ok. I have an iso file that is 748.9 mb Too big to burn to a cd safely... iso is bootable i want to "write" the iso to a hdd so i do not lose the bootsector of said image basically put I have an iso of XP MCE OEM.

I do not have the available disk(s) required to burn the image, but want to install it (i already have XP MCE just trying to get rid of hp crapware)

Is there ANY way that i can either copy the files to my recovery part, modify something and be able to hit F10 and boot from my recovery part and install just like normal; or just write the whole damn thing to a "virtual disk" that I can run during the boot process (right after post where it says "press any key to boot from cd") ---- Times like this make me wish i had virtualbox as my real bios

"....(i already have XP MCE just trying to get rid of hp crapware)"

If Windows is working fine, why don't you just un-install all the HP software you don't want in Add/Remove programs??
......

When it isn't pre-installed, OEM XP MCE comes on two CDs. If you know anyone with a generic system who has those two OEM XP MCE CDs, make an iso image of each of them, and use both CDs to install MCE, using your Presario's Product Key.

By the way, the Presario's Product Key may NOT work with your iso image - if Windows is working okay,
I advise that you don't delete the second partition on the original hard drive in the first part of Setup, so that you can re-install your original software if you need to, using a single Recovery CD and the contents of the second partition, the CD made beforehand using a HP supplied program already there in Programs.
Otherwise, if Windows is working okay, I advise you to make a set of Recovery CDs before you attempt to re-load Windows, using a HP supplied program already there in Programs, so that you can re-load the entire hard drive with the original software if you need to, or for the future when you sell the computer and want to re-load that.)

Otherwise, if you have a DVD burner on the computer, making a bootable DVD-R with the iso image should work.

If you go that 2 CD route, be aware that there are bugs - about 3/4 of the way through installing from the first CD, Setup prompts you to insert a CD that has the wrong title (the CD volume label is something else) - at that point, insert the second CD. Files will load from the second CD for a while, then Setup prompts you to provide a CD that has a different wrong title - at that point insert the first CD again.

Depending on bios Setup settings, Windows Setup may not find your SATA drive(s).
If it doesn't, you need to either.....
- change a setting in your bios Setup so the SATA controller / SATA drive detection is in IDE Compatible (labelling varies) mode. Setup will then see the SATA drive(s), and you can optionally install SATA or SATA RAID drivers later when Setup is finished.
- OR - press F6 early in Setup when prompted to while the initial files are being loaded from the CD, and provide a prepared floppy disk with the proper SATA or SATA RAID drivers on it in a floppy drive. If you don't have a floppy drive, most desktop computers still have the header for the floppy data cable on the mboard you can tempoarily connect a floppy drive to. Setup at that point will not look for SATA (SCSI) drivers on anything but a floppy drive - and most USB connected floppy drive models are not recognized by it. If you don't have a header for that, or don't want to do that, if you can't set your bios to IDE Compatible mode or similar (you almost always CAN), you will have to make a slipstreamed CD that has the contents of the Windows CD (the first one in this case, or the DVD-R) and has the SATA or SATA RAID drivers integrated into it.

If your mboard has SATA RAID capability, usually you must install SATA RAID (AHCI RAID) drivers - drivers for a SATA (AHCI) only chipset will probably not work. The RAID chipset drivers also support non-RAID use, and you do not have to set up a RAID array unless you want to (RAID usually requires two or more drives in any case, and brand name system computers usually come with only one).

Installing MCE doesn't take long but it's just the first step.
You will also need to
- load all the drivers for your mboard and installed devices on the system, using downloads available for your model on the HP web site.
Whenever you load Windows from a regular Windows CD (or DVD) from scratch, after Setup is finished you must load the drivers for the mboard, particularly the main chipset drivers, in order for Windows to have the proper drivers for and information about your mboard hardware, including it's AGP or PCI-E, ACPI, and hard drive controller support. If you have a generic system and have the CD that came with the mboard, all the necessary drivers are on it. If you load drivers from the web, brand name system builders and mboard makers often DO NOT have the main chipset drivers listed in the downloads for your model - in that case you must go to the maker of the main chipset's web site, get the drivers, and load them.
- load all or most of the current Microsoft Updates found by using the Express search.
(You can opt out of installing IE 7 if you like by selecting NO when it asks if you want to install it - in that case after that it becomes an optional Microsoft Update found only by using the Custom search, and will not be installed by Automatic Update.)
- load any other software you want to load that didn't come with the system
E.g. at the very least...
Adobe Acrobat Reader
Adobe Flash Player
Adobe Shockwave Player?
anti-virus
anti-adware/spyware/trojan
RealPlayer?
a newer version of WMP?
....

Going by recent experience with installing XP Pro from a regular Windows CD onto a recent Presario laptop model, you may have to install a few HP/Compaq driver packages to get rid of all of the unknown devices in Device Manager - e.g. I had to install something for the special buttons on the HP/Compaq keyboard, the built in Fax modem even though he doesn't use it, and the included card reader.

