Is there a way to install Vista on an old PC that has no DVD drives?

Hello.

I have an old Dell Dimension 8250 test PC that I would like to install
Vista onto. However, it has no DVD drives. I cannot even boot from
external USB drives (3.5" disk drive, external HDDs, and DVD burner
drive -- CMOS doesn't see them and found out PC doesn't support bootable
USB devices).

However, I do have enough HDD space (30 GB free on second partition) to
copy Vista DVD (or make an ISO file) onto it through network (will take
a while).

Thank you in advance.
--
"Ants can lift up to 50 times their own weight. And your monitor is
missing. Time to bring out the bugspray." --BBspot's Geek Horoscopes
(2/28/2003)
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Phil/Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
| |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net
\ _ / Nuke ANT from e-mail address: NT
( ) or
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on his home computer.

No point in installing on such an old system. Vista needs lots of processing
power and RAM.

Morteza


"Ant" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Hello.
>
> I have an old Dell Dimension 8250 test PC that I would like to install
> Vista onto. However, it has no DVD drives. I cannot even boot from
> external USB drives (3.5" disk drive, external HDDs, and DVD burner
> drive -- CMOS doesn't see them and found out PC doesn't support bootable
> USB devices).
>
> However, I do have enough HDD space (30 GB free on second partition) to
> copy Vista DVD (or make an ISO file) onto it through network (will take a
> while).
>
> Thank you in advance.
> --
> "Ants can lift up to 50 times their own weight. And your monitor is
> missing. Time to bring out the bugspray." --BBspot's Geek Horoscopes
> (2/28/2003)
> /\___/\
> / /\ /\ \ Phil/Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
> | |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net
> \ _ / Nuke ANT from e-mail address: NT
> ( ) or
> Ant is currently not listening to any songs on his home computer.

Just buy a DVD drive, you can get one for under $20, or remove the drive
from your external enclosure and temporarily install it in the Dell. If the
PC is that old it likely isn't going to be usable with Vista anyway.

--

Crosspost, do not multipost http://www.blakjak.demon.co.uk/mul_crss.htm
How to ask a question http://support.microsoft.com/kb/555375


"Ant" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Hello.
>
> I have an old Dell Dimension 8250 test PC that I would like to install
> Vista onto. However, it has no DVD drives. I cannot even boot from
> external USB drives (3.5" disk drive, external HDDs, and DVD burner
> drive -- CMOS doesn't see them and found out PC doesn't support bootable
> USB devices).
>
> However, I do have enough HDD space (30 GB free on second partition) to
> copy Vista DVD (or make an ISO file) onto it through network (will take a
> while).
>
> Thank you in advance.
> --
> "Ants can lift up to 50 times their own weight. And your monitor is
> missing. Time to bring out the bugspray." --BBspot's Geek Horoscopes
> (2/28/2003)
> /\___/\
> / /\ /\ \ Phil/Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
> | |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net
> \ _ / Nuke ANT from e-mail address: NT
> ( ) or
> Ant is currently not listening to any songs on his home computer.

"Ant" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Hello.
>
> I have an old Dell Dimension 8250 test PC that I would like to install
> Vista onto. However, it has no DVD drives. I cannot even boot from
> external USB drives (3.5" disk drive, external HDDs, and DVD burner
> drive -- CMOS doesn't see them and found out PC doesn't support bootable
> USB devices).
>
> However, I do have enough HDD space (30 GB free on second partition) to
> copy Vista DVD (or make an ISO file) onto it through network (will take a
> while).
>
> Thank you in advance.
> --
> "Ants can lift up to 50 times their own weight. And your monitor is
> missing. Time to bring out the bugspray." --BBspot's Geek Horoscopes
> (2/28/2003)
> /\___/\
> / /\ /\ \ Phil/Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
> | |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net
> \ _ / Nuke ANT from e-mail address: NT
> ( ) or
> Ant is currently not listening to any songs on his home computer.


Vista needs a modern, well specified system. What you are planning is a
waste of time and money..


--

Mike Hall - MVP Windows Experience
http://msmvps.com/blogs/mikehall/

I'll agree with another poster that installing an internal DVD drive is the
sensible approach. That, unless you really want to do a lot of messing
around.

Here's an example:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827129023

(No the cheapest, but it has free shipping at the moment, so it may have the
lowest net cost.)

support.dell.com gives you the particulars for your system (It's fairly
easy. You screw a couple of rails to the drive, and then slide/snap it in
place.)

Dell seems to like having ATAPI drives jumpered as "cable select".

