We have all heard of Linux live CDs, that let you run an Operating System from a CD w/o having to install..
Can we do this with Windows? We can use a Hard Disk image if it is under the capasity of the CD you are burning it to. Or did MS find some way to make this illegal?
[sARCASM] you know how much we just 
all of M$'s apps and decisions[/sARCASM]
Sorry to have to tell you this..
But as for a full working "live" cd of windows xp many problems arise, due to amount of system files needed to loaded into system memory.
Been there, tried that, watched it fail after 3 weeks of work trying..
If you had massive amounts of mem, well over 3 gbs (I have over 1 gb DDR 400)
then you might have a chance at running some/50% of the OS, as due to the nature of the system files, they have to run in mem, not on hard drive.
If you looking to have a way to run from CD, make a cd from an OEM system prep CD, hack the hell out of it, add applications, paths, etc and you can run WINPE which is a simple cut down version of the OS and kernel for OEM Installs.
I have gotten this to work, which gives me system file access and the ability to run nero, program managers, shells, network access from a CD.
The bad thing is, the CD can only run for a certain time limit (microsoft doing) and then reboot after 24 hrs. The other bad thing is, due to paths you have to create, you cant use the cd on other machines of they have different configurations of hardware then the machine you created it for. This means more/less hard drives, cd roms, multiple network cards, etc. The paths to use any application is hard coded and cannot be changed.
So with all that said, check out a OEM Preinstallation CD and create your own working "live" Lite WinXP CD.
I saw something awhile back about modified versions of Win '95 that were able to be run from little more than a disk of some sort...I'll look for the link, I found a few sites all about that project.
There is a project where someone has stripped all of Win98s bloat (and most of it's features) out so that it is about 8MB. They also made one that had the bare minimum of features for booting and networking and you could run it of a 128MB USB memory stick. It's probably in google somewhere but I read it in a magazine.
"They" managed to get Windows 98 on a single floppy disk...
Originally posted by ihartmacz@Nov 16 2003, 05:45 AMWe have all heard of Linux live CDs, that let you run an Operating System from a CD w/o having to install..
Say what?! How the heck would that work? 
Just search on google and there's loads of sites explaining it. Basically, most of them have the OS and drivers/apps/etc compressed onto one CD. Then when you boot from that CD, all the essentials and whetever apps you are using are loaded into memory via on the fly decompression so you can run stuff. Probably uses a swap file as well if it can.
Heck, isn't there a Linux distro that fits on one 3.5 Floppy. Of course it has no GUI, but they did it.
As for XP live, no way. I think we have a better chance of brass monkeys with it's wonder-juice talking to the Sexual-Harrasement Panda.
Originally posted by wizard@Nov 16 2003, 04:13 PMHeck, isn't there a Linux distro that fits on one 3.5 Floppy. Of course it has no GUI, but they did it.
As for XP live, no way. I think we have a better chance of brass monkeys with it's wonder-juice talking to the Sexual-Harrasement Panda.
Is that a reference to a certain edited post? 
I have no technical details at all of how a live cd works. I get the jist of the linux ones. But..
Assuming you don't have anything other then Xp installed. Couldn't you just burn an exact copy of your HD to a DVD? Use (i dont know how in windows) linux to copy your MBR to a file, then make that the boot MBR on the DVD? Windows may get upset it's in read-only, but wouldn't it work?
Well, it works with a DOS image file... And Windows 95.98.Me is based on sot-of DOS. I would just think..
Install Windows 95 SR1 on a small 650 MB FAT16 partition, give it a WP, and a few free disk tools, and them burn the Partition as a boot CD in Nero, or i can use WinImage to make an image of the drive.
windows pe with plugins => windows xp on a cd : http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/
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