Barry.. (or anyone) A question about i386 folders

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

The I386 folder on a Windows NT, 2K or XP CD is the equivalent of the
"Win98" folder on a Windows 98CD (or "Win9x", on some ME CDs).

In general, this folder has all of the "cab" files that contain the
operating system in the form needed for installation. Unless they have
been deleted by the OEM (which they sometimes ARE), this folder will
normally also contain the setup programs, Winnt.exe for "command line"
("DOS" ) setup and Winnt32.exe for running setup itself under Windows.

If you have access to these, you can install the operating system. They
can be on the hard drive, or they can be on a CD. If you burn these to
a CD, you effectively have a means of installing windows from a blank
hard drive, although the CD won't be bootable unless you go to the extra
effort to make it so.

So, if you want to reinstall the OS "without all the junk", this is a
good starting point. Note, this folder is "usually" a "pure" version of
Windows (without machine specific drivers), but an OEM can add drivers
for a specific machine to it, and many do. The OEM could also add the
"junk" to it if they wanted to, thus defeating what you were trying to
accomplish, but I think that in practice this is not done or is only
done very rarely.


DavidJ01 wrote:

> Barry,
>
> The thread I started a few days ago ( Formatting & reloading OS without all
> the junk) is no longer relevant to the questions I had, so I figured I'd
> better start something new... We were talking about recovering the OS and
> not installing the "garbage" that is often included on a PC. You mentioned
> that clean install could be preformed from the i386 folder. Could you
> elaborate a bit on that please?
>
> In a nutshell, I'm trying to do a recovery on my parents desktop PC that has
> (had) a i386 folder on the C: drive partition, and still has a "recovery"
> partition on D: Partition. Due to numerous problems, the recovery utility
> with the PC doesn't work and I'm trying to figure out how to restore the
> factory "load" without shelling out $$$ to tech support at HP. I was able
> to make a copy of the 1386 folder before I began working on the PC, and the
> entire D: drive recovery partition is still intact, so I have those tools to
> work with.
>
> Thanks,
>
> David...
>
>

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

DavidJ01 wrote:
> Thanks Barry,
>
> Last night I was able to start the install process from the i386
> folder that I had copied to a CD and got to the point where it asked
> for the product key. There's no documentation with that info so I
> had to bail. I'm going to keep searching the D: partition and
> hopefully something will jump out that looks like a setup command.
>
> Thanks again for your help,
>
> David...
>
>
> "Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:407038A6.4040001@neo.rr.com...
>> The I386 folder on a Windows NT, 2K or XP CD is the equivalent of the
>> "Win98" folder on a Windows 98CD (or "Win9x", on some ME CDs).
>>
>> In general, this folder has all of the "cab" files that contain the
>> operating system in the form needed for installation. Unless they
>> have been deleted by the OEM (which they sometimes ARE), this folder
>> will normally also contain the setup programs, Winnt.exe for
>> "command line" ("DOS" ) setup and Winnt32.exe for running setup
>> itself under Windows.
>>
>> If you have access to these, you can install the operating system.
>> They can be on the hard drive, or they can be on a CD. If you burn
>> these to a CD, you effectively have a means of installing windows
>> from a blank hard drive, although the CD won't be bootable unless
>> you go to the extra effort to make it so.
>>
>> So, if you want to reinstall the OS "without all the junk", this is a
>> good starting point. Note, this folder is "usually" a "pure"
>> version of Windows (without machine specific drivers), but an OEM
>> can add drivers for a specific machine to it, and many do. The OEM
>> could also add the "junk" to it if they wanted to, thus defeating
>> what you were trying to accomplish, but I think that in practice
>> this is not done or is only done very rarely.
>>
>>
>> DavidJ01 wrote:
>>
>>> Barry,
>>>
>>> The thread I started a few days ago ( Formatting & reloading OS
>>> without all the junk) is no longer relevant to the questions I had,
>>> so I figured I'd better start something new... We were talking
>>> about recovering the OS and not installing the "garbage" that is
>>> often included on a PC. You mentioned that clean install could be
>>> preformed from the i386 folder. Could you elaborate a bit on that
>>> please?
>>>
>>> In a nutshell, I'm trying to do a recovery on my parents desktop PC
>>> that has (had) a i386 folder on the C: drive partition, and still
>>> has a "recovery" partition on D: Partition. Due to numerous
>>> problems, the recovery utility with the PC doesn't work and I'm
>>> trying to figure out how to restore the factory "load" without
>>> shelling out $$$ to tech support at HP. I was able to make a copy
>>> of the 1386 folder before I began working on the PC, and the entire
>>> D: drive recovery partition is still intact, so I have those tools
>>> to work with.
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>>
>>> David...

