Installing old Windows XP on a Dell Inspiron Mini?
in [Laptops]
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From: BillW50 on 19 Sep 2009 18:22 In news:b8jab554p21d8ou81sb63mmahr1npc2v93(a)4ax.com, Happy Oyster typed on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 23:49:38 +0200: > On Sat, 19 Sep 2009 15:27:44 -0400, Ben Myers <ben_myers(a)charter.net> > wrote: > >> Not sure why one would need to fight a Windows install problem if it >> had to do with existing partitions. > > One of the problems is that XP rapes the first partition. It only changes the first active partition. That could be one of four partitions and it doesn't have to be the first one (with Vista and Windows 7, it is zillions of partitions). And any Linux partition using ext2/3, Windows won't touch it. Aribert doesn't even know this. Otherwise he wouldn't be experiencing any of this. > I had to > use a Linux DVD to boot and to change the first partition to be of > some off Unix type. THIS XP did not touch and in the first run of the > installation copied its stuff to the second partition where it has to > be. Making the first partition invisible does not work as then XP > thinks it is in the first and messes up its boot record THE WRONG WAY. > > First step: > > To handle the HDD (has serial ATA) partition the HDD and format the > partitions with Linux. THAT WORKS. > > > Second step: > > Change the type of those partitions XP has to keep its fingers off to > some wierd Unix type. > > > Third step: > > As XP is damned stupid, IF you also want a Linux on the machine, > install that as the first OS. THEN install Win XP. This way you can > start (with the help of a boot CD/DVD (like Super-GRUB) into a > working system to check the other partitions, etc. > > > Fourth step: > > XP will mess up the MBR, so with the Linux DVD to boot, use GRUB and > get the MBR stuff back to order. > > BUT to get that right, the partition types of "wierd Unix" must be > set back to the right values BEFORE you can work on GRUB. > > If you messed up something, then a complete Linux installation will > be the last step. > > > Problems of the XP installer are that it messes up with partitions, > reboot, etc. > > To get around this, use a Super-GRUB CD and for doing the second part > of the XP install (which is from HDD): use the CD to boot from the > Win XP partition. > > This works with serial ATA. > > > There are TWO CDs which accompany the netbooks. One is the "recovery > CD" with the pure OS (in a miserable state), the other is for the > additions, drivers, etc. That one must be installed after XP is > installed. > > I called a LG tech suppport because I feared that the OS CD already > contains some special stuff for the machine. But I was told that I > could use a totally neutral XP installation CD because all the > specific stuff is on the second CD. > > Without the second CD, I'm afraid, one doesn't get very far: It > contains the drivers for the chipsets and without these the machine > is cut off even from the basic hardware... And if you boot up Ubuntu Live and not even touching the hard drive at all, Ubuntu modifies your Windows partition (happened to me three times and to somebody else). And when you install Linux after Windows it screws up your Windows installation. But what Aribert won't tell you is that UNIX/Linux isn't very useful at all. Nor is the security very good at all. Rootkits came out first from the Unix/Linux world and not from the Windows world (by about 15 years). Some distros doesn't even have a firewall. And Linux doesn't have a 100th of the applications that Windows has. No, Aribert won't tell you any of this stuff. Why? Because he is afraid too. <grin> -- Bill Windows 2000 SP4 (5.00.2195) Asus EEE PC 701G4 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
From: Barry Watzman on 19 Sep 2009 18:29 My post was sarcastic, not serious. But I don't entirely accept your far too serious answer. Obviously the form factor has to fit (in some cases, only the electrical form factor). Besides, you answer: "it seems to be an 1.8-inch IDE SSD" suggests that the "SSD" is somehow itself "1.8" and not a replacement for a 1.8" [rotating platter drive]. Happy Oyster wrote: > On Fri, 18 Sep 2009 19:28:37 -0400, Barry Watzman <WatzmanNOSPAM(a)neo.rr.com> > wrote: > >> "an 1.8-inch IDE SSD" >> >> Gee, I didn't know SSD's had "inches" > > Yes, they are replacements for drives with moving parts (rotating discs), so > they must have the same interface and the same "form factor".
