice %ac# ) 1'% )2, ma#e two copies of the file and call them <WI;E)IC< and <WI;E)IC.'%)<. If you are using $% ,ome 'ervice %ac# . 1'% .2, ma#e three copies of the file and call them <WI;E)IC<, <WI;E)IC.'%)< and <WI;E)IC.'%.<. +ll the copies of the files should be in C(:$%'=&U%. If your %C or laptop originally came with $% %rofessional, ma#e a copy of the file you -ust created and call it <WI;E)I%<. If you are using $% %rofessional 'ervice %ac# ) 1'% )2, ma#e two copies of the file and call them <WI;E)I%< and <WI;E)I%.'%)<. If you are using $% %rofessional 'ervice %ac# . 1'% .2, ma#e three copies of the file and call them <WI;E)I%<, <WI;E)I%.'%)< and <WI;E)I%.'%.<. +ll the copies of the files should be in C(:$%'=&U%. ;ote carefully what I said above. 0ou may be running $% '% . now, but if your %C came with $% '% ), you should create the files for $% '% ). &here is an e3ception to this. If your %C or laptop came with $% or $% '% ), but you want your Windows install CD to install $% '% ., create the WI;E) files needed for '% . and follow the procedure for slipstreaming Windows service pac# . 1'% .2 into the Windows setup CDR ! given in the ne3t step. F. If your %C or laptop came originally with $% or $% '% ) 1service pac# )2 but you want your Windows setup dis# to install $% '% ., do the following. therwise, s#ip to the ne3t step.

;ote that even if you have since updated your computer to '% ., you will still need to do this step if you want your setup CD to install Windows $% 'ervice %ac# .. &he reason is that updating your running Windows system does not automatically update the I589 directory. 0our I589 directory still contains the Windows setup files belonging to whatever version of Windows you had when you first bought your %C?laptop. ). Download Windows $% service pac# . from http(??www.microsoft.com?downloads?details.asp3A4amilyIdB@FGCGD6=-568=F45@-8.FE-G=598D5CD6E+HdisplaylangBen 'ave it anywhere you li#e e3cept in the C(:$%'=&U% folder. 4or the purpose of this tutorial, I will assume you saved it as C(:$%'%..=$=, that is, in the root folder with the filename <$%'%..=$=<. mportant( if you did not configure Windows to show you the full filename you should probably do so before changing the name of the file. therwise, you may be inadvertently saving the file as <$%'%..=$=.=$=< without your #nowing. 1&hat is, you see the filename as <$%'%..=$=< in Windows =3plorer but it/s actually <$%'%..=$=.=$=<.2 .. 0ou will need to update the C(:$%'=&U%:I589 folder to contain the updated '% . files. +s a side benefit, the service pac# . updater will also create a few files 1including setup.e3e2 in the C(:$%'=&U% folder. &his process of integrating the service pac# files into the original $% or $% '% ) is #nown as <slipstreaming<. &o slipstream '% ., first open up a command prompt. &o do this, clic# the 'tart menu, select the Run menu item, and enter the words <cmd<. Clic# the I button. + blac# command prompt window will open. =nter the following line into the window and press the =;&=R #ey.
C:\XPSP2.EXE /integrate:C:\XPSETUP

+fter the program finishes, you can close the command prompt window. If you loo# into your $%'=&U% folder, you will notice a few new files there. E. +t this point, the C(:$%'=&U% directory contains all the files that will be copied to your Windows 'etup CDR !. Don/t worry if the directory does not contain files li#e <setup.e3e< which you see on the retail CDR !s. 0ou won/t need it for a fresh install from the bootable CDR !. ;ote( 0ou will only have <setup.e3e< if you had to slipstream 'ervice %ac# . as mentioned earlier. &he 'ervice %ac# . slipstreamer creates setup.e3e for you. 9. ;ow open the w3p)@.>ip file that you downloaded earlier. 'imply doubleclic#ing it in Windows e3plorer should do the tric#. Jo into the cds directory and into w3phome 1or

w3ppro" it doesn/t matter which2 directory, followed by the files directory. Drag the <w.#sect.bin< file into C(: 1the root directory?folder of drive C(2. Don/t get creative and place it in some other directory. If you do that, Img6urn will not be able to find c(:w.#sect.bin later.