If Windows is working fine, why don't you just un-install all the HP software you don't want in Add/Remove programs??

because i dont want to have to add/remove every time i reinstall my os.

Installing MCE doesn't take long but it's just the first step.
You will also need to
- load all the drivers for your mboard and installed devices on the system, using downloads available for your model on the HP web site

already did this... im not computer illeterate, i just want to customize my recovery part

Otherwise, if you have a DVD burner on the computer, making a bootable DVD-R with the iso image should work.

didnt you read my post??

- load all or most of the current Microsoft Updates found by using the Express search.

nope, custom is better.

load any other software you want to load that didn't come with the system

aaaand thats why i want to customize my recovery part.

"...because i dont want to have to add/remove every time i reinstall my os."

You shouldn't need to reload the OS that often.
Almost everything that goes wrong can be fixed without you having to do that, and it usually takes a lot less time than re-loading everything from scratch.
If you're impatient and re-load everything whenever you can't figure out a problem in a short time, you're probably wasting a lot of time overall.
.....

"didnt you read my post??"

If you mean this, you didn't say whether you don't have the media (burnable DVDs) or the physical DVD drive - clear as mud. Media is easily available if you have a DVD drive.

"I do not have the available disk(s) required to burn the image,..."
.......

"nope, custom is better"

I have sometimes had problems after loading drivers found by using Custom suggested by Microsoft Update. It's okay for finding out whether drivers are the latest, but if newer drivers are available you are better off going to the web site for the device and getting the updated drivers there.

If you get the OS partition the way you want it you can then image it using one of the commercial programs. They will span multiple disks and use most any media available. You should be able to image to a DVD. I have Ghost images that ere 17/18GB. Ghost will also compress the size so it takes less space.

"I have an iso file that is 748.9 mb Too big to burn to a cd safely.." No surprise there. Most CDs that I'm aware of hold only 700 MB.

Tubes recommended you burn to a DVD and you said

didnt you read my post??

I'm sure he read it, and I know I did. What's your point by that statement?

"I do not have the available disk(s) required to burn the image" By that do you mean DVDs? If not, buy a pack (or one) and burn the image to a DVD.

Life's more painless for the brainless.

"I do not have the available disk(s) required to burn the image"

by that i mean i do not have cd-r's that are big enough and i do not have the money to go out and buy cd-r/dvd-r's that will work, im looking for a free fix.

my original question was...

can i copy or write the iso file to a hdd so that i can boot to it and run setup.

not receiving any helpful response to this i went ahead and mounted the iso, ran nlite to customize it and add software/drivers, and moved all the files created to my newly emptied recovery partition, added the necessary boot files and restarted.

needless to say it took a little trial and error, but i got it working.,

now i have a working homebrew recovery partition that installs what i want, not what HP preinstalled, that uses my OEM key and is legit (checked with genuine tool and windows update)

so for all of you that said "thats impossible" or "why would you want to do that" i post this to say "its possible" and "because i can."

The problem with your solution is that when your HDrive dies so does your recovery partition.

No one suggested that what you have done couldn't be done.

I am not sure about WMCE but with WinXPpro there is a built-in backup that you can even automate.

Are you confident your ISO is complete?

I'm glad to hear you solved your problem

"...i do not have the money to go out and buy cd-r/dvd-r's that will work, im looking for a free fix."

CD-Rs don't have the capacity to handle that iso. You can "overburn" or similar with some burning software to get a little more, but that's risky and probably still wouldn't be enough to handle your need.
That's not much of an excuse - you can buy a new combo CD/DVD burner for under $45, even locally, if you dig around.
Five packs of DVD-Rs are cheap.

Aside from that, your time is not really free. I you had a combo CD/DVD burner and a DVD-R disk, you would have had a working MCE disk in a few minutes.

"I am not sure about WMCE but with WinXPpro there is a built-in backup that you can even automate."

It has the Repair Setup option too.
...

"now i have a working homebrew recovery partition that installs what i want, not what HP preinstalled, that uses my OEM key and is legit (checked with genuine tool and windows update)"

Where did you get the iso? I assume you got the OEM key with that (the Presario one MIGHT work too). If you bought it off the web, some vendors are NOT legitimate - they supply a corporate key, and/or a generated key. It might eventually be found to be illegitimately used and will not longer be found valid.
.....

well i used my legit key on the side of the box to install with an OEM cd image that i downloaded from a well known torrent site

yes i know, thats not really good practice, but i activated using the internet, and all is good... the iso didnt lack any files, (unlike the many others i tried... go figure)

i have a dvd combo drive with lightscribe but no disks. i cannot afford to spend the "cheap" dollas to buy dvd's because i dont really have a need for them... i originally tried overburning, but that only went to like 720 something megs...