From: Barry Watzman on 19 Sep 2009 18:36 I donlt know that there is such a thing as an "SSD" driver. And, in any case, drivers are not for the drive itself, they are for the drive interface port. Vista and Windows 7 have drivers that will work for SATA ports of most chipsets. Some SSDs use an interface that is neither SATA nor IDE (I've seen at least some that are PCI Express). I don't know what the full complement of drivers is for the system drive (containing the OS) in Windows 7 (or Vista), but the real point was that XP ONLY had such drivers built-in for IDE drives: Among the interfaces that it did not support with BUILT-IN drivers were: SATA, SCSI, RAID, USB, Firewire, PCI-Express. There is a mechanism for adding such drivers (the so-called "F6 Driver"), but it requires a floppy disk drive, and absent BIOS emulation support (which most modern motherboards and laptops do have, but which older ones don't) the floppy disk has to be "real" and not USB (again, most modern systems, however, do support USB emulation, and, also in many cases, SATA emulation). Win7 and Vista definitely has SATA drivers built in. Not sure about any other versions, but quite possibly). Ant wrote: > So Windows 7 has the SSD drivers to be able to install. INTERESTING. I > need to figure out if it is using SSD or a HDD (which type too). No > wonder the disk size is tiny (7 GB!!). > > > On 9/18/2009 4:25 PM PT, Barry Watzman typed: > >> NO, NO, NO. >> >> The problem is much simpler than that. XP can't access the >> DESTINATION drive (in this case I think it's his SSD) because it's not >> IDE. >> >> Look, you guys are pointing the finger at the USB CD, and I don't >> think that's where the problem is. During an XP install, some >> installation files are first copied from the install CD to the >> destination drive (the SSD) and then, later, are READ FROM the SSD to >> be installed or "expanded" into other files. And, also, initially the >> XP install accesses the destination drive (SSD) via the BIOS, but >> later in the install access switches to XP's internal drivers, and >> unless other drivers have been added, XP has no internal drivers for >> non-IDE hard drives. >> >> ***IF*** the SSD is "SATA", then getting the F6 sata driver may fix >> the problem. Otherwise, he likely needs a driver(s) that he doesn't >> have and he may be out of luck.
From: BillW50 on 19 Sep 2009 18:45 In news:h93me1$an5$1(a)news.eternal-september.org, Barry Watzman typed on Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:36:47 -0400: > ... but it requires a > floppy disk drive, and absent BIOS emulation support (which most > modern motherboards and laptops do have, but which older ones don't) > the floppy disk has to be "real" and not USB (again, most modern > systems, however, do support USB emulation, and, also in many cases, > SATA emulation)... Just to be clear... virtually all modern day BIOS *will* totally accept USB floppy drives as *real* floppy drives. Same is true of USB hard drives and optical drives as well. That doesn't mean the OS will though. As that is totally different. -- Bill Windows 2000 SP4 (5.00.2195) Asus EEE PC 701G4 ~ 2GB RAM ~ 16GB-SDHC
From: Happy Oyster on 19 Sep 2009 20:27
On Sat, 19 Sep 2009 18:29:58 -0400, Barry Watzman <WatzmanNOSPAM(a)neo.rr.com> wrote: >My post was sarcastic, not serious. But I don't entirely accept your >far too serious answer. Obviously the form factor has to fit (in some >cases, only the electrical form factor). Besides, you answer: > >"it seems to be an 1.8-inch IDE SSD" > >suggests that the "SSD" is somehow itself "1.8" and not a replacement >for a 1.8" [rotating platter drive]. It is what the name says: an SSD with an 1.8-inch form factor and IDE interface. "1.8 inch" is a form factor of mechanical HDDs. -- The big "gmt"-scam http://www.ariplex.com/ama/ama_gmt1.htm |