blah789

I don't know what version of the DOS bootable floppy you're using, but here's something you can try (kind of lengthy)
type dir /p when you boot from the DOS floppy. Do you see the following files
fdisk.exe
sys.com
himem.sys
oakcdrom.sys
mscdex.exe
smartdrv.exe
yes/no for each and maybe list more.

type fdisk and just check how the hard drive is partitioned and report back. (Just want to know how it's partitioned, and what drive letters are in use - I expect it to be one primary partition, C:, FAT32, and full size of hard drive)

If all the above checks out, re-boot from the DOS floppy. Then type
sys c:
That will transfer the files needed to boot from the C: drive (io.sys msdos.sys and command.com). Then type
copy himem.sys c:
that will copy himem.sys to c:. Then type
copy oakcdrom.sys c:
that will copy oakcdrom.sys to c: (that's an ATAPI CD-ROM driver). Then type
copy mscdex.exe c:
that copies mscdex.exe to c:. Then type
copy smartdrv.exe c:

Next is the difficult part. The copy con command requires you type each line correctly (once you hit enter you can't go back and correct the previous line - however you can backspace on the current line). Type
c:
(that will switch you over to the C: drive). Then type
copy con config.sys [enter]
device=himem.sys [enter]
device=oakcdrom.sys /D:mscd001 [enter]
[F6] [enter]
([enter] just means press enter [F6] means press F6 - do not type F, then type 6!)
That should have created config.sys correctly. To check type
type config.sys
and it should print out the contents. If you mistyped, you can type
del config.sys
to delete it, and recreate it again using copy con as mentioned above.

Then type
copy con autoexec.bat [enter]
mscdex.exe /d:mscd001 /l:d [enter]
[F6] [enter]
That should create autoexec.bat. You can verify as before by typing
type autoexec.bat

Explanation:
himem.sys allows DOS to use memory beyond the 1MB barrier. device=oakcdrom.sys loads the ATAPI CD-ROM driver. the /D:mscd001 just gives it a name. instead of mscd001 you could have used anything. mscdex.exe is the program to assign a drive letter to the CD-ROM drive. /d:mscd001 just says which driver from memory (in this case mscd001, but if you'd typed a diff name in config.sys, you have to make sure it matches). then /l:d assigns it the drive letter D: Note: if you have more than one partition (say you have C: D: and E: as partitions for your hard drive), you may want to use a different letter for the CD-ROM drive (in this example F:). I used D: because I assume you only one hard disk partition (C:).

Now take out the floppy disk and reboot. You should be booting from the C: drive without any glitches (it should tell you himem is loading, and the cd-rom drive letter should be assigned).
First thing to do is type
smartdrv
it will tremendously speed things up (smartdrv is a disk caching utility).
Then insert your Windows XP CD and type
D:
that will switch you over to the D: drive. Just to check, type
dir
and you should see a listing of files on the CD-ROM. type
cd i386
then type
cd
just to make sure you're in the D:\I386 directory. I've found in some cases it returns me to D:\! Never knew why. If that's the case, type cd i386 again and it should work. Finally, type
winnt
and the text setup should start. It may take a minute or so before it starts copying files so be patient.

Any glitches, just get back to this thread.