the iso did not come with a key... thats one of the things i was lookin for, i dont want an iso that has an illegal key, that would be illegal. I already paid for a microsoft registration, i am legally entitled to the disk that that key works with, and if i have to use a p2p program to obtain that disk, so be it. (its the key thats really under scrutiny, not the disk itself, "genuine windows validation" takes care of all the illegal copies of windows)

i still think that HP/Compaq is worthless for selling me this pc with a windows key and providing a backup with preinstalled crapware..

no joke, it had norton and mcafee preinstalled. that is a big problem

let alone avg found spyware.. that is WITHOUT EVER CONNECTING TO THE INTERNET! i dnloaded avg from their site, burned it to cd along with all the virus updates, and installed it fresh when i got this pc.. it found like 3-4 different infections.. yay, go hp.. getting paid to install spyware now.

thats not good business practice.

i text chatted with a rep (i actually think it was a bot) that gave me all the drivers i needed, so i went ahead and slipstreamed them into my install.. along with avg free, and a couple other utils that i need.

anyway im now happy with my computer, dualboot xp mce / ubuntu

with virtualbox running 2kpro

"well i used my legit key on the side of the box to install with an OEM cd image that i downloaded from a well known torrent site"

You're fortunate that worked; sometimes the brand name's key won't work with Windows software obtained elswhere.
Torrent sites have mostly illegitimate software on them.
I was wondering why the iso was MCE in one piece. XP MCE doesn't come on one CD, and I haven't heard of it being on a DVD.

"avg found spyware.. that is WITHOUT EVER CONNECTING TO THE INTERNET! i dnloaded avg from their site, burned it to cd along with all the virus updates, and installed it fresh when i got this pc.. it found like 3-4 different infections.. yay, go hp.. getting paid to install spyware now."

If that's before you loaded divers from the HP site, if that applies, you saying that makes no sense - it no longer has any HP software on it! You either got the spyware from data included in the illegitimate iso (that is very common with illegitimate downloads - you should always anti-virus and anti-adware scan such downloads after you have downloaded them BEFORE you run them, or if you can't, after you first install them), or what avg found is merely questionable and probably not dangerous.

"I already paid for a microsoft registration, i am legally entitled to the disk that that key works with,"

You don't get a Windows disk with a brand name software installation, except in a small number of cases where you can buy it at the same time you order the brand name system (last time I looked, you could do that on the US HP site when you ordered a Compaq computer directly from their site online). The OEM licence for a brand name system is different from the one for a regular Windows CD - they get Windows a lot cheaper, cheaper than we can even if we get an OEM CD or DVD, because the licence is tied to being used on that system with that mboard, and probably requires the mboard has a Compaq bios version. You are very fortunate your Presario Product Key worked.

"i have a dvd combo drive with lightscribe but no disks"

In that case you're an extreme cheapskate. You may have been able to buy just one DVD-R disk.
I have similar and haven't bought any burnable DVDs yet either, but they're cheap and I can pick one up in a few minutes.
If you're not close to a store, someone with a computer you know close by probably has one.

If you don't want brand name included software, then don't buy a brand name system computer, or buy (a) Windows CD(s) or a DVD when you buy the brand name system and reload it!
(the Product Key on the case MIGHT work with a CD or CDs or DVD you already have, or a copy of (a) borrowed one(s), but likely only if it is the same version - Home, or Pro, or MCE).

If that's before you loaded divers from the HP site, if that applies, you saying that makes no sense - it no longer has any HP software on it!

ummm ok, did i say when i reinstalled i did this?? no. but I should have been clear.

When i first got the PC i did this...

You're fortunate that worked; sometimes the brand name's key won't work with Windows software obtained elswhere.

an OEM key works with an OEM disk

The OEM licence for a brand name system is different from the one for a regular Windows CD

thats where the OEM disk comes in...

In that case you're an extreme cheapskate.

Nope, just real tight on $$.

You are very fortunate your Presario Product Key worked.

considering i talked to HP about this and they said that I had to get an OEM disk to use my key...

anyway i am through with this forum... no one even tried to help me do what I was trying to do.

all anyone on this forum said was "you cant do that" when i did; "why would you want to do that" to learn how; "you have to get all the drivers, and it's long and tedious", not when i know the model## of the pc, and its an HP/Compaq, they provide a page with all the needed drivers; "don't buy it if you don't want what's on it" they dont tell you whats preinstalled on the pc, and for the buck it was the best deal i could find at the time.

I thank the sincere efforts from those who actually cared, but they are few and far between, actually i only really thank one person in this string for having some interest in whether or not i completed my task.

To all others that posted otherwise, and yes i apologize if I seem negative, but you really need to work on your people skills, because passively demeaning someone like that is uncalled for, and its really not professional.

I do have to say that this forum is the worst ever forum i have used in my whole time on the internet.

thank you but no thank you computing.net, ill go elsewhere.