Finally about to start the restoration, but xp wants floppys

[Heathen]

After backing up everything, I'm about to start the re installation of my former  Win XP Home over that pirate pro.  I start with the disk which has WinXP_EN_HOM_BF.EXE.  After agreeing to the EULA, I get the message on the CMD screen:

"This program creates the Setup boot disks
for Microsoft Windows XP.
To create these disks, you need to provide 6 blank,
formatted, high-density disks.

Please specify the floppy drive to copy the images to:"

I've been trying to direct this to my cd reader/writer drive, but the *expletive deleted* stubborn thing wants to write only to my floppy drive (which was disconnected, due to malfunction. It was so long ago that I'm not even sure I remember how to reconnect it).   Nothing more happens after I enter the letter of the cd drive.  When I made the image of the drive (getting rid of the clone - ty for the advice  ), I made a boot disk for the imaging software & made sure that the bios was set to "boot from CD drive.   I'm not even sure this is relevant.   

How can I get this stubborn, nitpicking software to copy the images to the cd drive instead of the floppy?

[Broni]

Can't you cancel that process? If your computer boots from CD, you don't need those floppies.

[Heathen]

Can't you cancel that process? If your computer boots from CD, you don't need those floppies.

Not finding a floppy port and refusing to acknowledge the cd drive as an alternative, the process cancels itself.  But this leaves me back to square 1, unable to create the 6 restore disks, and unable to restore my computer to its base xp home.

[Broni]

What kind of Windows XP CD is it? Legit? Full version - nice holograms all over it?

[dahlarbear]

The sole purpose of the WinXP_EN_HOM_BF.EXE file is to create a six volume set of floppy disks used to start the Windows XP Home Edition installation on systems that cannot boot from CD-ROM.  It works as designed.

The following quote is from
 Windows XP Home Edition Utility: Setup Disks for Floppy Boot Install

The Windows XP startup disk allows computers without a bootable CD-ROM to perform a new installation of the operating system. The Windows XP startup disk will automatically load the correct drivers to gain access to the CD-ROM drive and start a new installation of Setup. You cannot upgrade from a Windows XP startup disk.

Windows XP Home Edition startup disks will not work for Windows XP Professional installations and vice-versa.

Windows XP Setup boot disks are available only by download from Microsoft. The Setup boot disks are available so that you can run Setup on computers that do not support a bootable CD-ROM.

If your computer does support booting from a CD-ROM, or if network-based installation is available, Microsoft recommends that you use those installations methods instead.

More information here

[Broni]

Aha...

[Heathen]

What kind of Windows XP CD is it? Legit? Full version - nice holograms all over it?

aha no way.

This is a Compaq Presario 5000 series.  It was bought many years ago on Overstock.com, and did not come with a restore disk or disk copy of win xp home.  Many years ago, I was having problems, went to the HP/Compac help site.  I explained the problem, and eventually they gave me one-time only access to a site where I allegedly downloaded six disks.  Before I got to use the disks, a bigger problem occurred. Starting the computer only led to the same screen one sees when running "CMD".  Now I could fix this, but them I panicked.  My friends' now ex-husband fixed the computer so it worked, but I later found out he did this by overlaying his illegal windows xp pro. 

So what I am trying to do is access the restore system-sav FAT partition, which holds the xp home.  I need the restore disk to do this. I checked out  the disks Compaq  had me download.  Only one had any content, and it was the WinXP_EN_HOM_BF.EXE.  I tried to contact HP/Compac, and they say that I must have the restore disk because this particular package included the restore disk (if it says so on paper, it must be true).  On the other hand, I never throw anything out.  I have disks from Windows 3.1,  Windows '98.  Seriously.  I never throw anything out.  I did not throw out.lose the restore  disk. 

[Broni]

I don't know how old this Compaq is, but usually you can access Recovery Partition, by pressing F10 key, while computer starts (it should say that at the bottom of black screen), unless your computer is too old to have it, or your friend's ex-husband removed it.

[patio]

The startup disk set is available @MS website.
You will then have to use your burning program to create a bootable CD with them.
However as Broni stated if the recovery partition has been wiped you may be out of luck.

[ale52]

Another option is to contact Compaq and see if they will provide you with a recovery set of disks.

Alan <><