The product key is on a sticker on the bottom of a laptop, or attached
to the case/backplane of a desktop. Also, copy the C:\windows\drivers
folder which contains any OEM specialty drivers for display, keyboard,
function keys and the like which just might not be available from the
vendor. HP and Sony are getting to be notorious for not supplying these
drivers separately from the recovery system.

Q

Q

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Thanks guys,

I'm making progress, sort of... I found the sticker so that's good, but
I'm obviously missing something.

I've got all the i386 files on a CD but I can't boot from it. So I'm
Googling to see what I need to do to make a CD bootable, but not sure if I'm
getting the right info. I've also created a set of (6) XP Home boot disks
using a utility from the MS website. That doesn't work because after I
complete the boot process it's asking for the Windows XP Home CD which I
don't have.

Also, if I boot normally, (with my copy of XP Pro installed) I can run
Winnt32.exe of off the CD I made (with the i386 files) and begin the install
process. I can get as far as being asked for the code, but after entering
it I'm again asked for the Windows XP Home CD.

So I'm at a loss as to what I'm missing... Any additional help is certainly
appreciated.

David...

"Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
news:4070451C.8080000@neo.rr.com...
> The product key is the 25-digit code that came with the system or
> Windows CD. It's probably NOT actually recorded anywhere on the hard
> drive (a practice which I strongly advise, but which is rarely done, and
> never, as far as I know, by any major OEMs).
>
> Look for this on a sticker on the cabinet (could be ANYWHERE, including
> on the bottom, or on the inside). Also, it could be on the
> documentation that came with the computer or CD jewel case or envelope.
>
>
> DavidJ01 wrote:
>
> > Thanks Barry,
> >
> > Last night I was able to start the install process from the i386 folder
that
> > I had copied to a CD and got to the point where it asked for the product
> > key. There's no documentation with that info so I had to bail. I'm
going
> > to keep searching the D: partition and hopefully something will jump out
> > that looks like a setup command.
> >
> > Thanks again for your help,
> >
> > David...
> >
> >
> > "Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
> > news:407038A6.4040001@neo.rr.com...
> >
> >>The I386 folder on a Windows NT, 2K or XP CD is the equivalent of the
> >>"Win98" folder on a Windows 98CD (or "Win9x", on some ME CDs).
> >>
> >>In general, this folder has all of the "cab" files that contain the
> >>operating system in the form needed for installation. Unless they have
> >>been deleted by the OEM (which they sometimes ARE), this folder will
> >>normally also contain the setup programs, Winnt.exe for "command line"
> >>("DOS" ) setup and Winnt32.exe for running setup itself under Windows.
> >>
> >>If you have access to these, you can install the operating system. They
> >>can be on the hard drive, or they can be on a CD. If you burn these to
> >>a CD, you effectively have a means of installing windows from a blank
> >>hard drive, although the CD won't be bootable unless you go to the extra
> >>effort to make it so.
> >>
> >>So, if you want to reinstall the OS "without all the junk", this is a
> >>good starting point. Note, this folder is "usually" a "pure" version of
> >>Windows (without machine specific drivers), but an OEM can add drivers
> >>for a specific machine to it, and many do. The OEM could also add the
> >>"junk" to it if they wanted to, thus defeating what you were trying to
> >>accomplish, but I think that in practice this is not done or is only
> >>done very rarely.
> >>
> >>
> >>DavidJ01 wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>>Barry,
> >>>
> >>>The thread I started a few days ago ( Formatting & reloading OS without
> >
> > all
> >
> >>>the junk) is no longer relevant to the questions I had, so I figured
I'd
> >>>better start something new... We were talking about recovering the OS
> >
> > and
> >
> >>>not installing the "garbage" that is often included on a PC. You
> >
> > mentioned
> >
> >>>that clean install could be preformed from the i386 folder. Could you
> >>>elaborate a bit on that please?
> >>>
> >>>In a nutshell, I'm trying to do a recovery on my parents desktop PC
that
> >
> > has
> >
> >>>(had) a i386 folder on the C: drive partition, and still has a
> >
> > "recovery"
> >
> >>>partition on D: Partition. Due to numerous problems, the recovery
> >
> > utility
> >
> >>>with the PC doesn't work and I'm trying to figure out how to restore
the
> >>>factory "load" without shelling out $$$ to tech support at HP. I was
> >
> > able
> >
> >>>to make a copy of the 1386 folder before I began working on the PC, and
> >
> > the
> >
> >>>entire D: drive recovery partition is still intact, so I have those
> >
> > tools to
> >
> >>>work with.
> >>>
> >>>Thanks,
> >>>
> >>>David...
> >>>
> >>>
> >>
> >
> >
>

