[chip]

I bought a new desktop with no OS and have a Windows98 SE to install on it, and further upgrade it to XP. My new PC however doesn't have a floppy drive for the boot disk to start the process.

What is the solution to this? I do have access to a floppy on my existing PC but don't want to start removing this and putting it into the new one.

[Hybr!d]

Put the XP CD in the CD drive and boot from it, then install.

[chip]

The XP is just the upgrade package, so I need to install the win98SE first.

Can the win98SE be installed in the same way i.e. without the boot disk?

The pack includes the win98 CD, a 'Microsoft Windows Starts Here' CD and the floppy boot disk.

[evilfantasy]

There are USB floppy drives. http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/97462

[chip]

The new desktop will boot from USB in the bios so i suppose that is an option, which suggests i could also just coppy the floppy info onto a memory stick.

I guess my main question is, do you actually need the floppy boot disk or can I boot it straight from the CD?

[evilfantasy]

CDs have taken the place of floppy disks. Yes you can boot from a CD.