I'm trying to load XP on two Dell c400 , no built in cd , just usb . Have two external cd rom , can't get it to read eather. Have a formatted HD , when I turn it , it boots thru the f2 and f12 choises then goes to need a ntldr file and stops . If I hit f12 I get 4 opitions Internal hdd, cardbus NIC, onboard NIC or Diagnostics .What do I need to do?
I know that when you buy an operating system for your computer it is often limited to one machine!
If this is the case you will need someone else to help you since you'll be breaking the law.
I know that Microsoft charges a fee to let's say Dell for each and every computer they want loaded with any new operating system such as Windows!
I also know people that can do this for you but my ethics keep me from helping you in this manner.
Hope this was helpful.
Good Luck!
You can make any usb device boot,Go here and get what you need.
http://www.weethet.nl/english/hardware_bootfromusbstick.php
I have done this many times and it works great.
What is the brand of CD-ROM. Maybe you need to download extra drivers for this CD. Can you see it on My computer. Does it reports
foun new hardware etc when tou connect them. If not you probably need extra drivers for those CD
Good Luck
USB is a non-bootable
source. No way can you boot this way.
New computers
Thankfully, computers that have been manufactured
in the last few years will allow you to enter the CMOS by pressing
one of the below five keys during the
boot. Usually it's one of the
first three.
A user will know when to press this key when they
see a message similar to the below example as the computer is
booting. Some older computers may also display a flashing block
to indicate when to press the F1 or F2 keys.
Press <F2> to enter BIOS setup
Tip: If your computer is a new computer
and you are unsure of what key to press when the computer is
booting, try pressing and holding one or more keys the keyboard. This
will cause a stuck key error, which may allow you to enter the
BIOS setup.
Older computers
Unlike the computers of today, older computers
had numerous different methods of entering the BIOS setup. Below
is a listing of general key sequences that may have had to be
pressed as the computer was booting.
ACER BIOS
If your computer is unable to boot or you wish
to restore the BIOS back to bootable settings and your computer
uses an ACER BIOS, press and hold the F10 key as you turn on the
computer. While continuing to hold the F10 key, you should hear
two beeps indicating that the settings have been restored.
AMI BIOS
Older AMI BIOS could be restored back to
bootable settings by pressing and holding the
Insert
key as the computer is booting.
BIOS / CMOS diskettes
Early 486, 386, and 286 computers may have
required a floppy disk in order to enter the BIOS setup. These
diskettes are known as ICU, BBU, and SCU disks. Because these
diskettes are unique to your computer manufacturer, you must
obtain the diskettes from them. See our support
list for contact information on computer manufacturers.
I FIND ALL MY INFORMATIN AT WWW.COMPUTERHOPE.COM This site is always a lifesaver and has anything and everything you will need
Actually there is a way to boot from usb after further investigating. Here is where I found that information:
http://www.weethet.nl/english/hardware_b...
Clone Your Computer on a USB Drive - Why Carry That Heavy Laptop
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If
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personal pictures and other multimedia files.
Perfect. Now imagine a situation where you have all required
data on the USB drive but the computer you are currently working on
(say in the cyber café or a friend’s place) doesn’t have the necessary
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That computer neither has Microsoft Office for creating
PowerPoint presentations or Excel sheets, nor Photoshop and AutoCAD for
you to edit those important CAD drawings. Even the media player is
missing so you cannot watch your personal video and music collection
that you have been carrying in the pocket.
What if you could carry all your favorite software applications
(and their settings), Office files, emails and everything else with you
on a portable drive? You just plug-in that drive into the USB port of
any computer and start working as if that was your own PC.
Well, your dreams can come true with Mojopac from Ringcube - an
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computing environment onto any USB Drive. And if you have an iPod or a
USB based cell phone or Digital Camera, Mojopac will work just fine so
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To get started, you connect the USB drive to the main computer
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Once you are done, eject the USB drive and plug into any
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USB drive. Mojopac will also save your application settings and
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Mojopac uses the resources of the host computer but runs
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you eject the USB device out of the friend’s computer, there are no
traces left – not even your web browsing history. Nothing less than
magic.
×
Just Remove The Hard Drive From It And Put It In Your Pc. Remove All The Drives From The Comp Your On Now And Plop In The Hard Drive You Wanna Redo And Install The Disk. Is This Not An Option?
