How to Make a Boot Disk for Windows XP Professional SP3

By Alex Lubyansky

i Siri Stafford/Digital Vision/Getty Images

If you have Microsoft Windows XP with service pack 3 installed, you have a great operating system running on your machine. Yet, this operating system cannot be considered impervious to computer errors. In the event of an emergency, you will need a boot disk to allow for a recovery of your system. Unfortunately, your old Microsoft Windows XP boot disk will simply not work with service pack 3. You will have to do a complete installation of your computer with the old disk, rendering all of your services, programs and files extinct. Luckily, you can create a boot disk for Microsoft Windows XP service pack 3. This way, you will be fully equipped to deal with any unforeseeable problem.

Step 1

Put your original boot disk into the drive. This CD came with your version of Microsoft Windows XP.

Step 2

Navigate to your CD drive in “Computer.” Copy all contents of the CD. Create a new folder on your C: title “XP.” Paste all contents into the “C:\XP” folder.

Step 3

Create a folder called “C:\SP3.” Go to Microsoft’s download site and download SP3 (see resources). Save the filed titled “WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ENU.exe” to “C:\SP3.”

Step 4

Go to your “Start” menu. Select “Run.” Type in “c:\sp3\WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ENU /integrate:c:\xp.” After a few minutes, the process will say “Complete.”

Step 5

Make your disk bootable. Install the free program ImgBurn (see resources). Run ImgBurn. Click “Write files/folders to disc.” Choose “Advanced” and then “Bootable disk.” Select your CD drive containing the XP boot disk in the “Extract Boot Image” field. Click “Save” and select your “C:\SP3” folder as the destination for your “BootImage.ima” file.

Step 6

Burn your new boot disk. Use ImgBurn and select “Burn CD.” Go to the “Advanced” tab and go to “Bootable Disk.” Select the “Make Disk Bootable” option. For the load segment, type in “0x7C0.” Choose your “BootImage.ima” file as the boot image file. Copy the contents of the “C:\XP” folder into the project and burn the disk. Once the disk burns, you will have a bootable version of Microsoft Windows XP service pack 3.

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