repair file to boot from original XP installation CD

[Woodwood]

->mdklassen

Thank you for making that very clear.

->TheOldMan

I still have to make backups of my system as-is before I will proceed.  I do not want to find myself in deeper trouble in a few days 🙂 without a way back.  This finding my back up software

Woodwood

21.February.2017

[TheOldMan]

as @mdklassen points out

Always shutdown & disconnect the AC power first.

It is always a BAD IDEA to disconnect anything, other than a USB device, while a computer is running.

I was assuming you already knew that BUT it is better to not assume.  Glad it was indeed pointed out.

[Woodwood]

Hi TheOldMan

I was preparing to make the new (substitute) install disk as per your post, and at one point the link directs me to

"Windows Setup CD Boot Sector

You will also need the boot sector of an existing bootable Windows 2000, XP or 2003 setup CDROM. The easiest way to get this is to download the file wxp10.zip from one of the links on http://www.nu2.nu/download.php?sFile=wxp10.zip. "

When I go to the nu2 website by following this link it tells me winxp10.zip is not found.

So I searched for winxp10.zip on the internet but I only ultimately found the nu2 link, whereever I started.

So I don't have the ability to make a bootable install CD, which, if I understand correctly, is the substitute for a windows install disk.

Of course I was going to make the rest of the substitute install disk from the I386 folder on the working back up (XP/SP3 as the recovery partition will only have XP/SP1 I think)

Can you or anyone else direct me to a place where I can get  the boot sector of an existing bootable Windows XP setup CDROM ?

Woodwood

27.February.2017

[mdklassen]

> direct me to a place where I can get  the boot sector of an existing bootable Windows XP setup CDROM ?

Remember that 'www.archive.org' is a huge archive of web-pages, as they used to be, over many years.

So, see:   http://web.archive.org/web/20140814054212/http://www.nu2.nu/download.php?sFile=wxp10.zip

for a copy of the page that used to tell you the source of the desired file.

Maybe, at least one of those hyperlinks is still alive?

[TheOldMan]

You are correct, they must have dropped that file.  I did find a place that had links but did not try any of them

http://notbadsoftwaredownloadingservice.top/wxp10.zip.html

Scroll down to the bottom and there are four different links for that file.

If none of them work, come back

[Woodwood]

Thank you, TheOldMan

I had not found that page (I think) and if I had I did look at the bottom.  I had tried the mediafire link before (in my searches).  I tried all four of the links in the page you referred me to, and guess what, none of them worked...one page was error 404 the other 'file not present on the server' or 'file has been fremoved' etc.

I came across one other loction which migh have it, but I had to sign up, so I gave it a miss -  I was not desperate at that point - I'll revisit if I can find it.

Woodwood

28.February.2017

[mdklassen]

> Remember that 'www.archive.org' is a huge archive of web-pages, as they used to be, over many years.

So, see:   http://web.archive.org/web/20140814054212/http://www.nu2.nu/download.php?sFile=wxp10.zip

for a copy of the page that used to tell you the source of the desired file. 

Maybe, at least one of those hyperlinks is still alive?

Yesterday, when I looked at www.archive.org   it was working correctly,

and the snapshot taken on 2014-08-14 did have an archived copy of that 'download.php' page,

and one of the hyperlinks on that page *DID* allow me to download the specific file.

Today, that web-site is only semi-functional, and I cannot access their archive.

Sigh.

[Woodwood]

->mdklassen

Odd that it should disappear immediately before *I* looked !!  it's if someone knew I was coming, and removed all copie of this file fron all places on the internet.

But I'll try that location tomorrow, just in case

I'm getting to the 'sigh' stage myself: still it's better than !

Woodwood

28.February.2017

[Woodwood]

ok, I've got it - wxp10.zip, and I've extracted and looked at it

It's smaller than I expected the xip file was only 4.8k

there are five files under xp home, custom.cmd, bcd.cfg, files->w2ksect.bin, win51, win51, it doesn't look like the last two have extensions, their file type is just 'file'

There is much yet to do

Woodwood

28.February.2017  

[mdklassen]

> it doesn't look like the last two have extensions, their file type is just 'file'

You need a file-extension only when there is a specific program that is needed to process the file, e.g., 'pdf' or 'txt' or 'doc' or 'html' or 'zip' extensions each have associated programs.