How to Install Mini Windows XP

By Marshal M. Rosenthal

Updated February 10, 2017

i Photodisc/Photodisc/Getty Images

Netbooks equipped with minimal memory and hard-drive storage require a stripped-down version of the Windows operating system to operate efficiently. The Mini Windows XP program provides a netbook with a version of the Windows operating system that does not take up much space. The installation procedure is straightforward and does not require any special programming abilities, but you must have an original copy of Windows XP on the netbook to use the stripped-down version.

Download a DVD-burning program to the desktop, for example, the free ImgBurn program. Double-click the file once downloaded to install it on the hard drive. Restart the PC once the installation is completed.

Download the Mini Windows XP file to the desktop of the PC. Double-click the file to decompress it to a folder on the desktop.

Eject the DVD drive’s disc tray. Place a blank recordable DVD on the disc tray. Close the disc tray.

Launch the DVD-burning program by selecting it from the “Start > All Applications” pop-up menu.

Select the DVD drive from the “Devices” drop-down menu on the program’s main screen.

Click the "File” tab at the top of the program’s main screen. In the window that appears, navigate to the folder that was decompressed on the desktop. Double-click the folder to open it. Click once on the file inside the folder. Click the “Open” button at the bottom of the window.

Click on the “Burn” button at the bottom of the program’s main screen. Wait as a copy progress bar appears over the screen, fills in from left to right and then disappears.

Quit the DVD-burning program. Eject the disc tray, remove the DVD, and close the tray.

Eject the disc tray of the netbook. Place the Mini Windows XP disc on the disc tray and close the disc tray; if there is a no disc tray, insert the Mini Windows XP disc into the netbook's disc slot. Shut the netbook down.

Press the power button to turn the netbook on. Repeatedly press the F8 key until a menu screen appears.

Press the F9 key. Scroll down the list that appears in a new screen until you come to “Mini Windows XP.” Highlight “Mini Windows XP.” Press “Enter” to reboot the netbook using Mini WIndows XP.

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