Burnin1 the Bootable Windows nstall CD/D0D

1. If you have not downloaded Img6urn, get it now and install it. 0ou will find it listed on thefreecountry.com/s 4ree CD and D*D 6urners and Copying 'oftware page. &he version of Img6urn I used to create this guide was ..5...@. !y cursory test of a later version, ..F.@.@, found that the resulting dis# was not made correctly. &herefore, you should avoid ..F.@.@. =ither use the earlier version or get a version later than ..F.@.@, if any, that has the bugs fi3ed. .. pen up ;otepad, and copy the te3t from the bo3 below 1ma#e sure you select everything - clic# in the bo3 and type CtrlK+ to select all2 and paste it into a blan# ;otepad window. 'ave the file as <$%'=&U%.ibb< 1in$ludin1 the 7uotes, which you need to prevent ;otepad from adding a <.t3t< e3tension to your filename2 somewhere on your des#top 1or anywhere you li#e2. Do not add or delete anything from the file.

5. 'tart Img6urn. 'elect !ode -D 6uild from the menu. F. 'elect 4ile -D Load %ro-ect from the menu. + dialog bo3 will open. 'elect the $%'=&U%.ibb file you saved earlier and clic# < pen<. If you can/t find a <Load %ro-ect<

item on the 4ile menu, it means you did not carry out the previous step. Jo bac# and do it. E. Clic# the <Labels< tab on the right side of the screen. Change the label in the I' G99@ field to one of the following, depending on what type of bootable setup CD you/re ma#ing. 0ersion Windows $% ,ome =! Windows $% ,ome '% ) =! Windows $% ,ome '% )a and '% . =! Windows $% %rofessional =! Windows $% %rofessional '% ) =! Windows $% %rofessional '% )a and '% . *abel to 6se W$, =!M=; $R!, =!M=; $)+, =!M=; W$% =!M=; $R!% =!M=; =! $)+% =!M=;

9. &his step is probably optional if you can/t be bothered. I seem to recall having entered a wrong label in the past without having the Windows installer fail on me. N. 4inally, clic# the <Write< icon at the bottom of the window. &o find out which picture the <Write< button is 1there are no visual cues, even as to which picture actually represents a button2, hover your mouse over the the pictures near the bottom of the window and wait for the tooltip to appear. When you hover your mouse over the correct picture, a tooltip will appear with the te3t <Write<. 1;ote( depending on your version of Img6urn, your icon may read <6uild< instead of <Write<.2 8. + dialog bo3 will probably pop up saying something li#e <0ou/ve only selected ) folderC C(:$%'=&U%. Does the /$%'=&U%/ folder represent the root directory for the image contentA 1 therwise the /$%'=&U%/ folder will be visible in the root directory of the image.2< Clic# <0es< to this. 6asically, you want the contents of the $%'=&U% folder to be what you see when you view the CDR !/s top level directory. 9. If you get an error message from Img6urn regarding <c(:w.#sect.bin<, it means that you have missed one of the steps outlined above. Return to that paragraph and complete the step before continuing. +t this point, the bootable Windows setup dis# will be created. &o use it, place the CD into the CD drive, ma#e sure your 6I ' is set to boot first from your CD drive, and reboot. *oila, if all goes well, the Windows installer starts up and you/re on the way to reinstalling your system. If you encounter any problems, you/ve probably missed a step somewhere. !issed steps account for the ma-ority of the problems encountered by those who try this out. 0ou might also want to chec# the 4+O for ,ow to Create Windows $% 'etup CD for a Windows-%reloaded 'ystem to see if the answer is also given there.

Copyright P .@@9-.@@8 by Christopher ,eng. +ll rights reserved. Jet more <,ow &o< guides and tutorials from http(??www.howtohaven.com?.