"Ant" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Hello.
>
> I have an old Dell Dimension 8250 test PC that I would like to install
> Vista onto. However, it has no DVD drives. I cannot even boot from
> external USB drives (3.5" disk drive, external HDDs, and DVD burner
> drive -- CMOS doesn't see them and found out PC doesn't support bootable
> USB devices).
>
> However, I do have enough HDD space (30 GB free on second partition) to
> copy Vista DVD (or make an ISO file) onto it through network (will take a
> while).
>
> Thank you in advance.
> --
> "Ants can lift up to 50 times their own weight. And your monitor is
> missing. Time to bring out the bugspray." --BBspot's Geek Horoscopes
> (2/28/2003)
> /\___/\
> / /\ /\ \ Phil/Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
> | |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net
> \ _ / Nuke ANT from e-mail address: NT
> ( ) or
> Ant is currently not listening to any songs on his home computer.

Ant wrote:
> Hello.
>
> I have an old Dell Dimension 8250 test PC that I would like to install
> Vista onto. However, it has no DVD drives. I cannot even boot from
> external USB drives (3.5" disk drive, external HDDs, and DVD burner
> drive -- CMOS doesn't see them and found out PC doesn't support bootable
> USB devices).
>
> However, I do have enough HDD space (30 GB free on second partition) to
> copy Vista DVD (or make an ISO file) onto it through network (will take
> a while).
>
> Thank you in advance.
I tried installing Win 7 beta on a five-year-old Dell laptop that I had
upgraded from 256 mb to 1 gb memory. It worked, but I got a 640 by 480
display, no Internet, and no sound. Gave up, of course.

Suspect you will be disappointed if you proceed.

Bill

Win7 Beta runs fine on my over 2 year HP laptop with 1GB of Ram.
What is the native resolution of the screen on you old Dell laptop?
What happens when you try and increase the resolution?
I believe you can order a set of VISTA installation CDs from MS for a
minimal price provided you have a valid Vista retail product key.

"Bill Sharpe" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Ant wrote:
>> Hello.
>>
>> I have an old Dell Dimension 8250 test PC that I would like to install
>> Vista onto. However, it has no DVD drives. I cannot even boot from
>> external USB drives (3.5" disk drive, external HDDs, and DVD burner
>> drive -- CMOS doesn't see them and found out PC doesn't support bootable
>> USB devices).
>>
>> However, I do have enough HDD space (30 GB free on second partition) to
>> copy Vista DVD (or make an ISO file) onto it through network (will take a
>> while).
>>
>> Thank you in advance.
> I tried installing Win 7 beta on a five-year-old Dell laptop that I had
> upgraded from 256 mb to 1 gb memory. It worked, but I got a 640 by 480
> display, no Internet, and no sound. Gave up, of course.
>
> Suspect you will be disappointed if you proceed.
>
> Bill

Hi Phil--

The advice you got from Mike was very sound, and here's why. I have an old
Dell Dimension 8100 and a new duo core. I've had a good time comparing how
Vista worked on both of them, and since December the various builds of
Windows 7 up through the most current available. You didn't state what your
RAM, is but I have a good --it's comparable to what mine used to be out of
the box.

From Dell's Website the specs on your box are:

Pentium 4; CPU 2.66GHz, 512Mb of RAM, nvidia geforce4 mx420, Creative SB
live! Series (WDM)

I just want to give you a few remarks that may guide your choice. Mike's
statement about cost is pretty relevant, so you might want to think this
through, particularly now that a couple things are in play.

I ran Vista since its Beta, and I've run Windows 7 for over 4 months on my
Dell, but here's the upgrading I had to do so you might want to keep the
"cost versus a new box at the prices available now" (just as Mike said) in
mind. Another compelling reason is this--chips that are coming out now are
going to make netbooks with duo core or multicore architecture dirt cheap.
They are already all over the place between $300 and $400 and soon there
will be deals from Bell South and Comcast, etc. to sell you a netbook for
$50.

Light and Cheap, Netbooks Are Poised to Reshape PC Industry
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/02/te...2netbooks.html

"Most of the netbooks sold today run on an Intel chip called Atom, which is
a lower-cost, lower-power version of the company's standard laptop chips."
There is an even cheaper chip coming into netbooks called ARM based on cell
technology, but it is really adapted to running Linux and not Windows Vista
or Windows 7.