Hey Man Just Fallow This Step By Step Guide To Redo Your Operating System Through The Usb. Click Here
It Works On Most Laptops
Thanks For Using Fixya.com
Sincerely,
Michael Scott
×
Go floppy:
make a floppy boot disk on the win98 machine
use that with the dell (hope it loads a usb cd rom driver and gives you the option to install from it)
I just had this same problem with a Dell Laptop. The problem was SP2 being incompatible udma6 mode of the CD-ROM. I was able to get around it by going into bios and disabling all unecessary hardware until instalation was done. If you can get XP with SP1 or SP3 you shouldnt even need to mess with the bios. Other alternative would be a different CD-Rom.
So many solutions here i haven't been able to read them all....boot up your computer while tapping F1 or the del key... some are different but you should see the choice as you boot.. too fast just hit the "pause" key
Once in setup go to boot
Chose your usb device and move it up or down the menu with the + or -...
Once the usb drive is first .. hit f10 and save and exit
should be good to go now
Robert
You have go to BIOS first, make sure that initial bootable device that the PC will ssek would be your external CD-ROM (USB) peripheral.
After you save the changes made to BIOS, this way you should be prompte to press any key to boot from CD.
Thanks.
Configure a Dell Computer to Boot to the CD or DVD
Article Summary:
This article provides instructions on starting a Dell™ computer by booting to a CD or DVD instead of the operating system by using the One-Time Boot Menu. In the event the computer does not have a One-Time Boot Menu, instructions are provided how to change the boot order in the BIOS to boot to a CD or DVD.
With the computer powered on, insert a bootable CD into the CD or DVD drive.
Restart the computer.
Press
Select the appropriate response to continue.
Option 
The One-Time Boot Menu appeared when 
Press the
Press
Your computer will now boot to the CD in the drive.
×
U have to do this press f10 during the booting booting proess its will ask u which divce u have to boot from then u have to gave usb cd/ dvd rom then u can boot from it
Have you thought about networking it to a desktop using the floppy and cdrom? I'm just guessing at this point because i haven't got to try it yet.
networking is where your connecting two computers together sharing from one computer to another. Which in turn if done right in my mind you should be able to use the cdrom from the shared computer to download xp on your laptop. Another way is to buy and install a cdrom to your laptop its easy and all the drivers you need will be on the xp disk. there are slides on the bottom of your laptop to take the battery out on the other side it has a slide that takes out a blank piece that allows you to add a cdrom.It as easy as changing batteries.
By the way its pretty cheap to get one at tigerdirect.com
Forgive me for my last post i didn't know you couldn't put internal cdrom in c400
×
Hi srw45,
I am familiar with the Dell C400 and to my knowledge the floppy drive
is not built in either and you cannot put an internal CD drive in
it. Also, as it has been mentioned you cannot boot from a USB device which is true.
Your only decent option is to remove the Hard Drive from the C400 (there are
only a couple of small screws on the bottom of the laptop where the
hard drive is located, once removed the hard drive slides right out)
and install it within another computer that has a CD/DVD rom.
To avoid any conflict or loss of files on the computer used to install Windows remove its Hard Drive first before installing the C400 hard drive and setup Windows XP as usual.
When the installation of Windows is completed, return the hard drive to the laptop and have Windows find and install the drivers needed for the C400 hardware.
Good Luck,
Jordan
Hi, srw45,
Yet another tech, HERE, are the drivers for the C400 Dell your using. This page is for the XP drivers, but you can look for the 98 if that's what your loading.
Good Luck
Mark
Dont INSTALL FROM CD Transfer into C:/ Drive from External Drives, Then Install it Internaly from Inside PC off the C:/
Hi, you do not continue trying bootear of a unit of CD external usb, since the BIOS of this equipment does not support it, the firmware was not designed for this specific end I recommend to you to look for a unit of internal CD-DVD and to install it of this form, Good Luck.
The only way to do this is to pull the hard drive, and install windows on a computer that has a cd rom drive. Install windows on the other machine/pc and do not install any additional drivers.
install the ethernet driver if needed and run all the windows update.
