Does my Win XP Home Edition support a bootable CD-ROM?
The answer is "yes", but that may not help you, depending on what you're attempting to do, and what computer you have.
It's not Windows you should be concerned about. It's your PC.
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Windows can certainly boot from a CD-ROM. In fact, that's pretty much what happens when you install Windows from a CD-ROM. You boot from the CD-ROM the setup program runs and it installs Windows.
What's more important is knowing whether your computer supports booting from CD-ROM. Most contemporary PC's almost certainly do, but older machines quite often don't include the support necessary - they'll only boot from a floppy, or from the hard disk.
Even if your computer does support booting from CD-ROM, some are not configured to enable that support by default.
The way to tell if you computer supports it, and to enable it if it does, is to boot into the BIOS setup for your computer. Exactly how that's done will vary from one computer to the next, but it's typically done by pressing one of the function keys at the beginning of the boot process, before Windows starts loading. Once in your BIOS setup, you can look for, and alter, boot options. That'll include which devices the computer will look to boot from, and it what order it checks. If "CD-ROM" is included, and it's looked to before the hard disk, then you should be good to go.
Creating a bootable CD-ROM is another story. Windows doesn't really include support for creating a CD-ROM that you can boot from. A popular set of tools for creating a bootable CD-ROM is called Bart PE, for "Bart's Preinstalled Environment". I'll warn you that it's not for the faint of heart - it's targeted at the more technical user.
Related:
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Ask Leo! - I don't have an installation CD for Windows XP - what if I need one?
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Ask Leo! - Why doesn't my CD-ROM work?
Article C2443 - October 23, 2005
sir,
Posted by: sumit at July 1, 2007 9:34 AMi am not able to boot the the xp from cd ,as i have given the first priority to the cd >> hdd .Actully my laptop is showing fatal error in booting scrren. plz tell me what i have to do.
i want to reinstall my os i.e. winxp for which computer shuold boot from xpcd but it won't boot from cd even i have setup the bios boot device priority->cdrom>floppy>removable devices>hdd but it skips all that and boot from hdd everytime i restart my pc my computer is hcl desktop P-III pc
Posted by: sandeep at August 31, 2007 6:34 AMHello there Mr. Leo, I have a quick question I would like to ask. I have a HP laptop and I pressed every button on the laptop trying to make the laptop boot from the cd rom drive. Basically I would like to reformat the computer by having the laptop boot from the cd rom drive before it even enters window. I pressed F12, F11, F2, ESC. It takes me to different settings but none that would let me boot from the cd rom drive. Thanks for your help and any advice is greatly appreciated.
Posted by: Phat at September 25, 2007 8:00 PMMy computer after cycling, shows NTLDR missing and i have tried to insert my xp professiona installation cd to boot from it, gone to setup and changed the booting sequence to CD ROM but yet it does not boot from there but continues telling me NTLDR missing. Pls how can i solve this problem.
Posted by: Louis Opara at October 13, 2007 4:24 AMpls i need your help, my lPTOP IS DISPLying NTLDR is missing; i've tried to re-install my OS(windows XP) and then it says there is no hard drive available;
this problem started wen someone mistakently started a format of my hard disk but i got there just wen it was 5% formatted and stopped it !
Posted by: titi at November 22, 2007 1:24 PMbut now its not booting up and i dont know what 2 do,
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An aborted format shouldn't make the drive disappear. You may need use the
format and partition steps when booting from your Windows Setup CD to format
the hard drive when you install Windows. Unfortunately doing so will erase the
drive.
If that doesn't work, then I'd investigate BIOS settings to make sure that the
BIOS believes there's a drive, and perhaps investigate it as a coincidental
hardware problem with the drive itself.
Thanks,
Leo
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Posted by: Leo A. Notenboom at November 24, 2007 8:38 AMp1covU6CQfAqv5HCCGqEBX4=
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To everyone above having issues with the WinXP install disk skipping over the boot from CD option and going back to the HDD and loading the OS, try it with a wired keyboard. I've been having the same trouble tonight, and have noticed my wireless reciever is active during the BIOS boot screen, but then goes dead again until windows loads...I won't have a chance to try the solution until tomorrow, but I'm pretty sure it's it.
Posted by: Kirk at November 27, 2007 12:44 AM@Kirk: I would likely to know whether you succeed on the method. however, can you figure out other way to resolve particular issue for a laptop user? Or shoud they change they keyboard to wired keyboard too?
Posted by: ferdy at February 12, 2008 2:35 AMI'm one of these misfortune can't-boot-from-cd user. your response will be very useful for me, at least.
@M. Leo.: Merci beaucoup pour "le forum"
I think windows XP home doesn't concern with possibility of wether or not booting frm CD, It's a machine that support, However i spent 6hrs trying to install OS but i fail to boot from cd,even if i followed the above instruction but still i fail.
Posted by: Lusako at April 25, 2008 7:33 AMInclude this non-cd boot w/bios set-up to cd 1st boot priority in WinXP Media Ctr. O.S.
Posted by: Richard W. at December 4, 2008 2:58 PMPrograms such as windows mem.test mtinst.exe will
not boot from reboot or cold boot up.
Also any other app such as rescueBoot Up CDs.
with hard wired keyboard.
Does anyone have a work-around for XP MCE ?