[Spencer2004]

hi, following on from my recent thread my dvd burner has not turned up yet but i have the vista setup cd extracted on my hard drive. how do i boot from a directory on my hard drive (c:\vista\setup.exe) without an os or floppy.

i have the ultimate boot cd so i can access dos if that helps. i also have a usb drive that i can boot from (but it cant hold the vista setup files) and some blank cds for burning boot cds.

[Hybr!d]

Boot using a floppy and exit to DOS, then run setup from the directory you copied the files to.

Other than that it's wait for the DVD drive.

[Jonathon28]

Hi, could you explain to me what you are actually trying to do? I understand you have the vista setup files extracted on your hdd.

Are you trying to install vista on your pc?

(Dave if you run setup from the drive won't the setup utility format the drive leaving no installation files)

Try this:
1. Download and burn to a cd (if you have a cd-rw) and Partition (resize) your hard drive using a linux os 'g parted' http://gparted.sourceforge.net/ and then run setup from DOS from the directory it's in. (instructions on site for using g-parted)

Otherwise, use VMWare and install Vista as a guest (Virtual) Operating System. (you'll have to make the vista installation files to an ISO image). until you get your dvd-rw! - if you're that desperate to use Vista!

I have probably gone into stuff you don't know about and you may not have a clue what i'm on about. It's quite complex stuff. If you want further help... just ask!