Download all the drivers from dells website for the dell c400
Once the drivers are all unzipped, note down all the paths it unzipped from to a text file.
example: "c:\dell\drivers\audio"
example: "c:\dell\drivers\audio\XP"
example: "c:\dell\drivers\chipset"
example: "c:\dell\drivers\chipset\something..."
make sure to get them all and do not include the ""
once you have all that information in a text file, sepeate each path of driver with a ";" and arrange it so there all on one line.
example: c:\dell\drivers\audio;c:\dell\drivers\audio\XP;c:\dell\drivers\chipset;c:\dell\drivers\chipset\something
again make sure to not include the ""'s....
now copy the entire line
go to start | run | regedit
browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
modify the DevicePath by double clicking
do not delete anything that is in there, instead add a ; to the end and paste the rest
this will point out all the folders and sub folders for all the dell C400 drivers
go to microsofts website and download the latest version of sysprep
run sysprep and leave all the default settings just to make it simple
make sure to choose mini setup and shut down check boxes
once complete the computer will strip any unique sids and create an image for deployment.
you can then pop in the drive to the dell c400 and let it self install xp with all the drivers you have preloaded and all the windows updates installed without the cdrom or floppy drive, this is the best free solution to do this.
below are some links to help you out.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc731664.aspx
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb457073.aspx
or taking it to the proper hardware/software service engineer is the last option.as what you required can be done but it requires proper software to be loaded.it is possible by a professional technician at your place onsite to be done exactly.
You can install the operating system or your hard drive by connecting it to a PC but you will need a laptop hard drive to IDE converter. as well as this http://www.syschat.com/download60.html.
Install DOS on the hard drive then once then move the windows XP files from the CD. Remember the directory of the setup file once you put it on the hard drive. Boot the laptop and type C: and press enter. Once you have done that type in the directory for the setup file it will be something like C:WinXPSetup.exe and the setup will run and install the operating system on your laptop.
This is a lengthy process but it does WORK
Remove the HD of the C400. Connect it to a 2.5IDE to USB adapter. Connect to USB port of a Windows98 machine that can recognize USB drives. Do an Fdisk, repartition, make Active. Format HD to FAT 32, perform an sys on that HD, Create temporary folder C:\Install. Copy entire CD of Win98SE installer as a folder C:\Install\Win98SE. Copy entire CD of WinXP installer C:\Install\WinXP. Remove HD, install back in C400. It will now be bootable to DOS. CD to C:\Install\Win98SE, type setup to instal Windows98. Soon has 98 is fully installed, upgrade to XP in the C:\Install\WinXP.
Hope this helps.
You obviously need a floppy or CD to install BOOTitNG. You won't be able to remove the laptop HDD and connect to another computer to install XP, but you SHOULD be able to do it with BOOTitNG. Once it's installed on the HDD, then place the HDD back in the laptop and give it a try. I've never install BOOTit this way so I can't promise you it will work... but it's an option.
Dells usually have a hidden partition on the hard drive with an Image of the original Operating System. Go to the web site below to check their recovery procedures.
http://www.goodells.net/dellrestore...
This 'might' work: When you start your computer, hold down the CTRL key and press F11 to access the system recovery wizard.
See if the external CD drive shows up in the “One time boot
menu”. Power on the laptop and tap the
boot menu.
Your responses are intended to improve the level of service provided. Please rate your experience.
I’m not sure that I understand what you mean. Let me do a short recap:
1) You want to reinstall Windows XP on your Dell Latitude C400
2) The laptop does not have an internal CD drive.
3) In the BIOS, (Setup menu
4) With an external CD drive plugged into a USB port, you selected the “One time boot menu” by tapping the
5) The “One time boot menu” does not have an option to boot from external CD/DVD drive.
Did this laptop have Windows XP loaded on it before?
Is the “Windows XP disk” that you are trying to load a CD or DVD?
You’re probably correct about the laptop not supporting 2.0
USB interface. Since your laptop BIOS has the option to boot from CD,
can you remove the floppy drive, (if you have one) and install a CD
drive in place of floppy? If so, I’m sure you could find a CD drive for
this model on the internet.
Your responses are intended to improve the level of service provided. Please rate your experience.
The only way to do this is to pull the hard drive, and install windows
on a computer that has a cd rom drive. Install windows on the other
(laptop) and do not install any additional drivers.
install the ethernet driver if needed and run all the windows update.