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

In article <c4ppnb$2kqqog$1@ID-103754.news.uni-berlin.de>,
jefn_REMOVE_YOUR_SHORTS_@sbcglobal.net says...

> Hi David -
>
> You don't need to go back and reproduce your Windows XP "I386" CD. You can
> do the reinstall from DOS.
>
> You can create any DOS diskette - Windows 98/ME/etc. - and boot with CD-ROM
> support.
>
> Once booted, change to your CD-ROM drive (it's letter will be one greater
> than usual).
>
> Type:
>
> CD I386
>
> Then type:
>
> WINNT
>
> This is the DOS-based Windows installer. It'll look a little different from
> the GUI-based installer at first... but it'll let you detect your existing
> partition(s) and XP installation, where you can perform the install.

David-

One further note. Go to www.bootdisk.com to find a good boot disk image
if you decide to go this route. You can download a boot disk creation
file that will let you make a DOS boot disk with CD drivers. Then
follow Jef's directions.

Marc

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Hi Marc,

Booting isn't my problem now, it's where the system hangs while copying
files from the CD to the hard drive. I have no idea why it's doing this and
I'm ready to hang it up for the day. I think I'll just get the recovery
CD's ordered from HP tomorrow.

Thanks to everyone for their help.

David...

"MAG" <Somebody@somewhere.com> wrote in message
news:MPG.1ada432bf2d21ba9897a1@news.md.comcast.giganews.com...
> In article <c4ppnb$2kqqog$1@ID-103754.news.uni-berlin.de>,
> jefn_REMOVE_YOUR_SHORTS_@sbcglobal.net says...
>
> > Hi David -
> >
> > You don't need to go back and reproduce your Windows XP "I386" CD. You
can
> > do the reinstall from DOS.
> >
> > You can create any DOS diskette - Windows 98/ME/etc. - and boot with
CD-ROM
> > support.
> >
> > Once booted, change to your CD-ROM drive (it's letter will be one
greater
> > than usual).
> >
> > Type:
> >
> > CD I386
> >
> > Then type:
> >
> > WINNT
> >
> > This is the DOS-based Windows installer. It'll look a little different
from
> > the GUI-based installer at first... but it'll let you detect your
existing
> > partition(s) and XP installation, where you can perform the install.
>
> David-
>
> One further note. Go to www.bootdisk.com to find a good boot disk image
> if you decide to go this route. You can download a boot disk creation
> file that will let you make a DOS boot disk with CD drivers. Then
> follow Jef's directions.
>
> Marc

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

In article <Kh0cc.74833$K91.162520@attbi_s02>, DavidJ01@hasnoaddress.com
says...
> Hi Marc,
>
> Booting isn't my problem now, it's where the system hangs while copying
> files from the CD to the hard drive. I have no idea why it's doing this and
> I'm ready to hang it up for the day. I think I'll just get the recovery
> CD's ordered from HP tomorrow.
>
> Thanks to everyone for their help.
>
> David...

