Using upgrade disk.

[Subiklim]

I have a XP SP2 Upgrade disk, no full version. They're identical, except upgrade requires you to insert a older disc into the drive in the middle of the installation. Anyway to eject a disk from the windows installer? (button on the keyboard doesn't work)

 

[plinden]

Page 3 of the instructions: (am I the only person who's read this?)

Important: You must use a single-disc, full-install Windows XP CD that includes Service Pack 2. You cannot use an upgrade version of Windows XP, or install an earlier version of Windows XP and update it later to SP2.

 

[CanadaRAM]

Read the FAQ
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303572

 

[balamw]

Way back when, when I was in my non-mac "hiatus" I beta tested Windows ME and there were instructions given at that time that allowed an "upgrade" installer to work by copying over certain files from a working '95 install. They were small enough to keep on a floppy.

I assume one could potentially do something similar here and just preload the contents of the CD-ROM onto the preformatted partition and hope that the installer detects it.

I too only have an XP Home SP2 retail Upgrade CD, and a Dell OEM CD for XP Pro SP1 so if I could get thw Home CD to work I'd be in fat city.

Note: The iMac replaced the XP Home box, so I should be legal license wise.

EDIT: Another thought. I wonder it it might work to create a hybrid CD that contains the install files for both XP Home Upgrade and say Windows 98 or ME. That way you wouldn't have to switch CDs?!?

B

 

[timb]

The following a cross-post from another thread I wrote in. Balamw directed me here.

I think I figured out a way to get an Upgrade CD to work.

Take your upgrade CD, copy it to your hard disk, take a old copy of Windows CD (95,98,ME,2K) and copy it to your hard disk as well. Make a bootable DVD containing the Windows XP data, and in that DVD create a folder called "WINDOWS-OLD" that contains a copy of the old Windows data. This way when the installer starts looking for a previous installation of Windows, it should find it on the DVD, no need to switch discs.

http://www.pirates.com/ <-- Good overview on extracting a Windows XP CD, and the Boot Image. It also shows you how to turn a regular Windows XP CD into a SP2 install CD as well. More or less you could follow the procedures listed, but also include the files from a Windows 9x CD in there as well. And burn it to DVD instead of CD. (Unless we can figure out just what files are needed for the installer to recognize it as valid.)

Alternatively, you could have Boot Camp partition the drive, format it somehow, make a folder called "WINDOWS-OLD", copy the old Windows CD over to that, then start the Windows XP install CD.

I don't have the hardware to try this, but the concept seems sound. (I've done it before on normal PC based systems.)

-timb

 

[weldon]

The following a cross-post from another thread I wrote in. Balamw directed me here.

Can you fix the link? The site you copied and pasted from shortened the display link and this copied over rather than the full URL link behind.

 

[Dr. Cheesesteak]

The following a cross-post from another thread I wrote in. Balamw directed me here.

Wondering if anyone has given this method a try yet, or figured anything else out for that matter?

I also wonder about the possibility of using a second external drive to either hold the Windows 98/etc disc until it is needed, or for the entire install process so that the installer is always looking to that drive.

I think a drive enclosure is going to be a whole lot cheaper than having to go buy a full copy of Windows for this.

Update!

Just caught this on Apple Discussions - instructions to convert an upgrade disc to a full retail disc!

http://www.pirates.com/


It apparently requires Linux... but if you have a PC handy you can use a Live disc..

 

[balamw]

Just caught this on Apple Discussions - instructions to convert an upgrade disc to a full retail disc!

It apparently requires Linux... but if you have a PC handy you can use a Live disc..

Great catch!

That describes exactly what I had suggested up a in post 4, and started trying last night. (I didn't finish 'cause I ran into trouble backing my iMac up to DVD+R, but that's another story...)

Note that nothing in those instructions that requires linux and should work just fine from Terminal in OS X. mkisofs is available for most platforms, including OS X and Windows, and you don't need to truncate the files to zero, nor do you need to use his method. I calculated last night that my Windows ME install disc should fit just fine with the i386 directory of my XP Home SP2 disc on a 700 MB blank without any file truncation, or you could just use a DVD blank.


B

 

[bousozoku]

You can't legally use an upgrade disk, so please don't post, directly or indirectly ways to turn an upgrade version of Windows into the full thing. That would also be illegal.