Download all the drivers from dells website for the dell c400
Once the drivers are all unzipped, note down all the paths it unzipped from to a text file.
example: "c:\dell\drivers\audio"
example: "c:\dell\drivers\audio\XP"
example: "c:\dell\drivers\chipset"
example: "c:\dell\drivers\chipset\something..."
make sure to get them all and do not include the ""
once you have all that information in a text file, sepeate each path of
driver with a ";" and arrange it so there all on one line.
example: c:\dell\drivers\audio;c:\dell\drivers\audio\XP;c:\dell\drivers\chipset;c:\dell\drivers\chipset\something
again make sure to not include the ""'s....
now copy the entire line
go to start | run | regedit
browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
modify the DevicePath by double clicking
do not delete anything that is in there, instead add a ; to the end and paste the rest
this will point out all the folders and sub folders for all the dell C400 drivers
go to microsofts website and download the latest version of sysprep
run sysprep and leave all the default settings just to make it simple
make sure to choose mini setup and shut down check boxes
once complete the computer will strip any unique sids and create an image for deployment.
you can then pop in the drive to the dell c400 and let it self install
xp with all the drivers you have preloaded and all the windows updates
installed without the cdrom or floppy drive, this is the best free
solution to do this.
below are some links to help you out.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/libra...
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/libra...
Good luck.
×
That means you did not load properly OS on your HDD.
Just reinstall fresh OS on it.
just take out your HDD and put on another PC which has cd/dvd WR+- and once you load your OS then put back in Lapto.
Thank you
Follow this .. Step 1: set the first bootable device to usb device (cd/dvd rom) in bios and hard drive to second boot drive. Step 2: Insert the windows xp or vista installation cd/dvd in rom and restart the computer , Step 3: It will ask "Press any key to boot from cd or dvd" so click on any key on keyboard and install the fresh copy of windows..
Hi , To boot the device first either CD or USB if capable , you need to follow the below steps.
1.Dell Latitude C400 XP Windows Recovery CD Restore Disk is with you i believe.
2.Reboot the system and hold the keyF12 it stops and ask which method to selec so you select the USB CD Rom drive.
if you
want you might wat to run the diags. just to make sure you do not have
a bad harddrive. you can do that when the system is off and holding the
FN key and pressing the power button and once the system starts to boot
you can let it go.
Hi ,
Take out the harddisk connect to another PC . Copy windows XP folder to a d drive. Boot the pc and in command prompt type format c:/s abd enter , It will format the c drive and boot to dos mode. type d:\ and go to the folder where windows xp and run setup . this is one way you can have windows XP on to Your system.
×
I know this may seem long but you can convert Ultimate Boot CD to floppy and through this guide: http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/convert.html
Then using UBCD off the floppy it has the drivers to enable you to boot off the external cd drives so you can install XP also the NTLDR solution can be found here:http://www.bestpricecomputers.ltd.uk/freehelp/ntldr_missing.htm
Shawn
Hi, make a NTLDR boot disk to get back into Windows. Copy and paste this link to your address bar to go directly to this webpage :
http://www.tinyempire.com/notes/ntldrismissing.htm
Just follow the ff. steps given correctly. I have already done this and fixed mine. You can use floppy/cd-r/usb to do this. I used usb at that time.
If you have a boot disk laying around start up with that then you will have drivers, If your hard drive already has windows on it you should be able to read a usb hard drive to install.
Make first boot device as usb device
and change the hard disk type to ACHI if available...
Check and make sure that it has not been formatted to FAT or FAT32.
Upgrade the bios
and then
this
http://support.us.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?c=mx&l=es&s=gen&releaseid=R32799&formatcnt=1&libid=0&fileid=36074
where you find all driver
Sergio
C400 Bios do not have the boot from USB device option.
you have the following choices:
1 buy this adapter and load system setup and boot files onto laptop hard disk fitting laptop HD onto a desktop.
2 Your BIOS supports PXE so you can set up a RIS server to do a network setup, see :
How to deploy Microsoft Windows Preinstallation Environment from
Setting up PXE and RIS - Tech Support Forum
Windows Server - Install Configure Microsoft RIS
I can see you are rtefusing all solutions, well what I told you is the truth , on a C400 you either pull out the HD and put installation files inside, or do a network installation. Those little dell are quite common over here.
Only alternative is buying an external CD drive: Memorex Ultra Speed CD Recorder That is detected by BIOS as atapi cd unit and works on C400.
