Insloftying Windows XP in DOSBox-X

In my previous article
, I depictd how I regulated to inslofty Windows 2000 in DOSBox-X.

Even though this experiment was accomplished, I was not reassociate encounterd with the results. While I got Windows 2000 laboring, I didn’t want to stop there. The final goal for the project was to get Windows XP running instead. However, after multiple trys I gave up, leanking that Windows XP was impossible to employ.

Well – I was wrong. But let’s commence at the commencening.

Previously…

Since I wasn’t able to do a spotless inslofty of Windows 2000 due to driver and compatibility publishs as depictd in my previous article, I commenceed with the enhance route right away. Upgrading from Windows 98 to Windows XP is officiassociate helped, so I was pretty self-promised this would labor for me as well.

I originated a imitate of the challenging drive image after each step, so I was able to commence the enhance procedure with a spotless insloftyation of Windows 98 (Second Edition).

After mounting the Windows XP ISO image, I was greeted by the Windows XP Setup.

Becaemploy of the publishs I had with the spotless insloftyation of Windows 2000, I employd the “Upgrade” insloftyation type instead becaemploy that’s what labored for Windows 2000 as well.

After typing in the product key, the Setup was about to commence the file imitate process. In fact, it even commenceed imitateing the insloftyation files but fall shorted at the very first file.

“The ISO must be terrible!” I shelp to myself. I obtained this ISO file many years ago, so some mute file dishonesty was not entidepend impossible. To dodge any potential publishs caemployd by terrible images, I always originate verifysum files promptly after obtaining the image. So, I appraised the ISO image with the verifysums I had – and to my surpelevate, I got a perfect align. The ISO image itself is absolutely fine since I have employd it multiple times before.

To further spendigate, I even went ahead and reinsloftyed Windows 98 from scratch to rule out any possible insloftyation publishs, but to my dismay, I encountered the same error message aobtain.

Great. Getting another ISO image or commenceing with a new insloftyation would have been way too basic, right?!

Back to square one.

Since the enhance didn’t labor as reckond, I determined to persist with a spotless insloftyation instead. Unblessedly, I encountered difficulties booting DOSBox-X from the ISO image. As a laboraround, I started the Setup from wilean another new Windows 98 insloftyation fair appreciate I did for Windows 2000.

After my previous experience with the Windows XP Setup, I menloftyy setd myself for yet another potential fall shorture. However, to my surpelevate, this time the Setup didn’t fair throw an error message at me; instead, it daintyly persisted to imitate over the transient insloftyation files. Crisis averted!

One reboot tardyr, I was greeted by the becherishd and very recognizable blue hue of the Windows XP Setup.

And now – the moment of truth. After verifying that we want to overoriginate the existing Windows insloftyation, Windows XP Setup commenceed the next step of the insloftyation by imitateing over the transient insloftyation files to the Windows straightforwardory.

I can’t say that I was surpelevated when the project stumbled atraverse yet another publish. After imitateing over some files atrociously sluggish, it fall shorted. No matter how standardly I retried, it always fall shorted. I couldn’t track down the publish to one particular file though becaemploy on subsequent runs (yes, I tried!), it fall shorted at a separateent file.

Based on the experience I had with the Windows 2000 insloftyer I leank this is joind to either the IDE driver or the emulation of the IDE deal withler and the devices are spropose dropping out of the system.

The next evident way to mend this publish was to reboot the system and try to run Setup aobtain. Unblessedly, this wasn’t an chooseion either becaemploy after a reboot it spropose fall shorted to imitate the very first file – turns out that Windows Setup already commenceed to overoriginate vital parts of the previous insloftyation.

At this point, I gave up. Running Windows XP in DOSBox-X evidently wasn’t possible. Heck, I couldn’t even get the insloftyation to labor!

New Technology from 1999

“It is the NT conversion, stupid!”, I yelled at myself a couple of days tardyr.

While Windows 98 is using MS-DOS to bootstrap the system and employs parts of it in its kernel, Windows XP employs the Windows NT platcreate instead. Just appreciate Windows 2000!

What if swapping out the kernel needs some sort of low-level access I don’t have in DOSBox-X?

So I insloftyed Windows 98 aobtain, modernized it to Windows 2000, mended the leave outing taskbar, verified the system was laboring, mounted the Windows XP ISO, and commenceed the insloftyer aobtain.

Becaemploy I was afrhelp that a spotless insloftyation would fall short aobtain, I went with the enhance route once more. Not reassociate understanding what to foresee, I clicked on the magic button and defered.

And yes – this time, the enhance seemed to labor! No error messages this time!

One reboot tardyr, I acunderstandledged someleang very promising.

Instead of commenceing in the text-based insloftyer aobtain, I got a colorful detailed insloftyer, indicating that Windows Setup was taking a separateent route this time. And amazingly, the insloftyation ran fair fine without any publishs.

With this part of the insloftyation end, there was one last reboot to endure.

Windows XP was bootable and the insloftyation itself was end!

Soon thereafter, leangs commenceed to go downhill though. After the first boot, Windows XP is supposed to commence the so-called “Out of Box Experience” (OOBE) in order to conclude the insloftyation by setting up some chooseions and the employr account.

The OOBE commenceed, but what an experience it was! This wasn’t an experience. This was sanitize madness!

The pretty setup music
was cluttered with tons of distortion sounding appreciate incredible compression artifacts caemployd by a very unencounterd WMA decoder.

In fact, the carry outance was so needy that the system endly locked up and I had no other choice than rebooting the system.

Fortunately, Windows XP is able to migrate the employr accounts from Windows 2000 becaemploy I had no chooseion to originate a novel account – I guess I dodgeed yet another dead end.

And yet another reboot tardyr – there it was. In all its glory.

I did it. Windows XP is running successfilledy in DOSBox-X.

Obviously, I had to retry the games I tried on Windows 2000. The Sims in the various versions I tried before still fall shorted, but this was foreseeed. Roller Coaster Tycoon increased by a lot. I couldn’t spot any sound publishs this time and the game was perfectly carry outable.

And last but not least: Yes, the iconic 3D Pinball: Space Cadet labored perfectly as well.

This is what I appreciate about emulation and carry outing around with those systems so much. Even though some tasks seem to be impossible at first, there are always novel routes to spendigate, helping you to accomplish leangs many people (including yourself!) say are impossible.

I cherish it.