Install Win2K Pro on Laptop

[eforcedude]

I have an IBM Think Pad 240X with an external USB CD drive. I fdisked and formatted C:, but now I can't get the install to take. The issue is the USB CD drive. The driver isn't loaded yet, so it won't read the CD. I have already made the 4 boot disks, and have tried that, but still no joy.
Anyone tell me how to get the USB drive to come alive (what drivers to put on boot disks, how, etc)?
Thanks in advance.

 

[GlenJohnson]

Can you connect to a network and do a network install? Glen A. Johnson
Johnson Computer Consulting
MCP W2K
glen@johnsoncomputers.us

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[eforcedude]

No. The network card is a PCMCIA card (so still no drivers loaded), and although I do have Win2K on my server, it isn't set up for a network install.

 

[smactek]

I found this at IBM hope it helps.
Installing or upgrading to Windows 2000 Professional
Installing Windows 2000 Professional
This section provides information on how to install Windows 2000 Professional on your
ThinkPad. This information applies to the following situations:
· Installing Windows 2000 on a blank hard drive.
· Replacing an existing Windows operating system with Windows 2000.
· Creating a dual-startup configuration to run Windows 2000 with an existing
Windows operating system.
If you choose to install Windows 2000 Professional on hard disk that contains application and
personal files, back up all important data files before beginning the installation. If you do not
have a Recovery CD or Backup CD with a CD-ROM drive, use a diskette backup program to
create recovery diskettes of the preinstalled Windows operating system, device drivers, and
applications.
For more information about installing Windows 2000 on your ThinkPad computer, please
refer to the \SETUPTXT\PRO1.TXT and PRO2.TXT readmes included on the Windows 2000
Professional CD.
ThinkPad mode l with Bootable CD/DVD-ROM drive
If your computer has an internal CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, simply start the computer
with the Windows 2000 Professional CD in the drive then follow the instructions provided by
the Setup program.
ThinkPad model without Bootable CD/DVD-ROM drive
If your computer does not support a bootable CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, you will need to
use a startup diskette to begin the installation. You need to create the Setup start-up disks
from the boot disk image files included on the Windows 2000 Professional CD. You will
need four blank, formatted, high-density diskettes. To create the Setup boot diskettes, follow
these instructions:
1. Turn on your computer and begin a DOS Command prompt session.
2. Insert the Windows 2000 Professional CD into the CD or DVD -ROM drive.
3. At the DOS prompt, type D:\BOOTDISK\MAKEBOOT.EXE, where D is the
drive letter assigned to the CD or DVD-ROM drive.
4. Follow the instructions on the screen.
5. After the Setup disks have been created, insert Boot disk 1 into the diskette drive
and insert the Windows 2000 Professional CD into the CD or DVD-ROM drive.
6. Restart your computer. Windows 2000 Setup will begin the installation.
ThinkPad model with External CD-ROM
Windows 2000 Professional supports the IBM PCMCIA 20X-8X Portable CD-ROM drive as
a drive from which you can install the new operating system. If your computer does not have
an internal CD or DVD-ROM drive, you can install Windows 2000 using the external IBM
20X-8X PCMCIA Portable CD-ROM drive. To install Windows 2000 from the external IBM
PCMCIA CD-ROM drive, follow the instructions provide below:
1. Create the Setup Boot disks as described above.
2. Connect your IBM 20X-8X PCMCIA Portable CD-ROM drive to your computer ,
then insert the Windows 2000 Professional CD into the CD-ROM drive.
3. Insert Boot disk1 into the diskette drive, then turn on your computer.
4. Follow the instructions on the screen.
Note that IBM has tested the Sony CD-ROM Discman with an Adaptec SlimSCSI 1460C
PCMCIA adapter as a supported external CD-ROM drive for Windows 2000. If your external
CD-ROM drive is not supported as a drive for Windows 2000, please contact the manufacture
of the CD-ROM drive device to obtain a supported Windows 2000 device driver. "Never Argue with an Idiot. They will Lower You to Their Level, Then Beat YOU with Experience"

 

[eforcedude]

Thanks to all.
Called IBM, and there is no way to load Win2K from a USB CD-ROM. Teach me to FDisk a computer! But, I can send it to them (with $187), and they'll put Win2K on it for me. What a deal.

 

[gamelin56]

eforcedude,

Well now what o/s came on the machine. Restore it. Presumably you can get the usb cd working w the original o/s.

If it was me i'd create an install partition just for the cd files. Once the usb drive is working copy the files from the cd there. Nuke the original o/s. Boot with your 4 boot disks point the install to your partition, bob's your uncle. You might want to disconnect the usb drive till after everything is up and running. I'm assuming that the machine is on the hcl.

If you can connect to your server use the cd rom there to copy the install files as outlined above. check out bart's boot disks at

http://www.nu2.nu/bootdisk/

 

[4378]

hm,hoped that your problem where solved.
I dont understand why the he_ _ you should pay so much money for installing an 2K os ?
Sounds and smell a bit fishy to me.
I wonder if you could use another cd drive, looks like that this problems only comes with there drive.
Otherwise you could take out the harddrive and use a standard computer like Pentium 3´s not P4 because they got a totally different system( not to be recomended if you are not familiar to computers, reparing or building).

 

[eforcedude]

Taking the HD out is a new idea. Tried that, but the connector is a different size, one that I don't have a cable for.
USB won't work (no matter what drive) until I get an OS loaded. Been trying to find a SCSI CD to borrow, but no luck so far.

 

[eforcedude]

How stupid can this get? I went out to Teac's website (they make the drive), and they had a couple of files that were supposed to work. They hadn't worked earlier, for some reason, but I tried them again. They wrote to the boot disk (this time!), and when I booted, the CD was found! I copied the I386 directory, and viola! all is well in think pad land.

Thanks for all the ideas from everyone. Maybe when my hair grows back in (from pulling it out), I'll have Tek-Tips shaved into it.

Thanks again.