I will post again original comment:
C400 Bios do not have the boot from USB device option.
you have the following choices:
1 buy this adapter and load system setup and boot files onto laptop hard disk fitting laptop HD onto a desktop.
2 Your BIOS supports PXE so you can set up a RIS server to do a network setup, see :
How to deploy Microsoft Windows Preinstallation Environment from
Setting up PXE and RIS - Tech Support Forum
Windows Server - Install Configure Microsoft RIS
I still wonder why you did refuse the solution, that is what we do in a workshop on C400 (method 1, it is faster).
If you already copied the XP installation files onto hard disk, start the computer with a boot floppy, then locate setup.exe on C:\ and run it.
See:
How to obtain Windows XP Setup disks for a floppy boot
How to create a bootable floppy disk
Download details: Windows XP Professional Utility: Setup Disk
×
Hi there
Its obvious to me that the laptop was a business laptop thus no built in CD/DVD rom. You can get it to boot from a server and install Windows that way. If not, find someone with the same model laptop as yours that has a built in CD/DVD rom, put you hard drive into that machine, install windows but not any drivers, take it out and put it into your laptop and the operating system should boot up. Then you can proceed to install the drivers and chipset.
Good luck
Hi again
There is now way you going to get windows installed without using the ways described by us, either install on another machine, clone another HDD or by PXE (server)
The only other way is to purchase a CD/DVD rom for that laptop model and install the normal way.
All the advice given by us is good advice, its up to you which advice will be the easier for yourself. Other than that take them to reputable PC shop and have them do the install for you, it will cost however
Good luck
hi there
NTLDR means that the boot loader is corrupt or missing, if you copied XP from another machine the bios version is different from the version in your laptop and the boot loader will not load up. Get a XP cd and copy the below two files to the root
directory of the primary hard disk
\i386\ntldr, i386\ntdetect.com.
This is not an easy thing to do so good luck with it
×
Hi and welcome to FixYa,
If there is a 3rd Dell C400, you can clone the HDs. You would need a 2.5 IDE/SATA to USB adapter and a cloning software something like Acronis True Image.
Check and perform preliminary visual or necessary inspection. Pls post back result(s). Good luck and Thank you for using FixYa.
Appreciate the update(s).
While "NTLDR missing" is normally associated with corrupt files in the hard drive, may I suggest an alternative manner of addressing this issue?
Check, clean, replace the memory of the C400 that exhibits the "NTLDR missing"when booting. Additionally, you may want to make sure that the CMOS/BIOS is set to default, saved and exit.
Cheers.
Sorry but you can't.
The HD per se can not be networked. It would need a working PC to be attached to. As initially proposed, use a 2.5 IDE/SATA to USB adapter.
Hi again,
Any updates or developments so far?
×
Http://www.defectivekit.net/2007/02/guide-install-windows-without-cd-rom-or.html
just click the link and follow the instructions care fully with details.
The only way to do this is to pull the hard drive, and install windows on a computer that has a cd rom drive. Install windows on the other (pc or laptop) and do not install any additional drivers.
install the ethernet driver if needed and run all the windows update.
Download all the drivers from dells website for the dell c400
Once the drivers are all unzipped, note down all the paths it unzipped from to a text file.
example: "c:\dell\drivers\audio"
example: "c:\dell\drivers\audio\XP"
example: "c:\dell\drivers\chipset"
example: "c:\dell\drivers\chipset\something..."
make sure to get them all and do not include the ""
once you have all that information in a text file, sepeate each path of driver with a ";" and arrange it so there all on one line.
example: c:\dell\drivers\audio;c:\dell\drivers\audio\XP;c:\dell\drivers\chipset;c:\dell\drivers\chipset\something
again make sure to not include the ""'s....
now copy the entire line
go to start | run | regedit
browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
modify the DevicePath by double clicking
do not delete anything that is in there, instead add a ; to the end and paste the rest
this will point out all the folders and sub folders for all the dell C400 drivers
go to microsofts website and download the latest version of sysprep
run sysprep and leave all the default settings just to make it simple
make sure to choose mini setup and shut down check boxes
once complete the computer will strip any unique sids and create an image for deployment.
you can then pop in the drive to the dell c400 and let it self install xp with all the drivers you have preloaded and all the windows updates installed without the cdrom or floppy drive, this is the best free solution to do this.
below are some links to help you out.
