How to Create a Windows XP CD From a I386 Folder

1. Right-click on “Start” and click “Explore” to launch Windows Explorer.
2. Right-click on the “Local Disk (C:)” option and create a folder at the root of the C: drive for the XP installation files. Name the folder something that will be easily recognized, such as “XPINSTALL.”
3. Download the boot sector zip file for Windows XP (see Resources). Extract the files with WinZip or other archiving tool.
4. Copy all unzipped boot sector files into the new C:\\XPINSTALL folder. To accomplish this task, just drag and drop all boot sector files into the new folder.
5. Navigate, in Windows Explorer, to the i386 folder and right-click on the folder.
6. Click the “Copy” option. Be careful not to select “Move,” and do not drag and drop the folder. This action will also move the folder.
7. Paste the i386 folder into the “XPINSTALL” folder.
8. Right-click on the desktop and select “New,” “Text Document.” Double-click on the new text document and type \'Windows \' (without quotes, but with the trailing space) in the first line. Make sure the first letter is capitalized and all other letters are lowercase.
9. Click “File” and then “Save As.”
10. Type the following name for the text document: “WIN51” (with quotes). Saving the name with quotes will ensure the file has no file extension. Click the “Save” button.
11. Copy the WIN51 file into the XPINSTALL folder.
12. Copy the WIN51 file again and paste the new file into the XPINSTALL folder. Name the second file according to the version of Windows XP and the Service Pack that is installed on the computer. For each service pack, a new text file will be required. The following table provides the names for the second text file.Version . . . . . . .Service Pack . . . .. . . .Text filesXP Home . . . . .no service pack . . . . ...WIN51IC
XP Home . . . . .SP1. . . . . WIN51IC, WIN51IC.SP1
(2 files)
XP Home . . . . .SP2. . . . . WIN51IC, WIN51IC.SP1, WIN51IC.SP2
(3 files)XP Professional . . . . . no service pack . . . . WIN51IP
XP Professional . . . . .SP1. . . . . WIN51IP, WIN51IP.SP1
(2 files)
XP Professional . . . . . SP2. . . . . WIN51IP, WIN51IP.SP1, WIN51IP.SP2
(3 files)
13. Copy the WIN51 text files into the XPINSTALL folder.
14. Copy the following files from the C:\\Windows\\System32 folder into the XPINSTALL folder. (Copying these files preserves the Windows XP licensing on the bootable CD.)oembios.bin
oembios.dat
oembios.sig
15. Copy the following file into the XPINSTALL folder:C:\\Windows\\system32\\CatRoot\\{F750E6C3-38EE-11D1-85E5-00C04FC295EE}\\oembios.cat
16. Open the CD burning application and insert a blank CD.
17. Create a new CD project in the application.
18. Click “Burn”, and then click “Bootable” as the CD type.
19. Type a new name for the volume name of the new CD according to the version of Windows XP installed on the computer.Version ….. Volume LabelXP Home ….. WXHOEM_EN
XP Home, Service Pack1… XRMHOEM_EN
XP Home, Service Pack 1a and Service Pack 2 …. X1AHOEM_ENXP Professional ….. WXPOEM_EN
XP Professional Service Pack 1 ….. XRMPOEM_EN
XP Professional Service Pack 1a and Service Pack 2 …. X1APOEM_EN
20. Click the “Burn” button. The CD will eject when the burn process has finished and a bootable Windows XP CD will be created.
21. Test the CD by inserting the disk into the drive and rebooting the machine. Press the \'F12\' key when prompted, and select the “Boot from CD” option. The computer will boot from the new Windows XP bootable installation disk.