David-

I've had the same trouble that you describe also, once in the past, when
using the 16-bit version of the installer. After several hours it
errors out, never having finished copying the files. Only happens (IME)
on laptops. I don't know why it happens, but I have experienceds this.

Since you've got the i386 folder, I suggest you make a bootable Windows
XP CD, if you have a CD burner. The instructions are found here:

http://www.nu2.nu/bootcd/#wxp

I followed the directions to do this last week on a lark, including the
Service Pack 1 slipstreaming, and surprisingly it worked on the first
try. Result: a bootable Win XP installation / repair CD.

Good luck!

Marc

Archived from groups: comp.sys.laptops (More info?)

Barry,

Thanks for all your assistance. I wonder if part of the problem I had was a
conflict between a DOS program (Win 98 boot disk) and trying to install to a
drive which had been NTFS formatted. Bottom line is that I've finally made
some progress this afternoon with the creration of a bootable CD. Time to
put this away and come back tomorrow. But again, thanks for all your
assistance !

David...


"Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
news:4070B944.9050601@neo.rr.com...
> If the system has a floppy, start with a floppy with CD-ROM support. If
> it doesn't, it's easy to make a bootable CD (to a DOS prompt) with
> CD-ROM support (the "bootable CD" will be A: and subsequently a CD will
> be D: or whatever). It's a bit more involved to make one CD that is
> both bootable and that has all of the Windows stuff on it, unless you
> find step-by-step direction on a web site (and there are some floating
> around).
>
> Actually, what I'd recommend is copying the CD to C:\I386, a folder off
> of the root directory of the hard drive, and then doing the install
> entirely from the hard drive. Use XCOPY (DOS Program) to do this copy.
> The use of DOS and DOS programs suggests that drive C: be FAT32 and
> not NTFS. You can convert it to FAT32 later if you want to.
>
> I'm assuming here that you start from scratch with a blank hard drive
> and FDISK. This also assumes that you have the DOS version of the setup
> program (WINNT.EXE), which is MISSING from some versions of Windows XP,
> so check that before you try anything. If you are in doubt, it might
> help to "play" with a spare hard drive, you only need about 4 gigs or
> so, to understand the procedure, this doesn't even have to be "in" the
> computer, just connected to it by long cables, and you can pickup an old
> sub 10-gig drive for practically nothing these days.
>
>
> DavidJ01 wrote:
>
> > Thanks guys,
> >
> > I'm making progress, sort of... I found the sticker so that's good,
but
> > I'm obviously missing something.
> >
> > I've got all the i386 files on a CD but I can't boot from it. So I'm
> > Googling to see what I need to do to make a CD bootable, but not sure if
I'm
> > getting the right info. I've also created a set of (6) XP Home boot
disks
> > using a utility from the MS website. That doesn't work because after I
> > complete the boot process it's asking for the Windows XP Home CD which I
> > don't have.
> >
> > Also, if I boot normally, (with my copy of XP Pro installed) I can run
> > Winnt32.exe of off the CD I made (with the i386 files) and begin the
install
> > process. I can get as far as being asked for the code, but after
entering
> > it I'm again asked for the Windows XP Home CD.
> >
> > So I'm at a loss as to what I'm missing... Any additional help is
certainly
> > appreciated.
> >
> > David...
> >
> > "Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
> > news:4070451C.8080000@neo.rr.com...
> >
> >>The product key is the 25-digit code that came with the system or
> >>Windows CD. It's probably NOT actually recorded anywhere on the hard
> >>drive (a practice which I strongly advise, but which is rarely done, and
> >>never, as far as I know, by any major OEMs).
> >>
> >>Look for this on a sticker on the cabinet (could be ANYWHERE, including