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/libra...
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/libra...
×
Dear,
U have to hit the key for BIOS setup.
in bios setup u have to enable "boot from usb" . by using this, u will be able to access the usb devices in dos mode.
check it by the way.
regards,
dont rate it until u satisfies
USB interface cant be used for OS installation. You have to have the setup as a Optic disc data or in HDD. Try removing your HDD , use an external USB case and put it in another system and copy XP setup files in it.
Now boot the system in command prompt and try running the setup.
To install Windows XP (or 2000) on a system with no working CD-ROM or floppy. The first thing you are going to want to do is make a bootable floppy with Windows . On this floppy, you need to format it so that it's system bootable. If you go tohttp://www.bootdisk.com, you can download various bootdisk's from various Windows OS'.
2) So you have your floppy that is bootable now. Using the windows CD, you need to extract some files from the cabinet files on the CD (.cab files). Using the extract command in the CD, you need to extract the following files and put them on the bootable floppy. "himem.sys", "smartdrv.exe" "format.com" "fdisk.exe".
3) Next you will need to write an 'autoexec.bat' and 'config.sys' for the floppy. This will be relativily easy. With the floppy still in the drive, open notepad (or whatever editor you want) and write this in...
device=himem.sys
Then you can save it as 'a:\config.sys'.
After you save your config.sys file to the floppy, next you want to write an 'autoexec.bat' file for the floppy. Open notepad again and write this in...
smartdrv.exe
...then save it as 'a:\autoexec.bat'.
Your floppy is locked and loaded. It's ready to prep your hard drive for installation.
4) You will need to take the hard drive that you want to install Windows to and install it to your working XP system. When you do this, you will need to boot to the floppy disk that you created. At the DOS prompt type in...
'a:\fdisk.exe'
In FDISK, you will need to partition the hard drive and prep it so you can format it with FAT32.
MAKE SURE THAT YOU DO NOT PARTITION THE WRONG HARD DRIVE! IT WOULD **** IF YOU PARTITIONED YOUR MAIN DRIVE AND LOST YOUR DATA!
When the disk is partitioned, get out of fdisk. You will have to reboot. Go ahead and boot back into the floppy disk.
5) Now you're ready to format the hard drive. Let's check to make sure you can access the drive. At the prompt, type in 'dir C:'. You should see a message stating that the media is 'invalid'. At this point, you know you are ready to format it. Type in...
'a:\format c: /s'
It will take some time but when it's finished, it should say 'system transfered'. This message indicates that your hard drive is now bootable.
While you are in the bios (del key during POST) be sure the USB ports are set to ENABLED.
Then you need to set the boot priority to USB1, USB2, HDD0, etc.
Check boot function of BIOS, find anything that said boot from USB or external CD drive first
if the bios function does not support booting from usb or external cd drive then
pull the hard drive, and install windows xp on a computer that has a cd rom drive. Install windows on the other (laptop) and do not install any additional drivers.
install the ethernet driver if needed and run all the windows update.
Download all the drivers from dells website for the dell c400
Once the drivers are all unzipped, note down all the paths it unzipped from to a text file.
example: "c:\dell\drivers\audio"
example: "c:\dell\drivers\audio\XP"
example: "c:\dell\drivers\chipset"
example: "c:\dell\drivers\chipset\something..."
make sure to get them all and do not include the ""
once you have all that information in a text file, sepeate each path of driver with a ";" and arrange it so there all on one line.
example: c:\dell\drivers\audio;c:\dell\drivers\audio\XP;c:\dell\drivers\chipset;c:\dell\drivers\chipset\something
again make sure to not include the ""'s....
now copy the entire line
go to start | run | regedit
browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
modify the DevicePath by double clicking
do not delete anything that is in there, instead add a ; to the end and paste the rest
this will point out all the folders and sub folders for all the dell C400 drivers
go to microsofts website and download the latest version of sysprep
run sysprep and leave all the default settings just to make it simple
make sure to choose mini setup and shut down check boxes
once complete the computer will strip any unique sids and create an image for deployment.
