Use Ubuntu to start a USB flash drive to install DOS and Windows XP

There is no optical drive or soft drive. Use Ubuntu to start a USB flash drive to install DOS and Windows XP. If a computer does not have an optical drive or a soft drive, or an optical drive but a CD is not installed, or the optical drive is broken, what should I do if the Windows XP system fails or cannot be started? Here I think of a method for reinstalling the system. Of course this is not the only method. If you have a mobile hard disk or a large-capacity USB flash drive (I call it a mobile hard disk later), and the computer can be started from USB, I recommend that you use this method (for bare metal Installation

There is no optical drive or soft drive. Use Ubuntu to start a USB flash drive to install DOS and Windows XP.

If a computer does not have an optical drive or a soft drive, or an optical drive but a CD is not installed, or the optical drive is broken, what should I do if the Windows XP system fails or cannot be started?

Here I think of a method for reinstalling the system. Of course this is not the only method. If you have a mobile hard disk or a large USB flash drive (I call it a mobile hard disk later), and the computer can be started from USB, I recommend that you use this method (you can also use this method to install the system on bare metal ). Perform the following steps:

1. Install a Ubuntu system on a mobile hard drive

You can use another computer to install a Ubuntu system on a mobile hard disk. Ubuntu is free of charge. You can download the installable ISO file from its official website, and then burn it to the CD (or make a mobile hard drive that can be started and installed. Note: If you only have one mobile hard disk, You need to divide it into at least three partitions. One primary partition is used as the installation disk, leaving enough space for installing the Ubuntu system ).

After the Ubuntu installation disk (CD or mobile hard disk) is ready, start the computer with the installation disk and install the Ubuntu system into your mobile hard disk. For more information about how to install Ubuntu, I will not go into details here. Note that you should select the partition of the mobile hard disk for installation, and install GRUB in the MBR of the mobile hard disk.

2. Use a mobile hard drive with Ubuntu to start the computer

Now, go back to the computer where you want to reinstall the system, connect the mobile hard disk with Ubuntu to the USB interface, change the BIOS to USB boot first, and start from USB to Ubuntu. I will not talk about the specific usage of Ubuntu. There are many introductions on the Internet.

After entering Ubuntu, You can do most of the things you can do on Windows XP at ordinary times. Here, we first configure the Internet function. You can also use GParted to adjust the partition of the hard disk on the computer.

3. Install Virtual Machine Software in Ubuntu

Because I want to use a virtual machine to install DOS, I first install the Virtual Machine Software. I chose VirtualBox, which is free of charge and can be downloaded and installed from its official website. Because it is under Ubuntu, it is recommended to add the VirtualBox source to install (refer to http://www.linuxidc.com/Linux/2007-08/7056.htm and http://www.linuxidc.com/Linux/2011-08/41468.htm) (you can find the specific installation method from its official website www.linuxidc.com ).

4. Use a virtual machine to install DOS in the hard disk

To install Windows XP, you must first install DOS to the hard disk of your computer. You can use the VirtualBox Virtual Machine to install DOS to a real hard disk.

First use GParted (see http://www.linuxidc.com/Linux/2011-08/41468.htm) to adjust the hard disk partition of the computer, there must be a FAT16 or FAT32 primary partition for DOS installation, and this partition must be labeled as boot.

Use the VirtualBox command line tool to create a virtual Hard disk file Hard. vmdk that uses the entire Hard disk. The command is as follows:

VBoxManage internalcommands createrawvmdk-filename Hard. vmdk-rawdisk/dev/sda

Create a new one using Hard in VirtualBox. vmdk as a hard disk virtual machine, download a DOS installation cd iso file (such as [MS-DOS.7.10 complete installation cd iso version]. DOS71CD. ISO. Start the virtual machine, install DOS, restart the virtual machine, and test DOS.

Complete installation of CD MS-DOS.7.10 ISO Edition:

Free onHttp://linux.linuxidc.com/

Both the user name and password areWww.linuxidc.com

The specific download directory is in/Pub/2011/12/07/use Ubuntu boot U disk to install DOS and Windows XP/MS-DOS.7.10 complete installation cd iso/

5. Install Windows XP from DOS

After DOS is installed, log out of the VM. Copy the Windows XP installation file to the FAT32 partition on the hard disk of your computer in Ubuntu. If you do not have a Windows XP installation file, you can download it from the Internet. Ubuntu can directly decompress the ISO file to a directory. Note that the directory name used for DOS cannot exceed 8 characters.

Restart the computer, modify the BIOS settings to give priority to hard disk boot, and start from hard disk to DOS. If your installed dosdoes not automatically run smartdrv.exe, you need to run it first. Go to the installation file directory of Windows XP. Go to the IMG directory and run winnt.exe to install Windows XP.

Now, Windows XP has been reinstalled. The free software (except Windows XP) used in this method can be easily found on the Internet. I hope this method can help friends who need it.