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Thread ID: 53782	2005-01-26 22:38:00	Reinstall ME without CD?	james123456 (6300)	Press F1

Post ID	Timestamp	Content	User
318458	2005-01-26 22:38:00	Hi there, I have a laptop which I was given by a friend of mine which runs Windows ME. I was hoping to reinstall ME but dont have the cd (he has no idea where it is either). Is there anyway of doing this without the cd. many thanks james	james123456 (6300)
318459	2005-01-26 23:04:00	Nope. Not unless there's a hidden partition on that laptop somewhere. If he purchased the laptop with Windows ME on it already. Otherwise, you'll have to buy another copy of Windows and install it.	Speedy Gonzales (78)
318460	2005-01-26 23:09:00	ok thanks. I should have added that the laptop is a toshiba satellite model 1730 if anyone has a spare copy of a recovery disc out there. thanks	james123456 (6300)
318461	2005-01-26 23:30:00	It won't help your current problem but these days I tend to partition the disk, copy the OS straight from the disk to the data drive and install it from there . Saves wear and tear on the disk and drivers etc always available . Handy during a reformat too .	Mercury (1316)
318462	2005-01-26 23:52:00	Yes you can - the CAB files should (if not deleted for extra space) be under c:\windows\options\cabs - usually with the drivers as well, if not under C:\drivers or similar. Get these onto another PC or CD ...	quarry (252)
318463	2005-01-27 00:54:00	Yes you can - the CAB files should (if not deleted for extra space) be under c:\windows\options\cabs - usually with the drivers as well, if not under C:\drivers or similar. Get these onto another PC or CD ... Unfortunately it's not as simple as that, unless you know what files need to be replaced and can do so without corrupting the registry or any other dependencies. This assumes the hard drive is in good condition and does not need formatting. However you may be lucky replacing corrupted files, as long as you know what they are. If you're planning on reformatting you'd need some way of creating the partition / FAT32 file system, restoring the bootloader on Sector 0 (WinXP seems to store this data in C:\BootSect.DOS) so that it can locate and load the right file(s) for Windows to load and correctly report the FAT32 file system for the disk it's on, and extracting all the CABs into the right places. There are other configuration settings that are made during the setup process, so I'm not sure if Windows will still be able to do this or otherwise load without the explicit control of the setup program on the CD. Hope this provides some form of enlightenment. -D. McG	D. McG (3023)
318464	2005-01-27 02:08:00	D. McG - this is not installing XP. ME is easy - like Win98. I have been using these CAB files to reinstall (copy all data & cabs,format, use Win98 boot disk, or other) for years. Don't worry about partitions, this laptop is old - KISS as they say.	quarry (252)
318465	2005-01-27 02:43:00	gidday, you may be able to use the cab folder, to reinstall ME, it wont format, but it should load ME back, fixing errors along the way. worth a try. double click my computer, your harddrive, usualy C: then open these folders, windows/cabs/options, double click the setup icon in the options folder, and follow the wizard. good luck, robby	Robby (3123)
318466	2005-01-27 03:43:00	You should be able to reinastall from the CAB files ... there should be a SETUP.EXE in that directory. \ BUT: before doing that, make sure you have a copy of the registration key. That's not the number you get in "About". Theres a programme which will find the key for you. I forget what it's called, but someone will know.	Graham L (2)
318467	2005-01-27 04:31:00	Theres a programme which will find the key for you. I forget what it's called, but someone will know. Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder (www.magicaljellybean.com).	FoxyMX (5)
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