you can then pop in the drive to the dell c400 and let it self install xp with all the drivers you have preloaded and all the windows updates installed without the cdrom or floppy drive, .hope this will help you
try out my second option above i think that will help you
what happens is that When it starts, the BIOS attempts to find the primary hard drive's active partition to read the first sector for the MBR (Master Boot Record), it uses that info to load the rest of the OS. For Windows XP the MBR is pointed to the NTLDR (New Technology Loader) and it takes it from there. If you get the "NTLDR missing, error press any key to restart" what's most likely going on is the BIOS either didn't look for the right drive, didn't find the right partition, it wasn't active, didn't find the MBR, or the MBR didn't list NTLDR in the right place, the location of NTLDR changed, or you are looking at a hardware failure situation (memory/cables/drive/motherboard/etc)
Have you checked your Cmos/Bios settings and are they correct to boot from USB ? Because you have reached to "NTLDR missing" error. The BIOS configuration tells the computer how to use a drive so incorrect settings can cause problems, including NTLDR errors
NTLDR problems after an install like that usually result from the following...
1) Bad HDD
2) Bad IDE Cable / Hookup
3) Improper installation (reinstall again)
Items you'll need...
-Windows 98 or equivilant CD
- A floppy bootable with Windows 98 (you can get one at bootdisk.com)
- A seperate system with Windows XP (that has a CD-ROM and floppy)
- Working knowledge of Windows and some DOS (including fdisk)
- Adapter to convert the laptop 2.5 inch to a 5.25 inch IDE Adapter
1) So you're ready to install Windows XP (or 2000) on a system with no working CD-ROM or floppy. The first thing you are going to want to do is make a bootable floppy with Windows 98. On this floppy, you need to format it so that it's system bootable. If you go to http://www.bootdisk.com, you can download various bootdisk's from various Windows OS'.
2) So you have your floppy that is bootable now. Using the windows 98 CD, you need to extract some files from the cabinet files on the CD (.cab files). Using the extract command in the CD, you need to extract the following files and put them on the bootable floppy. "himem.sys", "smartdrv.exe" "format.com" "fdisk.exe". 
3) Next you will need to write an 'autoexec.bat' and 'config.sys' for the floppy. This will be relativily easy. With the floppy still in the drive, open notepad (or whatever editor you want) and write this in...
device=himem.sys
Then you can save it as 'a:\config.sys'.
After you save your config.sys file to the floppy, next you want to write an 'autoexec.bat' file for the floppy. Open notepad again and write this in...
smartdrv.exe
...then save it as 'a:\autoexec.bat'.
Your floppy is locked and loaded. It's ready to prep your hard drive for installation.
4) You will need to take the hard drive that you want to install Windows to and install it to your working XP system. When you do this, you will need to boot to the floppy disk that you created. At the DOS prompt type in...
'a:\fdisk.exe'
In FDISK, you will need to partition the hard drive and prep it so you can format it with FAT32.
MAKE SURE THAT YOU DO NOT PARTITION THE WRONG HARD DRIVE! IT WOULD **** IF YOU PARTITIONED YOUR MAIN DRIVE AND LOST YOUR DATA!
When the disk is partitioned, get out of fdisk. You will have to reboot. Go ahead and boot back into the floppy disk.
5) Now you're ready to format the hard drive. Let's check to make sure you can access the drive. At the prompt, type in 'dir C:'. You should see a message stating that the media is 'invalid'. At this point, you know you are ready to format it. Type in...
'a:\format c: /s'
It will take some time but when it's finished, it should say 'system transfered'. This message indicates that your hard drive is now bootable.
If you receive an "Invalid drive specification" at any point, then the drive was either...
a) not partitioned correctly or
b) the drive is not hooked up.
Next type in the prompt...
'copy a:\*.* c:\'
It will ask if you want to copy over the command.com and a few other system files. Just say no to everything it asks. Everything else will copy over.
6) Next you need to remove the floppy from the drive, and reboot the computer back into Windows with the drive attached as a secondary drive. When you boot into windows, you should see the attached drive (drive D or something equivilant) Create a folder in this drive called 'WinXP'. Next you want to put in the Windows XP disk into the CD-ROM. Copy the complete contents of the CD into the 'WinXP' folder you just created.
7) After the Windows XP CD contents are copied over, turn off the computer and remove the drive. Put the drive back into the system that you need to install Windows and boot it up. The system should automatically boot into a DOS prompt. Type in...
