awdtsi42o Posted January 14, 2012 Report Share Posted January 14, 2012 Hey guys, I just came across this forum and it seems like a great community, I am glad to be a part of it.I have a ton of experience with Windows XP, Vista, 7, etc. However, I do not have all that much experience with the older operating systems such as 98, 2000, and ME. I have spent over ten hours trying to resolve this issue with no success, so here I am posting it here in hopes someone can assist me.Onto the problem...My laptop was recently stolen, so I am stuck using an old desktop that is currently running Windows ME. I have Windows XP in ISO image format, which I burned to CD. The file is in ISO format so all I did was burn it to a CD.I was hoping that with the CD in the drive, when I restarted the computer, the "press and key to boot from CD" dialouge would come up, but it didnt.I checked the BIOS settings and made sure the CD drive is before the hard drive, and it was. I even put the CD drive to the top of the boot list, still wouldn't boot from CD.I even opened up the tower and unplugged the hard drive, hoping that would force the system to boot from the CD drive (Windows XP installation CD). Still no luck.I am beginning to think it may have been how I burned the CD. I thought that since the file was already in .iso format all I had to do was burn the file to CD, was this incorrect? Is there another step I am missing here?Is there a certain key you have to press during startup with Windows ME to boot from CD?I have spent so much time reading everything I could find relating to booting from CD using Windows ME, and tried everything suggested.I have spent over ten hours, probably more like 15 hours trying to upgrade this system to XP, at this point it is driving me insane.Please help, I know the system has the minimum system requirements so that is not an issue.If I launch the XP installation file while logged on to the Windows ME system, the XP install screen pops up but when I click the Install XP on this machine, nothing happens.I even reformatted the ME system just in case there was a problem somewhere. I went through the 4 hour ME reformat, and it changed nothing, still wont boot from CD.I am so sorry to ramble, I have been trying to figure this out for over a week, spending all my time everyday after work until I get too frustrated or too tired. I am trying to give as much information as possible to help you, help me.The desktop is an HP Pavilion 7850. It has two CD drives, and I have tried the XP install disk in both drives, no luck.I would be eternally grateful if someone can help me, I am ready to upgrade this tower to a one way flight out of my second story window.I will check back often for replies in case you guys have anything I can try or if you need anymore information.Thanks for your help,Erick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ɹəuəllıʍ ʇɐb Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 I am beginning to think it may have been how I burned the CD. I thought that since the file was already in .iso format all I had to do was burn the file to CD, was this incorrect? Is there another step I am missing here?How did you burn that ISO onto the CD? The CD writing software must be instructed to make a bootable disk, not just to write a file to the disk. Search Google for Windows bootable cd for instructions. P.S. Welcome to the forum, b.t.w. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANEMAN Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Yes. Quite right Pat. Many people fall into that trap. There is a free portable utility to create Bootable ISO's at the following link: http://www.askvg.com...ta-and-7-setup/ Works for XP, Vista, and 7. "You just need to give any desired name to ISO image file, select the folder containing Windows setup files and select the target folder which will store the new ISO file and you are done. Just sit back and the bootable ISO image file will be created automatically within a few minutes which can be burned on a disk using any CD/DVD burning software." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bludgard Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Just to add to the thread: Does the CD drive show sings of life (ligts blinking/spinning-noise) that may indicate the drive is actually trying to read the disk before Windows starts booting?Also, is this an attempt to upgrade or "clean" install?Try the above mentioned; if you haven't already been down this road. Post back and let us know how you get on, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awdtsi42o Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Hey guys. First off, thanks for all of the quick replies! This forum, and it's members rock!Yes, the CD drive shows signs of life. I know it works because I have used other CDs and it works fine.I think I may have burnt the CD incorrectly. When I burnt the CD, I just clicked the Windows XP install ISO file and dropped it into the burn section. I clicked burn, and that was it. I thought that would be fine because it was .iso fomat. Obviously I was wrong.I burnt a few differeny CDs and used all of the blanks, so I am off to the store to get more.I am going to check out the link provided, and re-read your posts to make sure I get this rightIf I burn the CD correctly, the "press any key to boot from CD" should pop up when I restart the computer, right?Thanks so much for all of the help. I was worried the length of my initial post would scare everyone away and I would get no replies. Instead, I was surprised to find a ton of replies with great information!I will grab some blank CDs, then off to work for a few hours. When I get back home, I will burn the CD per your instructions and report back here.What I am trying to do is update the system to XP so that I can connect to the internet via tethering through my cell.I am posting from my phone now, I read your replies quickly because I have work in a few minutes. Going to re-read before I burn anymore CDs. What is the best free burning software that will create a bootable ISO and also run on Windows ME? Also, brief instructions - I just want to get this right. Again, I am going to read all of your replies again so if this has already been covered nevermind.Thanks so much, I don't feel alone in this anymore!Erick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awdtsi42o Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Just read your replies again, couple things:Maneman: The system I am using to burn the bootable CD is running Windows ME, I noticed the utility you mention only works with XP, Vista, and 7. Does anyone know of a utility that I can burn a bootable image with on a system running ME?Also, I am doing a clean install. I want to format the entire drive, and install XP.Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awdtsi42o Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Got the blank CDs, just waiting for someone to recommend a program that will burn a bootable CD and works with Windows ME... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bludgard Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Is Windows ME the only machine around to work with?ImgBurn supports ME. Just install > right click the image file > Burn using ImgBurn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANEMAN Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 I noticed the utility you mention only works with XP, Vista, and 7. It will only burn bootable ISO images for those three operating systems. Should work on all Windows Operating systems. To make life a bit easier for you. Download the utility to your desktop from here: http://dl.dropbox.co.../WBICreator.exe It will look like this: Double click on it and run. (It's portable, - nothing to install) - You should then see this: Go ahead and produce your bootable ISO ;=;=;=;=;=;=;=;=;=;=;=;=;=;=;=;=;= Now download this to your desktop:http://dl.dropbox.co.../Iso-Burner.exe It will look like this: double click on it (Once again portable and nothing to install) you will then have this: Whack your newly made ISO into that, insert a CD or DVD and then set the speed to 4x (Dont set speed before CD is in the tray) Press: Burn ISO, - and you should have a bootable XP install disk. Lots of ways to format your HDD for a clean install, but for now the install disk should give you the ability to delete & format the existing partition. ,=,=,=,=,=,=,=,=,=,=,=,=,=,=, All should go well, but I shudder everytime I think about doing anything on Windows ME. It's taken me years to get over the nightmares as it is. :0 John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awdtsi42o Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Maneman: Thanks for going through the trouble to give all those tailored, detailed instructions, I think I can do this now...After work I will give it a shot. After I make the XP install disk per your instructions, all I have to do is restart the system and it should ask me to boot from CD, correct?The ME machine is the only system I have...Thanks again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANEMAN Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 The ME machine is the only system I have... Lucky you ! Palpitations Have started. Windows ME can BlueScreen if you look at it in the wrong way, which is the reason I chose portable applications to try to do the job. That 'puter could struggle really, really hard to run XP with a max RAM of 512mb (Unless you've updated the mobo ?) Are you sure you want to go on with this ? I dont think I personally would be spending too much time on this project. John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awdtsi42o Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Well my brand new Dell laptop, which I will be paying on for the next three years was stolen, so until I can afford another machine this dinosaur is my only option...I went through all of the steps, just like you said with WBICreator and it says it was a success, and finished... However, in the folder I made on my desktop titled "XP Bootable ISO" there is nothing... Should I go through the process again? I read your instructions about five times and followed them perfectly, everything went as planned but there is no bootable ISO in the folder?I restarted the system, and the folder is still empty... I thought I was so close.Any ideas? Im learning a lot, that WBICreator is an awesome tool! I downloaded the other program to burn it, but I cant find the file...Going to mess with it a bit more...Thanks again!Erick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awdtsi42o Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Ok I tried the whole process again, still no file in the destination folder. I snapped a picture of the screen, but I cant figure out how to attach a photo to my post. Here is what the dialouge box says in WBICreator:Im on my phone too much to type...Preparing...Your source path contains spaces - A copy operation would take placeCopying files...Copy completed successfullyCreating image...Image created successfullySaving image to destination...Image saved successfullyFinishedHowever when I go into the output folder I selected there is nothing there... I have tried two different folders with different names. After it finishes the above process, the output folder pops up but there is nothing in it.So close, but so far...Please help.Erick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awdtsi42o Posted January 15, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 Hey guys, I am trying to attempt it again, and I keep getting the following when I click Go in WBICreator:Says Creating Image...Then a box pops up with the following:Wbicreator has caused an error inWBICREATOR.EXEWbicreator will now close.If you continue to experience problems,try restarting your computer.This happened the first time I ran it. I shut the system down and it worked fine. However, I have shut down and tried five times and it keeps doing the same...Cant catch a break!Thanks for everyones help and patience!Erick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bludgard Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 I have Windows XP in ISO image format, which I burned to CD. The file is in ISO format.If you have the image file, then an image doesn't need to be created. Just burn the image to disk.ISO Burner should look like this (XP MCE is mounted). Set the burn speed to 2x or 4x. Just push the button. Edit: Had to remove the magik code again.