Installing OS for x21

[pcnoob]

Is there an alternate way to install the os without using the cd? I don't have a cdrom for it.

[pianowizard]

I think you must have the CD-ROM in order to install Windows XP, although you don't need an optical drive on your machine to do this. The method I use requires both Windows 98SE and Windows XP setup discs:

1) Install the blank HDD in a computer with a floppy drive, and boot the computer with a Win 98SE startup disc in the floppy drive.

2) Go through the FDISK and FORMAT C:/S process like we always needed to do back in the 80s and 90s, to make the HDD bootable.

3) Copy the installation files from both the Win 98SE and the Win XP CDs onto the HDD.

4) Transfer the HDD to the laptop where you want to install Win XP, turn on the computer and install Win 98SE.

5) Within Win 98SE, start the Win XP installation process. Choose the clean install option rather than the upgrade option.

That's it. Most people don't do it this way, but instead go straight from booting from floppy to Win XP installation. I tried that once but somehow I got the notorious "NTLDR missing" error. So I decided to stick to my more complicated but more reliable approach. This is how I installed XP Pro on my TP X20, TP 240, Toshiba Portege 7020CT, and Portege R100.