'c:\WINXP\I386\WINNT.EXE'.
The next window you will see is Windows asking for the directory of the Install files. It should say
'C:\WINXP\I386'. Continue the installation and you are set.
hope this will solve your problem
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Go into BIOS setup (F2) and look for an option dealing with Boot Sequence.
Move USB Device to the top of the list. Save and Exit.
Either get the internal CD and swap it back and forth to each laptop to boot from the cd and install it. Another option is to make your flash drive bootable and boot from that. This would also require having an image on it with the OS. Norton's Ghost is terrific for creating images.
Sorry but you can't use a USB cd drive to install windows, it will be very complex todo it from a usb cd drive, you would need to start basic Dos with usb drivers from a floppy.
you could take the hard drive out from the laptop and use a adapter to connect it to your computer and copy the windows setup files to it and install from the hard drive, that also is not simple.
this is a quite complex problem you got there, what where you planing todo do you have a floppy or should we install from the hard drive?
since the floppy drive is not internal either. The only option you have is to remove the hard drive, plug it into your desktop computer, get your windows cd. copy the contents to a folder on the hard drive, you will also need to install dos to the drive, so you can start dos and begin the windows installation on the laptop there.
you will need a adapter for the hard drive. they don't cost much and are available on ebay, debending on what the connector on the hard drive is.
if the hard drive is sata you can plug it directly to you desktop pc asuming you have sata connectors on the motherboard.
if the hard drive is ide you will need a 2.5" hdd adapter to connect it to the normal bigger ide connector on the desktop computer.
copy the contents of the installation cd into the hard drive, .\windowssetup\ folder for example.
you can get a copy of dos from www.bootdisk.com you will need to install a basic dos startup on the hard drive, so you can start the drive, and enter dos, to begin the setup, enter the windowssetup folder, then i386 folder and run the exe file, winnt.exe if I remember right, that will start the windows setup from your hard drive.
thats basicly it.
set your bios, boot order so it starts from a USB DRIVE
Read here how to get dos into your USB DRIVE
http://www.bootdisk.com/pendrive.htm
make sure the hard drive is in FAT32 FORMAT, if you have NTFS you wont be able to open the drive without NTFS drivers.
I would suggest you accept my solution so we can communicate better, I can solve this problem with you.
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If there is a problem with a USB device, first try unplugging and plugging in the device. If that does not fix the problem, you can use Device Manager to locate and troubleshoot the problem. For more information about Device Manager, see Device Manager, also go to Control Panel option of start menu and selet printers and other devices, click this, then click add hardware and follow the on screen instructions.
leecom72's solution is correect, the USB drivers are part of the windows program, kind of a catch 22, u will most likely rate this thanks for trying but still leecom72's solution is correct.
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The One-Time Boot Menu appeared when <F12> was pressed.
I have a cd that fit into the cardbus slot and a floppy that fit in the usb how do I get this thing to read the usb on boot
I do have norton
In bios there is no opition for usb in boot
Dose same brand laptop that I put the HD in to load windows?
I have copied xp to the hd but it still wants this NTLDR how dose this enter in ?
I want to thank all who have gave their fixes, I 'm working on them
I'm have great deal of trouble, I have tried a number of the fixes with no luck. I didn't think I was this out touch with this. The missing cd or floppy is really kicking my ****. If I could get the usb to read something I'd be happy.
Some of the fixes call for me to have 98 on another PC,so I set one up. I had a main 98 disk but no I can't find drivers for the Dell I'm using. This sure is be coming a bigger task than I had planed. Again I can't thank you all enough.
To all that have tried to get me thru this reload thing ,I say thank you. I have a great deal to learn about working with computers, you all have made good ,and I'm sure workable. I have try doing a number of these with no luck. It won't beat me, I will continue try. If I load windows to the HD in a dell D600, with no drivers and then put the HD in my c400 woukld it read the drive?
I picked up a docking station today , tried using the dock and the usb ports but they to didn't read.
How do I network XP to the HD I have norton ghost program
After trying almost all of what you great people told me to try, I found that a funny little cable from ebay and an old cd from a d600 I got the job done. There is a diff looking connector on the left side of the pc and with a cable in ,it add itself to the boot list (f12).I truly want to thank everyone for their help, thank you
A lot of smart people log in here , I was bless to meet just a small few of them. Thanks to all!
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