Need help getting any version of XP working.

[N7_RiZe]

In continuation of my previous topic.
I believe I need Windows XP installing on my ubuntu pc so I can update to bios 1004 to be able to use my new cpu.

The mobo is Asus M2N-MX BIOS 0907
Upgrading cpus from Athlon 3500+ to Athon X2 5600+

Looking at the manual, there's x4 ways to update.

Although x3 of them require bootable floppy discs.

So my best bet is the 4th option:  'ASUS Update (Updates the BIOS in Windows® environment.)'

But even then it mentions a support CD, to load the bios, which I do not have.

Nevertheless I'll give it the benefit and try the exe in the bios download.

I've tried windows 7 64 bit and 10 first, but they gave errors.
My first ISO of XP gave me missing EULA error.
Second ISO told me I do not meet the requirements, it was looking for NT for some reason.
I tried a 32 bit windows 7 and that worked except it wasn't in English so that wasn't much use to me.
Finally I tried Vista and that worked. However the bios update utility didn't do anything (even though vista is a supported os), it opens cmd and immediately closes.
I just tried a third ISO of XP (all 3 different versions of 32 bit btw) and that just blue screens.

My drive config is 1 SATA 2TB drive (main ubuntu), 1 IDE drive (custom Linux) and a spare sata connection for my DVD drive.
I got the non English win 7 and vista working by using a spare hard drive after unplugging all other drives.

I'm really struggling here, as far as I'm concerned, everything here should just work.
All help appreciated, thanks!

[Eigenvektor]

I remember using nLite to customize my Windows XP ISOs to integrate drivers and remove things I didn't need. Might be worth a shot.

[N7_RiZe]

6 minutes ago, Genwyn said:

Welcome to XP era hardware, it’s a never ending nightmare.

Your board may not support writing boot partitions to sata drives, you may have to use another IDE drive to install XP on. 
I’m not allowed to tell you where specifically to get an XP image that it’s pre activated with sata drivers and all that out of the box, I can tell you that you can just click the top result for “xp sp3” on a certain extremely popular naval yard.

Different versions of XP can be extremely picky, doubly so when you factor in that socket 462 systems are an enigma to modern technology. For something like that you will need either a full preloaded iso or an original SP2 disk.

 

As for the bios update program, there’s next to zero chance an in-OS application on Vista would ever be allowed to touch just about anything further than user control level. If you have vista available still, make sure to only use the “professional” version, because much like today with W10 the professional version has much more tinkering tools. Upgrade it to SP2, that will take multiple hours I shit you not, then disable every single security feature you can find. Disable all UAC, run the program as administrator, potentially run it via the command prompt just to see what it says if it crashes out.

 

But still you’re most likely going to end up loading a new bios on the system via a freedos floppy. That’s the intended method and it’s the easiest way to do it. If you don’t have a floppy drive and floppies then it’s time to hit up eBay. A USB one will not work with a 462 system unless it’s a super high end motherboard that supports USB floppies.

Thanks for the fast well detailed reply.
Sadly I believe I already tried the 'xp sp3' you refer to, I think that is the one that just blue screens on me. The other ones I tried were SP2 and another SP3.
I'll give Vista a shot again, I still have it installed on the spare drive. The one I have is Vista Ultimate SP2 so hopefully that's better than Professional similar to windows 7 versions.
Worst case scenario, I'll go for the floppy drives. I've never even owned one before until a week ago but I'll have to get a reader for it.

8 minutes ago, Eigenvektor said:

I remember using nLite to customize my Windows XP ISOs to integrate drivers and remove things I didn't need. Might be worth a shot.

Hmm I'll give that a go after messing with Vista and report back later. Thanks. 

[Eigenvektor]

29 minutes ago, N7_RiZe said:

The mobo is Asus M2N-MX BIOS 0907

Have you tried updating the bios from a USB drive? I'm not sure if the board is too old to do that, but that's how it works on mine (also ASUS).

https://itstillworks.com/how-to-update-the-bios-in-an-asus-p5b-10146.html

[demonix00]

7 hours ago, Genwyn said:

Welcome to XP era hardware, it’s a never ending nightmare.

Your board may not support writing boot partitions to sata drives, you may have to use another IDE drive to install XP on. 
I’m not allowed to tell you where specifically to get an XP image that it’s pre activated with sata drivers and all that out of the box, I can tell you that you can just click the top result for “xp sp3” on a certain extremely popular naval yard.

Different versions of XP can be extremely picky, doubly so when you factor in that socket 462 systems are an enigma to modern technology. For something like that you will need either a full preloaded iso or an original SP2 disk.

 

As for the bios update program, there’s next to zero chance an in-OS application on Vista would ever be allowed to touch just about anything further than user control level. If you have vista available still, make sure to only use the “professional” version, because much like today with W10 the professional version has much more tinkering tools. Upgrade it to SP2, that will take multiple hours I shit you not, then disable every single security feature you can find. Disable all UAC, run the program as administrator, potentially run it via the command prompt just to see what it says if it crashes out.

 

But still you’re most likely going to end up loading a new bios on the system via a freedos floppy. That’s the intended method and it’s the easiest way to do it. If you don’t have a floppy drive and floppies then it’s time to hit up eBay. A USB one will not work with a 462 system unless it’s a super high end motherboard that supports USB floppies.

That is not correct as I have that exact board and didn't have any issues installing windows XP to a SATA HDD, also the M2N-MX is socket AM2.

[N7_RiZe]

Late update: A friend told me about EZ Flash (also thanks Eigenvektor), and I went straight to get that working. However it wants a CD-Rom or Floppy. So I got a RW CD, put the bios update stuff in there and nothing... It still asks for one of those to be inserted (even though I can hear the disc drive doing stuff).
I went to Asus live chat just to see if they could do anything, but they were very quick to dismiss EZ flash or the windows tool and told me to get a floppy drive. They also told me someone from the technical team would email me for more info, that never happened...

For the windows tool, it is cmd based and doesn't have a GUI (unlike the manual). Although I've not touched it as idk what to do and would rather not guess and risk damaging the bios.
Here it is and the update files.

Can anyone please tell me how I can use this tool?
Thanks.