Does folder i386 = Windows installation CD?

[BriDawg159]

I need my Windows installation CD, but I don't know where it is. I was looking online and someone said that all of the files in the folder named I386 are those on the Windows installation CD. I was wondering, if I burned all of the files in the i386 folder onto a blank CD, would I essentially have a new Windows installation CD?

[-pops-]

No.

i386 is part of Windows XP - it doesn't correspond that Windows XP is i386.

[BriDawg159]

I got the idea that i386 is the windows install cd from this guy:

http://ask-leo.com/i_dont_have_an_installa...i_need_one.html

Is he right?

[Boris]

Yes, .................... but he's only talking about using the files in i386 if a program you're installing needs an extra file that you haven't previously installed.

[-pops-]

Note the section:

Winnt.exe and winnt32.exe are the DOS and protected mode setup programs, respectively. (You'd only need those if you were planning to re-install Windows XP from scratch - I use them here as an easy way to indentify that we have the right directory.)

This alone indicates to me that i386 is part of WXP.

This computer contains three i386 folders: the first containing the XP driver cache; the second, Service Pack files and the third is associated with Java. None of these, alone or combined, constitutes the files necessary to install the operating system.

If you need to re-install XP without an installation disk, provided you have the product key for the original install, you can borrow an XP disk (provided it's the same version) and install from that.