It seems like I need a basic Windows XP cd to do anything, stream for the SPs or even to get the UBCD going... My laptop is a Toshiba and I don't think it shipped with it. What can I do instead? SO's computer is from Dell and their practice is to not ship CDs unless you ask for it. So, am I out of luck until we get our hands on a Windows CD somehow?

If you have an "i386" folder on your harddrive then you could try pointing the UBCD4WinBuilder to your C: drive or try XP-Iso-Builder to try and make an XP cd. I don't know if either will work but it's a couple of options you can try.

Thanks for replying. I am at my wits end. The C:/i386 did not work when I directed the Build.exe to look there for Windows Installation stuff.

I found how download Windows XP into 6 floppys but not on a CD-rom - who uses floppys these days??

I'm so ready to scream...

The 6 floppy disks would be just the boot disk set, not the entire set of files.. Does the system(s) have a hidden partition with a restore feature? The XP files would be located there.

Direct it C: not C:\i386

thank you! Just tried it. It did it with 72 errors. Is that bad? #1 error is soemthing about doing a build from a OEM etc... I would attach the log if I could figure out how...

My laptop is completely dead. So I'm working from another computer trying to downlaod this program onto a CD so it can use it on my dead computer. Maybe that doesn't make sense? I literally can't do anything on my laptop except a few DOS command (dont' know more than that)...

How do I get toe the "hidden partition"? I am not a computer guru by any means... sorry. When I tried the build, I notice it was looking for files to copy over... maybe I should do a search on my C-drive for those missing files.

Just paste the part of the log that has the errors in your post.

It depends on the system you have, just do a search on the manufacturer site for " accessing system restore partition" may be listed as recovery partition or something else. Good luck...

Thanks so much for trying to help.

I was beyond fustrated with Windows so I went the Linux route to completely the circumvent the lack of window installation issue. Easy, peezy - download a Linux program to a CD and booted the computer using that CD. Was able to copy mystuff on my external harddrive, freeing me to completely wipe my computer clean with the recovery CD that comes with each computer. I am rather ticked of at the manufacturers for not providing more readily copies of the Windows system. Now I understand all the linux hype a little more...

I'm glad you got your info saved

I like linux too and there's some things that linux can do that xp simply can't but UBCD4Win can do MANY things that linux can't so take a look at that program that I linked to in my first post and see if it can build an xp cd for you (from the i386 folder on your hard drive) that can be used to build a UBCD4Win cd for you in case of future disasters.

Thanks for reporting back.

Now that the urgency of your problem isn't so great. I'd encourage you to try the XP-ISO-Buster that PCUSER had previously mentioned to see if you can create a "clean" XP install CD with that you may later use for creating a UBCD4Win disk from. Having both Linux and the UBCD4Win disks available will help in future issues since each has their own advantages. Beyond that, it is also nice to have a clean XP install CD in some instances as well ( if the util will work in your situation ).