No More XP CD

[Humpty]

Found this tip over at Bold Fortunes forum posted by k0pect8 and I also use it on any XP installs.

 

Suppose you can point the install source to i386 folder already residing in C:\WINDOWS\Driver Cache\i386 but I usually copy it to another partition to keep C drive slimmer.

 

Quote k0pect8:

 

I use this on every machine I load the OS to:

 

Insert Windows XP CD (or Win2K) and copy \i386 folder to hard drive.

(The location does not have to be on the C:\ drive).

 

Go to Start > Run > Regedit

Registry Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup

Data Type: REG_SZ [string Value] / Value Name: SourcePath

Value Data: [Enter the location where you copied the \i386 folder]

 

Example: A valid entry would be X:\I386, where X is the drive you copied your i386 folder to.

Modify/Create the Value Name [sourcePath] according to the Value Data listed above.

Exit Registry and Reboot

 

Now you'll never,or hardly ever, be prompted to insert the Win2K/WinXP CD again.

[Andavari]

Good info for reducing the amount of times someone has to go digging for a disc, which I'm surprised the OS setup doesn't offer to do if there's a large enough HDD it's about to be installed upon - heck even Office 2003 wants to copy it's .cab files to the HDD.

[hazelnut]

I have read that if you don't have a disc but have the i386 file on your computer (which some manufacturers do) and in a situation where it asks for a disc, click ok and browse to your i386 file it will never again ask you for the disc.

[1984]

i never received an xp disk with my computer (i got it straight from ibm). the xp is hidden in a little partition that i have had to access for reinstalls. i didnt know that at first though, and they sent me xp cds when i requested them.

[Andavari]

I have read that if you don't have a disc but have the i386 file on your computer (which some manufacturers do) and in a situation where it asks for a disc, click ok and browse to your i386 file it will never again ask you for the disc.

 

That's the same for even way back to Win98 and luckily it was a thoughtful feature MS implemented.

[DennisD]

Hi Guys,

 

You`ve piqued my curiosity with this page, although the subject is mostly going over my head.

 

I didn`t get a CD with my pc (XP SP2) bought in June `06 from PCWorld, but I`ve just had a look, and I have four i386 File Folders in Windows:

 

C:\WINDOWS

C:\WINDOWS\Driver Cache

C:\WINDOWS\System32\ReinstallBackups\0000\Driver Files

C:\WINDOWS\System32\ReinstallBackups\0002\Driver Files

 

This is obviously something to do with reinstalling, but what exactly, my as yet uneducated mind can`t fathom.

I`m already trying to pick Andavaris brains in another thread (Backups), but an "as simple as you can make it" explanation of what this means exactly, would definitely put you all on my Christmas list.

 

I`ve mentioned in the other thread that I have a 6gb recovery partition on my hard drive for reinstalling. Is there a connection between that and the i386 folders ? I carried out a destructive recovery a while back and reinstalled from the partition. I wasn`t asked for a disk. Was the partition classed as a disk by the OS ?

 

Can you League Of Most Extraordinary Gentlemen tie all these wavy loose ends together for me ?

 

Or would it be easier to knit soup ?

 

Regards

[hazelnut]

Dennis, in C\Windows\I386 file, when you hover the mouse over it, what size does it say it is?

Mine says 490MB.

 

The bit my post was refering to is that when asked to insert a windows CD to do scannow for instance, I don't need to put the disc in, instead if asked, you browse to the I386 file, windows will remember this, and not ask you again for the disk as you have told it that it already has the files it needs to do this on the computer.

[MajoMo]

I tried and works well.

Thanks Humpty.

Does anybody know similar hit to Office'request?

[Andavari]

I tried and works well.

Thanks Humpty.

Does anybody know similar hit to Office'request?

 

The XP CD trick doesn't work on my system, but then again I have an OEM disc from Dell which also means I can't create a slipsteam install CD with SP2.

 

To get Office to stop asking for the CD you'd enable the view of hidden and system files and then copy the .cab files from the disc. Note: In Office 2003 it also helps to copy the .msi files as sometimes it may require one of those.

[DennisD]

Dennis, in C\Windows\I386 file, when you hover the mouse over it, what size does it say it is?

Mine says 490MB.

 

The bit my post was refering to is that when asked to insert a windows CD to do scannow for instance, I don't need to put the disc in, instead if asked, you browse to the I386 file, windows will remember this, and not ask you again for the disk as you have told it that it already has the files it needs to do this on the computer.

 

 

Hi Hazelnut,

Mine says 453MB.

 

I think I`m trying to pick up too much information too soon here guys. Last few days I`ve been reading just about every post in the forum by you guys giving advice, clicking through to every link and picking up stuff from every site visited.

And sometimes I`ve found it irresistable to jump in and ask "what`s that for ?", what happens when you push this ?", etc etc.

I`ve looked back on some of the posts and thought- "Wish I could delete that".

 

Never mind. If you guys lived with a wife and daughter who had no interest in computing at all, and then discovered a place like this, you might be like a kid in a sweet shop as well.

 

Great thing is, I`ve gotten myself some essential new software that I can trust, and I go to sleep at night knowing that you LOEG will dig us novices out of just about any hole we put ourselves in.

 

So for a while, I think I`ll do a bit more reading, and just an occasionall tap on the keyboard.

 

Great Forum

 

Regards

 

Edit: Spacing