Installing Windows 2000 over Windows XP on Dell Latitude LS

[Chiaro]

I'm trying to install Windows 2000 over Windows XP on my Dell Latitude LS for performance reasons. The Win2K CD doesn't want to boot(I know how to set the CD as primary boot, I have set it, and it won't boot. There isn't a boot.ini file on the CD.), and if I use Windows 2000 boot disks, I need the CD to be on at the same time as the floppies, which I can't do. I also cannot get Windows XP to pretend to be compatible with Windows 2000.

Help? Please?
-Chiaro

 

[fastco]

Can you boot off of the WIndows 2000 floppy disk and perform a format then install Windows 2000 on a clean hard drive?

 

[Chiaro]

No, that's my point--after booting all 6 of the floppies, I switch the external drive to the CDROM and press Enter. Then it tells me it can't find the CD Drive(it doesn't detect drives in real time).

 

[gbhall]

problem with CD

both your symptoms (unable to boot from CD, CD not seen after floppy boot, both point to a problem with the CD. Either it does not work, or the CD is not seen as a 'proper' bootable device by the bios. In either case, I would first borrow another Cd drive and try that. Also check for latest bios for your motherboard, but that is unlikely, better just unplug and re-plug the CD, or move it to the other channel (it should still be possible to set it bootable in the bios even if it is on channel 2)

 

[Chiaro]

Well, after some tuning, I got it working. Here are the steps for those in my situation:

1. Download the Windows 98SE bootdisk image from bootdisk.com and write it to a disk.
2. Boot from the floppy.
3. Use FDISK to delete all partitions, then make a primary DOS partition.
4. Reboot, then type in "copy A:\ C:\" to copy the Windows 98 boot disk to your hard drive.
5. Shut down the laptop, then connect the CDROM drive.
6. Boot from your hard drive. You should be in the Windows 98SE floppy menu.
7. Navigate to your CD drive letter.
8. Type in "cd [cddrive]:\i386\".
9. Type in "winnt.exe".
10. Let it install.

 

[TheHudson]

I was having the same problem so I followed the steps that Chiaro wrote above, now what's happening is that after it copies the files and goes to reboot.. it comes back to a blinking cursor and hangs there (ctrl-alt-del doesn't work).

Any suggestions?

[Edit]: I tried the laptop HDD in my PC via an adapter and I got to the "Boot Windows/Install Windows" screen.

I popped it back into the laptop and again.. the blinking cursor.