Installing Windows XP Profession onto an SD Card

[Mojo]

I'm helping my dentist upgrade his office a bit. His computers are ancient and he has no redundancy. His workstations are in disrepair and I think he should replace them. Ideally, I think he should use something like this. The OS is restricted to Windows XP Professional due to the dental software he uses. I have never installed Windows onto a Flash drive or SD card, I was wondering if people here had any experience. Technically it's not supposed to be allowed by Windows XP, but I've seen testimonials of people doing it, so I know it's possible at least. Additionally, he has some Windows XP keys for his old Dells, I was wondering if you can use them for any old computer (I've read it's possible if you modify some files on the XP disc into thinking it's a dell computer, but really I'm not saavy enough to know for sure.)

THanks

[Tajin]

Do not use Sd cards, use usb flash drives instead. SD is usually problematic to boot from on ancient hardware. You'll have an easier time downloading xp with sp3 on it and burning a cd.

Otherwise google "boot xp from usb" works. There's a few programs that will make your flash drive bootable.

[Mojo]

I just noticed that those workstations come with a free 60 GB SSD hard drive, so I'll probably go with that. Ultimately though, I'm still left with a Windows problem. I don't want to give him a pirated OS. I want him to use the versions he paid for. I'm not sure though, if those versions are restricted to Dell, since that was the distribution channel they came through.

[Tajin]

Did you try the original disks and the keys then?

[Mojo]

I haven't tried anything. Haven't ordered any new equipment yet, but I've read Dell versions of windows won't install to non Dell PCs. I have no experience in this matter though.

[Avanarius]

The purple/red windows xp sp1 disk I have from dell (circa 2001) works on any computer and doesn't even ask for a cd key.

[Niya]

For XP is highly depends... Some Dell discs might be restricted, others not. Best example: the cheap PCs my boss ordered from a certain company (fully legal) came with OEM XP copies that were Dell branded. They probably got a batch of those licenses from Dell when they started switching to Vista/7.
And btw, the restricted discs/licenses often work through certificates that are embeded in the mainboard firmware/BIOS. The key itself is a volume key that checks for the certificate and when it is present the license gets activated without ever contacting Microsoft. There might be ways to get around this, but they are tricky and not always work.

There is no way of knowing wether those XP keys are restricted or not without trying on a non-Dell PC...

[hey]

I'm not sure though, if those versions are restricted to Dell, since that was the distribution channel they came through.

Even if it installs, it's probably illegal. The license is most likely only valid for that one specific computer, even if the key works fine for others.

[Kohan]

I don't want to give him a pirated OS. I want him to use the versions he paid for.

He already used them. Utilizing those keys again, and on separate systems, will be considered illegal. Either he purchases XP anew, or you're going the pirate's route.

There is no ambiguity in this matter. Besides the fact that I've personally gone through enough Microsoft-related schooling to be a Microsoft Certified Trainer, you can Google and research the legality of reusing keys, if you'd like.

In fact, if you're passing yourself off as a tech, I really hope you're going to research what you're doing and do a damn fine job of it, as you can easily be sued if you fuck up a dentist's office with half-ass work. Don't do anything you aren't absolutely sure of, or you'll set yourself up to be fucked.

[Ratatapa]

XP is the hardest OS to install imo

Because if i remember correctly imagine if the CD key he has is for a non SP1 Windows XP, if you try to install XP with a SP3 CD the key won't work


that is iirc

[rezn0r]

It may be more work than you were hoping for but get a copy of the dental software that is "restricting" him to XP, set up Virtual XP on a (non dental office) Win7 pc, install the dental software onto the VM. If it runs correctly there's your best solution. You can then run programs installed in Virtual XP straight from Win7's start menu, and if it runs ok the users would probably never know the difference. If you haven't used Virtual PC, just like with VMware the machines can be added to a domain, connect to network resources, etc. (in case the software in question needs all this). I've done this at my full time job for some scanned document viewing software that won't install to Win7 x64, and also to a friend's company who used some ancient oil pricing software. Both work fine after tweaking. It might sound like a bit more work, but trying to buy new workstations to run XP is going to take longer and be more work in the long run, in my opinion. And the last of official XP support is going away in 2014.

[Mojo]

I've actually discovered he has a newer edition of the software that can be installed to Windows 7, which is what I'm aiming to do at this point. The software comes with the main suite (Dentrix) and then a module (DentrixImage) that is used as the liaison between his imaging hardware (xrays etc.) and the main suite. The problem is the imaging software uses MSDE (ancient relational database management system) to correlate patient information and patient images. I won't be able to get their server working on anything newer than Windows Server 2003. As far as I can tell, the new software package my dentist purchased does not seem to include a new version of the imaging software. This is further complicated by the complete lack of documentation for this. I don't even know if his new edition of the software is even compatible with his old imaging software. I called the company that releases the software. They want $130 per call and $30/15 minutes to talk to them. I'm reluctant to even do so because from my experience in the industry, they aren't going to be useful, they'll probably just be really adamant about getting him to get on a service plan or something like that (mo money etc.) Ultimately though it will just come down to some trial and error on my part at this point.

[rezn0r]

our main manufacturing database software's vendor is pretty much the exact same way, and my boss stopped paying the yearly maintenance fee 2 years ago, so i hear that. its server is also locked to 2k3 x86 for now, with no support. good luck with everything!