Member Avatar for crazyluigi

Hi you all!!
please can someone help me...
i'm without dvd drive and no $$$ to replace it at the time and i need to format my disk... and the solution that i see is a pen drive setup... but the main problem is that i don't know how to do it...

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by Stefano Mtangoo

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Thread started by describes a machine without a working DVD drive and the need simply to format an IDE disk. That is an important distinction: formatting/wiping a drive is much easier than doing a full Windows XP install from USB. Several replies here (for example , and ) talk about using optical media or USB installs — below are practical alternatives that avoid needing an XP CD and explain what to try next.

A simple, reliable approach is to make a bootable USB containing a small live environment (GParted Live or any Linux live ISO) and use its partitioning tools to erase/format the IDE disk. On Windows, write the ISO to the USB with a USB-imaging tool; on Linux/macOS the common command is:

sudo dd if=gparted-live.iso of=/dev/sdX bs=4M status=progress && sync

Replace /dev/sdX with the actual USB device. Boot the target machine from that USB and use the GUI to create/delete partitions and format (NTFS, FAT32, etc.). GParted is straightforward and avoids Windows setup quirks that cause some USB installs to appear to succeed but not boot (as observed).

If removing the drive is acceptable, the quickest route is to attach the IDE disk to another working PC (internal cable or an IDE-to-USB adapter/enclosure) and format it there using Disk Management or DiskPart. DiskPart commands (run in an elevated Command Prompt) to wipe and create a basic NTFS partition:

diskpart
list disk
select disk N
clean
create partition primary
format fs=ntfs quick
assign
exit

Final notes: ensure backups before wiping, double-check the selected disk to avoid destroying the wrong drive, and unplug other disks during the operation if possible. If the machine cannot boot from USB at all, the external-attach method eliminates that constraint and is generally the most foolproof for formatting an IDE drive.

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Member Avatar for gerbil

I am surprised that you bothered posting to ask ... if you must borrow a sys to use an optical drive to load up a pendrive .... why not just borrow the optical drive? I am not sure on this... but I have a feeling that windows only installs from cds. Someone else may know for sure.

Member Avatar for crazyluigi

i know that we must have a portable sys and do some operations in the pen drive to work perfectly but i just don't know wich operations should i realize to it...

Member Avatar for Godsp3ed

Well you will need a cd-drive to make a pendrive bootable with XP, i.e. you will need the XP files...
If you just CAN'T get a cd-drive...
*I guess you'll have to download XP (Pirated=illegal=irritating microsoft issues at times)
*You'll need a pendrive with a size less than 2 Gb...
*You're Bios should support boot from USB (probably yes in most cases unless its more than 5-7 yrs old)

This is all the info i have...If you want more then u can google it else wait for some replies :)

Member Avatar for caperjack

http://wiki.eeeuser.com/windowsxpusb

i tried this once ,but only once and it didn't work for me but only tried once and never tried to figure why it didn't work for me,its meant for installing on a mini laptop ,not sure if that makes a difference . it did install for me but would not boot after install i think is what happened it was awhile back,but i never got around to figure out why

Member Avatar for gerbil

There is this:

But you still need XP cd and a writer to make an iso file for placing on the thumbdrive.

Member Avatar for Stefano Mtangoo

Burning ISO should not be a problem unless you cannot get a neighbor with a CD/DVD burner. In that case you can use internet cafe to do so and it should be heap enough to afford. Is that right

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