how do i burn a backup XP Disk

[wakes]

how do i burn a backup XP Disk,,,,friend lost his copy, but still has his Key,,

   when I burned it in nero, sent it to him...... it installed but was missing critical files....

  anyone help?

 thanks ,,,

[CRYPTIC]

I believe that it has a file with the key code on it so it has to be the right disk for the key code.
 You may have to burn a ISO file. I don't think NERO does this. GOOGLE is your friend.

[Tigger29]

google "cdburnerxp".. it's basically an open source nero substitute, but I like it better.

As for an XP disk, all you need to do is copy the "i386" folder of the disk onto another disk or flash drive or whatever, BUT if it is a 'restore' disk like what the name brands use for their systems, then it contains a bit more than just the xp installation files.. including drivers, software (most of which is junk), and other junk.

Also, some of the keys that come with the name brand systems aren't compatible with some of the XP disks.

How about some details here though.. did his key work with your XP copy?  What files are missing?  If they are drivers, he should be able to download those from the manufacturer's website.  If they are critical windows files, then your copy failed somehow.  I've had bad luck burning copies of XP disks at fast speeds... try burning it at only 2X or 4X speed... or even 1X if you have the time.

[OOZ662]

The problem isn't creating a disk with XP on it, it's creating a BOOTABLE copy. There's a small "boot sector" on the disk that needs copying, however if you just make a fully-copy image of the disk, you won't need to worry about it. I recommend ImgBurn for both "ripping" and burning.

License numbers are not "paired" with a disk, only with the type. A Dell's number won't work with an OEM disk, etc. So long as it's a valid number, it should work fine.

[TequilaChaser]

The problem isn't creating a disk with XP on it, it's creating a BOOTABLE copy. There's a small "boot sector" on the disk that needs copying, however if you just make a fully-copy image of the disk, you won't need to worry about it.

correct, it has to be burned or copied in this manner so the CD ( only need a CD -R for Windows XP OS ) can boot up via the CD Rom  at boot up....... I also recommend when copying or burning an ISO image of a Software program CD or OS CD to burn it at a speed of x4 maximum ( or slower , but x4 is best suggestion )  I myself prefer to use Blindwrite, but imgburn is also a good choice

when the OS Installation CD or ( copy of OS Install CD ) boots up it has to load some specific drivers & commands for it to work properly , so one can see the HD information, make a new partition possibly, or delete any existing partition, refromat and start from scratch etc....... the small boot sector that is very importantly needed holds all this info...it will even install "setup files" at this time... and it will not access the "i386" folder until it has formatted or created the new partition to install the new OS on, then it will access this folder once it starts installing all the driver files, command files, dll files, sys files etc...... once it has thooughly gone through and copied all these files over then it will reboot and start setting the new OS install up to the person's specific requirements

hope this helps

[wakes]

thanks to all....
 it was the i386 file missing when he starts his puter,,,

  when he installed the xp it booted up..... but pretty much thats all it did....

  will try to reburn with ur guys suggestions.......

       thank u alll Verryyyy MUCH!!!!

[Tigger29]

it installed but was missing critical files....

Because of this line, I assumed that the disk was booting and installing fine, but with some error messages either during the install, or during the subsequent bootups after installation, which is why I did not address the possibility of having a disk that will not boot.

It all really comes down to needing more information (by the way i386 is a folder, not a file) to be able to really help any here...

[OOZ662]

Either way, burning from an image will solve the problem.

On a semi-side note: If he has two optical drives he could use one to read while the other burns, but I think I've had about a 30% success rate with that in the past.

[Skuzzy]

<snip>
License numbers are not "paired" with a disk, only with the type. A Dell's number won't work with an OEM disk, etc. So long as it's a valid number, it should work fine.

This is not quite accurate.  Microsoft changed the series keys with the produciton of XP w/SP3.  You cannot use a serial number from XP w/SP2 on an XP w/SP3 CD and vice-versa.

[OOZ662]

This is not quite accurate.  Microsoft changed the series keys with the produciton of XP w/SP3.  You cannot use a serial number from XP w/SP2 on an XP w/SP3 CD and vice-versa.

I've made "slipstreamed" SP3 CDs that worked fine with my SP2 key, but they're an SP2 disk upgraded to SP3. Perhaps the same rules don't apply there.

[Skuzzy]

I've made "slipstreamed" SP3 CDs that worked fine with my SP2 key, but they're an SP2 disk upgraded to SP3. Perhaps the same rules don't apply there.

Correct.  Only production copies of XP w/SP3 installed have to use a serial number key from another XP w/SP3.