To make my Dell run better, I added a GB of RAM, upgraded the original
popsicle stick of a 64MB (yep that's what they shipped for 3 grand back in
the day of 2001) and then to boot with my Nvidia GeForce card to see the
Aero Candy features like Shake, Peak, Glass, et. al. I had to add a new PSU
(they're very proprietary for Dell so I had to order it out of California
and that was over $100). If you upgrade the RAM, and you could run it with
512 MB but it won't be as fast as more RAM, the RAM for that older Dell is
quite expensive compared to RAM for newer boxes now. Fry's doesn't even
carry it any more, but you could find it on the web. A newer Video card will
cost you a couple hundred bucks plus, and keep in mind you're MOBO on that
Dell prevents you from running PCI Express video cards. I don't know if
you've replaced your hard drive, but after 7.5 years mine finally needed to
be replaced so I bought 2 of them on sale. You aren't going to be able to
run SATA Hard Drives on that Dell--trust me, because I tried. (You're
limited to ATA). Your MoBo will limit you. I tried to setup RAID with a
RAID adapter card, and the RAID splash screen isn't going to come up on that
Dell.

So these are the potential expenses you have. Your HD may never fail, but
that's unlikely. You would need to add the other components. I found it
fun to do; but again there's the cost benefit, and other people might call
fun nuts.

Currently my old Dell runs the latest build of Windows 7 loading web pages
in the ballpark of a duo core, depending though on the amount of graphics
but in general it's just not as fast. I'm not about to add anything else to
it, it's been fun but I'll build a new PC first or wait for the next great
corner turner in hardware.

BTW pay attention to the prices that you can get new notebooks and netbooks
for now, and that NY Times add. That's where Mike Hall was going with the
cost comparison, and most people would go.

Good luck,

CH

"Ant" <> wrote in message
news:...
> Hello.
>
> I have an old Dell Dimension 8250 test PC that I would like to install
> Vista onto. However, it has no DVD drives. I cannot even boot from
> external USB drives (3.5" disk drive, external HDDs, and DVD burner
> drive -- CMOS doesn't see them and found out PC doesn't support bootable
> USB devices).
>
> However, I do have enough HDD space (30 GB free on second partition) to
> copy Vista DVD (or make an ISO file) onto it through network (will take a
> while).
>
> Thank you in advance.
> --
> "Ants can lift up to 50 times their own weight. And your monitor is
> missing. Time to bring out the bugspray." --BBspot's Geek Horoscopes
> (2/28/2003)
> /\___/\
> / /\ /\ \ Phil/Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
> | |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net
> \ _ / Nuke ANT from e-mail address: NT
> ( ) or
> Ant is currently not listening to any songs on his home computer.

On 4/8/2009 8:35 AM PT, Mike Hall - MVP typed:

>> I have an old Dell Dimension 8250 test PC that I would like to install
>> Vista onto. However, it has no DVD drives. I cannot even boot from
>> external USB drives (3.5" disk drive, external HDDs, and DVD burner
>> drive -- CMOS doesn't see them and found out PC doesn't support
>> bootable USB devices).
>>
>> However, I do have enough HDD space (30 GB free on second partition)
>> to copy Vista DVD (or make an ISO file) onto it through network (will
>> take a while).
>
> Vista needs a modern, well specified system. What you are planning is a
> waste of time and money..

Well, it is for basic testings to see of my softwares work correctly.
--
"Yo mama is so poor, I saw her fighting an ant for food." --unknown
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Phil/Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
| |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net
\ _ / Nuke ANT from e-mail address: NT
( ) or
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on his home computer.

Hmm, I'd like to avoid installing any new hardwares for an old PC and I
am only instaling Vista once.


On 4/8/2009 8:44 AM PT, Bob Knowlden typed:

> I'll agree with another poster that installing an internal DVD drive is
> the sensible approach. That, unless you really want to do a lot of
> messing around.
>
> Here's an example:
>
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827129023
>
> (No the cheapest, but it has free shipping at the moment, so it may have
> the lowest net cost.)
>
> support.dell.com gives you the particulars for your system (It's fairly
> easy. You screw a couple of rails to the drive, and then slide/snap it
> in place.)
>
> Dell seems to like having ATAPI drives jumpered as "cable select".
>
> "Ant" <> wrote in message
> news:...
>> Hello.
>>
>> I have an old Dell Dimension 8250 test PC that I would like to install
>> Vista onto. However, it has no DVD drives. I cannot even boot from
>> external USB drives (3.5" disk drive, external HDDs, and DVD burner
>> drive -- CMOS doesn't see them and found out PC doesn't support
>> bootable USB devices).
>>
>> However, I do have enough HDD space (30 GB free on second partition)
>> to copy Vista DVD (or make an ISO file) onto it through network (will
>> take a while).
>>
>> Thank you in advance.
--
"Yo mama is so poor, I saw her fighting an ant for food." --unknown
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Phil/Ant @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
| |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net
\ _ / Nuke ANT from e-mail address: NT
( ) or
Ant is currently not listening to any songs on his home computer.