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bludgard Posted January 15, 2012 Report Share Posted January 15, 2012 I love @Active products Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANEMAN Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime. Bill. - The fisher of men surveying the workings of Windows ME Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bludgard Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Funny as hell, but what is that behind Billy? Appears to be a shrine to an unholy image of Big Brother. Spooky... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awdtsi42o Posted January 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Guys I am going to toss the tower out of my window...Got the CD burnt properly.."Press any key to boot from CD" pops up, when I press a key (I tried them all) nothing happens it cycles and the "Press any key to boot from CD" pops up again. I went through this a hundred times...Tried launching setup from MS DOS prompt... M:cd \i386winntI get the following reply..."Program too big to fit in memory"I can't win, this conputer is very close to getting a beat down, very, very close...I tried just clicking the setup icon, the XP screen appears but when I click "Install XP" nothing happens, also tried hitting enter.Ready to lose it. Please help.Thanks...Erick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANEMAN Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 First thing to do is sleep on it. You'll just get more and more tired and annoyed. None of us likes to be beaten on stuff like this, but there are times when enough is enough. Install files load into RAM. Could this be the problem ? Who knows ? Can you load a Linux live CD on this rig ? Can you run Memtest to check the RAM ? ( http://www.memtest86.com/download.html ) You've got a slow CPU and low RAM on an old Mobo and you are trying to load a system that the rig wasn't designed for. Then we come to the problem of USB. - 1.1 or 2 ? - PCI Card ? Your maximum is always going to be 2x sticks of 256mb RAM. Slow as a chicken pulling a dung cart. Can we help ? - Doubtful. Remote diagnostics and repairs by written word rarely comes under the heading of "Cutting Edge". You may just get lucky if the wind is blowing in the right direction for you, and prove me completely wrong. I hope you do. I'm not being defeatist but you cannot make a silk purse out of a sows ear. Stop doing it would have to me my final advice on this. Put Linux on it and use it as a server. Sorry if you dont see this as being positive, but I still hope you do something with it. I'm out. John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awdtsi42o Posted January 16, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 Thanks for everyones help, I agree that spending anymore time on this thread is a waste of time...::FAIL:: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANEMAN Posted January 16, 2012 Report Share Posted January 16, 2012 :FAIL: Nah ! - Dont put yourself down. You'll never tackle anything yourself again if you start thinking like that. The positive side is, that you posted, and if just one other person has learnt something or been introduced to useful freeware then you done a good thing. Take care. John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
awdtsi42o Posted January 17, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 Thanks very much for all of your help John, you've been great...The system has 128MB RAM which I know is nothing. But should this be enough to install/run XP?Also, is there anyway I can wipe the hard drive and hopefully force the system to boot from CD? I tried the MS DOS prompt format, but it will not work because it's in use. I have the factory ME disks, so I can always return it back to stock if needed. What would cause it to say press any key to boot from CD, then display the HP Invent screen, then back to press any key, over and over?System Specs (I know they are hooorrible):933MHz processor128MB SDRAM40GB HDAny problem with the above?Spent a few more hours tonight, hopefully I will get it one day...Thanks John!Erick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bludgard Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 933MHz processor128MB SDRAM40GB HD I have installed XP on less.Taken from MS:The minimum hardware requirements for Windows XP Home Edition are:Pentium 233-megahertz (MHz) processor or faster (300 MHz is recommended)At least 64 megabytes (MB) of RAM (128 MB is recommended)At least 1.5 gigabytes (GB) of available space on the hard diskhttp://software.lsoft.net/boot-cd-iso.zipBurn the above the same as the image of XP.Boot from the disk, wipe the drive and start over. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MANEMAN Posted January 17, 2012 Report Share Posted January 17, 2012 Jobe (bludgard) can take over now Erick. :) I've got a pile of this crap technology out in my shed, and I've taken even more to our local recycling centre.None of it has got a "Fail" label on it. I just cant be bothered with it anymore. When it was in customers or friends houses it was just constant phone calls and hassle. First website you visit with flash adverts, and the whole lot comes to a standstill, etc; etc; moan, moan, moan.I think if you are going to comment and try to help on forums you have got to have some sort of "Duty of Care" towards genuine posters, and part of that relies on telling the truth as you see it. - I've told the truth as I see it. Nice little educational projects. I dont want to put anyone off of messin' and experimentin'. :( Linux Distro preferable. XPLite and nLite ? - O.K. - But there is another side to that story as told by "Bold Fortune" http://forums.techgu...e-programs.html As said before though. - I'm out. John. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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