Installing XP over Linux
in [Help and Support]
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From: Stefan Patric on 18 Jun 2010 14:19 On Thu, 17 Jun 2010 19:35:11 +0100, Kev wrote: >> Are you using an Install XP CD or an Upgrade one or, maybe, a Restore? >> I'm guess that it's one of the latter two, since it seems the disk is >> looking for Windows on the hard drive or, possibly, a restore >> partition. Neither of which is there, and it thinks the hard drive is >> corrupted. >> >> If you don't have a full Install Windows CD, you're not going to be >> able to install Windows. > > I was using a full installation Windows XP Pro CD. > > By the way, I also have an installation CD for Windows 2003 Server. I > tried booting with this disk too and it produced the same result. Strange. You mentioned in another post that the laptop in question was a Dell Studio 1537. That model originally came with Vista. See if you can find someone with a full Vista Install CD, and see if it boots up without the blue screen. If it does, I'm thinking there's a hardware/driver issues with XP and 2003 Server. You could try a "repair" CD to repartition and reformat the drive to something that Windows would definitely recognized. Also, the hard drive in the 1537 is SATA. XP and 2003 server are fairly old. Could be that the SATA interface is the culprit. Might be the graphics chip. But in any case, if Ubuntu is running on it, Windows should, too. Stef
From: Kev on 18 Jun 2010 16:19 > Also, the hard drive in the 1537 is SATA. XP and 2003 server are fairly > old. Could be that the SATA interface is the culprit. Might be the > graphics chip. But in any case, if Ubuntu is running on it, Windows > should, too. I am running XP on my main PC (a homebuilt desktop) with 3 SATA HDDs and it works fine. The only minor issue with this is that the Safely Remove Hardware function lists the 3 HDDs as though they were removable devices. This is fine as long as I don't accidentally click on one of them and hit Remove!
From: Daave on 18 Jun 2010 22:48 Kev wrote: >> Who reconditioned it? Dell? If not, perhaps it still has a Windows XP >> (Home or Pro) Certificate of Autthenticity sticker on it. That COA >> sticker is your license and contains a useful Product Key should you >> use a *generic* OEM XP (must match the type -- that is, Home or Pro) >> installation CD. If you are able to use the *Dell-branded* XP >> reinstallation CD, there will be no need to enter the Product Key >> because of their System-Locked Preinstallation method they use. >> >> Then again, if Dell reconditioned it and there is no XP COA sticker >> on it, then you do not have a license to run XP on it. I am sure >> others have successfully used Dell-branded XP installation CDs in >> this kind of situation, but it does violate the terms of the license >> agreement. >>> Similar models were available with Vista installed, but Ubuntu ones >>> were significantly cheaper, hence my choice. I wanted to run XP >>> rather than Vista anyway and I already have an XP Pro disk. It's a >>> Dell Studio 1537 and evidently it had Vista installed originally (as >>> indicated by a surviving sticker). >> >> Oops. Should have read that part first! >> >> You only have a license to run Windows Vista on it. As long as >> XP-specific hardware drivers exist for this laptop, then it is >> probably possible to run XP on it. But it will violate your license >> agreement. Kev also wrote: >> >>> If there is a hidden partition, how can I reveal it? >> >> Even if there is a hidden partition on it, Vista (not XP) would be >> installed when you perform the "recovery" operation. It is normally >> accessed by Control + F11 at bootup. If it was reconditioned, even if >> there was a recovery partition on it at one time, it may be gone by >> now. Do you have a Dell-branded Vista installation CD? If so, it's >> not radically different from XP. With some tweaks, you would >> probably grow to like it. There are newsgroups and Web forums where >> people can guide you. >>> I may be able to get hold of a disk from different model of Dell. >>> Would that work? >> >> Assuming that the XP drivers exist, yes (the Dell website has this >> information). Then again, it would violate your license agreement. > > The laptop was reconditioned by an independent dealer. The Vista > sticker is not a certificate of authenticy. This is what a COA sticker looks like (this one is for XP Pro): http://dsnimg.dell.com/images/external/images/Portables/inspiron02.gif Does your laptop have that on the bottom? That would also be your license to run (presumably) Windows Vista on your laptop. > When I said that I may be able to get hold of a Dell boot disk, I > didn't realise that it would need to be Vista specific. I now > suspect that the hidden partition has probably been removed, as there > would otherwise have been licensing issues. Not all Dells come with a hidden partition. Still, it's easy to check. And keep in mind that there are no licensing issues if the Dell originally came with a license to run Vista. Even if an independent dealer decides to replace Vista with Linux, the license to run Vista on it is still in effect.
From: Kev on 19 Jun 2010 05:59 > This is what a COA sticker looks like (this one is for XP Pro): > > http://dsnimg.dell.com/images/external/images/Portables/inspiron02.gif > > Does your laptop have that on the bottom? That would also be your license > to run (presumably) Windows Vista on your laptop. No it doesn't have this. The only Vista sticker is on the top and looks like this: http://i5.tinypic.com/2mch6ps.jpg
From: Daave on 19 Jun 2010 07:25
Kev wrote: >> This is what a COA sticker looks like (this one is for XP Pro): >> >> http://dsnimg.dell.com/images/external/images/Portables/inspiron02.gif >> >> Does your laptop have that on the bottom? That would also be your >> license to run (presumably) Windows Vista on your laptop. > > No it doesn't have this. The only Vista sticker is on the top and > looks like this: > http://i5.tinypic.com/2mch6ps.jpg Understood. One thing you might want to try is Linux Mint 9. It is based on Ubuntu, but it's much better IMO, much more user-friendly. See: http://www.linuxmint.com/ You could still install Vista or XP as well. Obviously there are licensing concerns. Still, if you want to be compliant, you can still purchase the installation CDs/licenses if you really want. |