Install Windows 95 on laptop without a CD ROM 1

[kiernanf]

I just purchased an IBM Think Pad 760 EL. According to the guy who sold it to me it has 48 MB of Ram, 2 GB Hard drive, 14.4 PCMCIA modem. The computer indicates a parrallel port but I can't find it.

It looks like Windows 95 was installed but has been deleted.

What is the easiest way to restore/install new Windows 95? I have Windows 95 on CDROM.

 

[mudskipper]

1) You can pull the hard drive out, hook it to a desktop PC by way of a $5.00 adapter, copy the install files to it. (check out

http://www.compgeeks.com/details.asp?invtid=HD-108

for the adapter)

2) If you, by chance, have access to an external par. port zip drive, you can:
- hook the zip to a desktop, copy the contents of the win95 directory off of the install CD onto the zip disk(s).
- hook the zip drive to your laptop
- boot to a startup disk (make sure that HDD is partitioned/formatted)
- run guest (from the zip tools--can be downloaded too) to get a drive letter assigned to the drive.
- copy the files from zip into a dir on the hard drive, run setup

3) try to find an external par cdrom drive.... Mudskipper
___________________________________________________________________________________

Groucho said it best- "A four year-old child could understand this! Quick! Run out and find me a four year-old child: I can't make heads nor tails out of this!"

 

[edfair]

Absolute easiest is to take the hard drive out and use an adapter to put it in a desktop and transfer the install files to a logical drive on an extended partition.
Next easiest is to use an external ZIP to transfer the same files. Assuming that you can find the parallel port.
You could put DOS on and transfer the install files across thru the serial port using serial networking or laplink. Ed Fair
unixstuff@juno.com
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[kiernanf]

I had difficulty completing the transaction at the "geek" website, so I bought an adaptor from Cablesonline. It didn't fit.

I bought something called a docking station that is supposed to fit on Ebay. It has not arrived. I hope it fits.

 

[edfair]

I think mudskipper is optimistic on the price.
Do a google search on "drive adapter". You should get several hits on the kit. You get the adapter and a set of mounting rails. Ed Fair
unixstuff@juno.com
Any advice I give is my best judgement based on my interpretation of the facts you supply. Help increase my knowledge by providing some feedback, good or bad, on any advice I have given.

 

[PleaseDeleteMe]

The TP uses a standard 2.5" hard drive. Assuming you bought a 'standard' drive adapter it should fit just fine. I have seen a few 2.5's with a male adapter on the drive, and after pulling that off I was looking at pins ... which the 2.5-3.5 adapter will then fit on.

 

[rockerfellerz]

If you get the adapter you want to be 100% sure that you hook it up to the drive the right way around; it can be plugged in backwards. There is nothing to prevent it, the pins will line up fine and plug in either way. The problem with this is that unlike a 3.5" drive the 2.5" drive gets it's power through the pins and not through a seperate plug.
hook it up wrong and the drive will be fried!(Don't ask how I know...) The adapter should have a "1" by pin #1, this is how you know which way it lines up. If you're going through Hell...keep going... (Winston Churchill)
RocKeRFelLerZ

 

[Guest_imported]

Just a thank you to mudskipper, your note above help solve a problem that we were having.

We bought an adapter from the local store for $9.95. The package shows that it came from

http://www.startech.com

and the product IDE is IDE4044. We weren't sure if we were supposed to hookup the power cables or not after reading a post on this thread. But we we able to download the manual from the above site. The instructions are very clear as to where pin 1 is, and how to hook it up safely. Piece of cake, we're rolling again.

Thanks again mudskipper..

 

[ceh4702]

If it has pcmcia, why not just get a pcmcia network adapter, and use a network drive to install windows? You may want to copy the WINDOWS directory from the CDROM that has all the CAB files in it (or the whole thing) to the hard drive. You will never know when you will need the CDROM again for a driver or something.

If you do not like my post feel free to point out your opinion or my errors.