Alright, so far I've been following the instructions here: http://www.computing.net/windows200... Big thanks for that. It's solved almost all my problems. I'm attempting to install slightly stripped down version of Windows XP, SP2. Unfortunately things stopped going smoothly at the last step, "E\i386:>winnt". I just get the message "Bad command or file name." I've put the disk in another computer, and I found the file called WINNT.SIF, but either that's not the right file, or there is something wrong. Any help is greatly appreciated ^^

please define 'slightly stripped down version' and provide some info about your setup.

Try looking for winnt32.exe Internalrage

Alright, so far I've been following the instructions here ... The instructions given in the referenced link is for the person running Windows 2000. It may not work with Windows XP. I'm attempting to install slightly stripped down version of Windows XP, SP2 Curious (echoing The_Oracle) - could you please explain what it is that you hope to achieve? Try looking for winnt32.exe winnt32.exe is located under the i386 folder in windows directory. It is a windows setup file. If you run it from the command prompt, you will get the following popup dialogue with red X: Setup cannot continue because the version of Windows on your computer is newer than the version on the CD. WARNING:: If you decide to delete the newer version of Windows that is currently installed on your computer, the files & settings cannot be recovered. When I clicked on the Detail button, the reading produced the followings: Issue Description: To install the version on the CD, restart your computer, boot from this CD, and follow the instructions for a new installation. i_Xp/VistaUser

A couple of things I'll add: You should run smartdrv.exe (you can get it from a '98 disc) to save you significant copy time before you begin XP setup. If you are not able to get your hands on the file, you can still proceed with the installation. But you could try the "dir" command & navigate to the i386 folder to see what all is in there. Once you've verified the location of winnt.exe, then the command -- X:\i386\winnt.exe, where X: is your CD-ROM drive -- should invoke XP's installer protocol without any problem.

http://www.mwpms.uklinux.net If you have a PCMCIA optical drive you already have arccd.sys I presume..

The standard Portege 3110ct specs are as follows. Pentium II 300MHz 64/128 MB 6.4 GB 2.5MB Video RAM I've upgraded the hard drive to 20gb and the RAM to 256mb (I listed that wrong earlier). It's a pretty darn old machine, so it's not going to run XP perfectly, thus the "stripped down version of XP." It was given to me by a friend, but to the best of my knowledge, it's standard XP with only what's absolutely necessary. No XP theme, no Paint, no calculator, etc. As far as I know, none of the setup files would be affected. But I could be wrong, thus my problem I suppose. I've tried the following (my CD drive being F:) F:\I386>winnt F:\I386>winnt.sif F:\I386>winnt.exe F:\I386>winnt32.exe F:\I386>winntbbu F:\I386>winntbbu.dll F:\I386>winntbbu.exe All "Bad command or file name." This is my first time trying something like this, so I could be making a dumb mistake. Don't be afraid to underestimate my intelligence in any suggestions ^_~