How To Make A Bootable CD

• 1). Download a software application that will help you create your boot disk. One popular option is Nero, a quality disk management utility that is available commercially. Another option is BartPE, software specially designed to create boot disks and other preinstalled environments. BartPE is free, open source software. A link to a download site is included in the Resources section.
  
  
• 2). Put the Windows XP install disk in the computer's drive. This disk should have been included with your purchase of the computer, or you may have purchased the disk to upgrade your operating system from an older Windows. Using the file browser, copy the entire contents of the install disk to an empty folder in your C:/ directory. There should also be an install disk for Service Pack 2. Copy the contents of this disk into a separate folder. If your copy of Windows XP didn't include Service Pack 2 (a service update), then check the Resources section for a link to a download site.
  
  
• 3). Open DOS and navigate to the folder containing the copy of Service Pack 2. Type the name of the installer, followed by the "-s" modifier, and then a path to the folder containing the Windows XP installer. For example, if your XP folder is named "WindowsXP" and located in the C:/ directory, then you would go to the Service Pack folder and type "xpsp2.exe -s:C:/WindowsXP" (without the quotes). This will integrate the Service Pack data into the Windows XP data, allowing you to create a boot disk with both.
  
  
• 4). Launch BartPE (also called PEBuilder). In the "Source" box, enter the directory path to your Windows XP installation data folder. Under "Output", select the destination for your disk data. Under ISO/CD, you can choose to burn the data directly to a disk. Make sure there is a blank CD-ROM in your CD drive before proceeding.
  
  
• 5). Click "Build". PEBuilder may take a while to compile the data into a disk image and burn it to the disk, but when it is finished you will have a copy of a Windows XP Boot CD with Service Pack 2, ready to boot any compatible computer.