PC Help??? Trying to install XP on a Linux machine.

[aquart]

My nerd BIL installed Fedora on my mom's PIII 600 with the result she never uses it. To atone, he sent us an upgrade disk for XP Professional. Oh, goody. The machine asks me questions I don't understand and doesn't have simple things like a freaking D drive. I love my BIL but if his neck were nearby, it would be...never mind. My sister loves him.

Does anyone have a clue what I do with this clunker? How do I strip out the slow, unwieldy, UNuser friendly, and obnoxious Linux?

[Solon]

1. If its a Pentium 3 600MHz as I think it is...

Then you would be trading a slow Linux system for an EVEN slower XP system. I would suggest, if you have it, Windows98, its unstable but better than nothing. Also, another thing, you NEED Windows 2000 install disk to install XP Professional Upgrade anyways.

[aquart]

5. I have Win NT legal disks.

The 2000 disk doesn't look legal which is why BIL wouldn't consider installing it in the first place (bought the pc off craigslist for $50 with all its original disks). It has at least 256 Mb memory.

My concern about 98 is that it has a wireless router and I'm not sure we can get drivers. Trust me, we'd all be more comfy with 98.

[Solon]

6. It would only be used for the upgrade check...

for XP professional, similar to how a Windows 98 disk is used for the Upgrade of XP Home. Best bet is to boot the XP Pro disk on the computer, set it up to repartition and format the hard drives, if you don't want dual boot, and then when it asks for an upgrade compliance check, pop in the 2000 or NT disk, it checks it, then it should continue with the installation. With 256 memory, and being at 600MHz, the computer is going to be slow as all hell, but, what can you do?

Also, I beleive for XP professional you need at LEAST NT 4.0 disks, NOT NT 3.51.

[aquart]

7. How do I boot the XP Pro disk?

Linux is ignoring it. Okay, Linux mystifies me. I admit it. NOT a user-friendly OS.

[Solon]

8. Put it in the computer...

and then restart the computer. If the system is set up right, the disk boots itself. If not, then hit the "del" button on the keyboard as soon as it powers up to go into the BIOS of the system, and look for a boot sequence order and make sure CD-ROM is the first item to be used by the system.

ON EDIT: OK, slight correction, look at the messages when the system first starts up, if it says "Press Any Key to Boot from CD" hit a key on the keyboard, and then the XP install CD should start up.

[Spider Jerusalem]

2. Go here:

http://www.answersthatwork.com/Download_Area/Downrights/dos_6.22_usa_system_disk.exe

That's an MS/DOS boot disk. Download, run, and make a botoable floppy or burn to CD-ROM as a bootable image. Then use it to boot the machine, then from the DOS prompt use eiter the fdisk or format commands (example of syntax: format c: /y will format drive C).

You may need to merge the partitions using fdisk, but that's not very difficult.

[Solon]

3. Shouldn't need to do that...

Should just be able to boot the CD, it has all the tools needed, but they better have a Windows 2000 or better install CD, or else its not going to work, its an upgrade disk, which blows junks.

[Solon]

4. Also, this site is better:

http://www.bootdisk.com/

If absolutely needed, you can get a DOS bootdisk that recognizes NTFS.