> >>on the bottom, or on the inside). Also, it could be on the
> >>documentation that came with the computer or CD jewel case or envelope.
> >>
> >>
> >>DavidJ01 wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>>Thanks Barry,
> >>>
> >>>Last night I was able to start the install process from the i386 folder
> >
> > that
> >
> >>>I had copied to a CD and got to the point where it asked for the
product
> >>>key. There's no documentation with that info so I had to bail. I'm
> >
> > going
> >
> >>>to keep searching the D: partition and hopefully something will jump
out
> >>>that looks like a setup command.
> >>>
> >>>Thanks again for your help,
> >>>
> >>>David...
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>"Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
> >>>news:407038A6.4040001@neo.rr.com...
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>The I386 folder on a Windows NT, 2K or XP CD is the equivalent of the
> >>>>"Win98" folder on a Windows 98CD (or "Win9x", on some ME CDs).
> >>>>
> >>>>In general, this folder has all of the "cab" files that contain the
> >>>>operating system in the form needed for installation. Unless they
have
> >>>>been deleted by the OEM (which they sometimes ARE), this folder will
> >>>>normally also contain the setup programs, Winnt.exe for "command line"
> >>>>("DOS" ) setup and Winnt32.exe for running setup itself under Windows.
> >>>>
> >>>>If you have access to these, you can install the operating system.
They
> >>>>can be on the hard drive, or they can be on a CD. If you burn these
to
> >>>>a CD, you effectively have a means of installing windows from a blank
> >>>>hard drive, although the CD won't be bootable unless you go to the
extra
> >>>>effort to make it so.
> >>>>
> >>>>So, if you want to reinstall the OS "without all the junk", this is a
> >>>>good starting point. Note, this folder is "usually" a "pure" version
of
> >>>>Windows (without machine specific drivers), but an OEM can add drivers
> >>>>for a specific machine to it, and many do. The OEM could also add the
> >>>>"junk" to it if they wanted to, thus defeating what you were trying to
> >>>>accomplish, but I think that in practice this is not done or is only
> >>>>done very rarely.
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>DavidJ01 wrote:
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>
> >>>>>Barry,
> >>>>>
> >>>>>The thread I started a few days ago ( Formatting & reloading OS
without
> >>>
> >>>all
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>>the junk) is no longer relevant to the questions I had, so I figured
> >
> > I'd
> >
> >>>>>better start something new... We were talking about recovering the
OS
> >>>
> >>>and
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>>not installing the "garbage" that is often included on a PC. You
> >>>
> >>>mentioned
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>>that clean install could be preformed from the i386 folder. Could
you
> >>>>>elaborate a bit on that please?
> >>>>>
> >>>>>In a nutshell, I'm trying to do a recovery on my parents desktop PC
> >
> > that
> >
> >>>has
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>>(had) a i386 folder on the C: drive partition, and still has a
> >>>
> >>>"recovery"
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>>partition on D: Partition. Due to numerous problems, the recovery
> >>>
> >>>utility
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>>with the PC doesn't work and I'm trying to figure out how to restore
> >
> > the
> >
> >>>>>factory "load" without shelling out $$$ to tech support at HP. I was
> >>>
> >>>able
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>>to make a copy of the 1386 folder before I began working on the PC,
and
> >>>
> >>>the
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>>entire D: drive recovery partition is still intact, so I have those
> >>>
> >>>tools to
> >>>
> >>>
> >>>>>work with.
> >>>>>
> >>>>>Thanks,
> >>>>>
> >>>>>David...
> >>>>>
> >>>>>
> >>>>
> >>>
> >
> >
>