So here it is.

I have a Vaio PCG-R505TL. No internal cd or floppy drive.
In need of an XP reinstall.

I know about the i386 copy method and formatting C: /s to get to Dos in my laptop but for some reason my computer still doesnt recognize an OS upon powerup. So a buddy of mine and I came up with this possible solution. I'm sharing it with you to get your opinions.

As you may have guessed by the title we want to introduce a desktop Cd Drive to the laptop via laptop IDE cable in order to install XP.

Heres the rundown.

Use a male to male 44pin adapter to connect the laptop MB to Y-shape 44pin laptop ribbon. One part of the ribbon will attach to the laptop HD and the other will attach to a 40pin/44pin adapter which will connect to the desktop cd-rom via another male to male 44pin adapter. Power to the cd-drive and 40/44pin adapter will come from my desktop computer.

Think it'll work??

Can't see why it shouldn't..

The only problem I can see is when you do the install windows willl lay down a HAL layer for the desktop hardware which could cause you some problems when you boot up on that hard drive once it is back in the laptop.

Hum.. The very point here is that everything is connected to the laptop with the PC supplying only power.

Oh my Nodsu you are being extremely polite today! LOL after rereading my post above I realized how stupid it is. OH Well, just teaches me not to post while my kids are annoying the heck out of me. :blush:

I do try

I think it is good I didn't post quite what I had in mind initially

my point exactly, LOL