Ah, good old widnows xp. I have some experience in this area.
1. mount the xp iso
2. extract deploy.cab located in the support
directory.
3. run setupmgr.exe from the directory, you need a windows xp system for the best support.
4. generate an answer file, auto partition might work, but not tested
5. place the answer file in the i386 directory and name it winnt.sif.
6. I reccomend creating a bootable cd, but you might be able to use a usb drive for this purpose. Advantages of cds are that they make noise when reading, and that they don't show up in the windows xp partition screen.
7. make sure that the target harddrive is clean, you can use win 7 pe for this. You can also use the windows xp installer for this, with knfb reader or something.
8. if you didn't boot the windows xp cd/usb to remove the partitions, do so now. Wait until you hear no cd activity for a few minutes, or just wait a while if you use usb.
9. if the drive is clean, just hit enter a couple of times to partition.
windows xp will now install. If you got an error during the setup having to do with your display, it might be trying to fix your screen resolution during setup. A hard powerdown will make the installer skip that screen.
10. Now it can get tricky. If you are lucky, you've got an audio driver out of the box. If you are not, you will have to install it manually. You can install it on a windows xp vm and get the shortcuts from the installer.
This is all I can remember, it's been a while since I did this. You might also need a SATA driver if it's a newer laptop.
Roel
golfing in the kitchen
