Answer Line: Where Are the Windows Installation Files I Need?

While maintaining my computer, I'm often prompted to insert the Windows CD-ROM. If I happen to be stuck with a vendor's System Restore disc, how do I extract the files I need?

Ernest Wiatrek, Abilene, Texas

If you're using the version of Windows that came with your computer, you shouldn't need a Windows CD-ROM for basic maintenance. Microsoft requires that vendors put the installation files in a folder on the hard drive. (Vendors include restore discs, or restore partitions, primarily for disaster recovery.)

When you install a Windows component from Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs applet, for example, Windows looks to this "installation path" for the needed files. You're asked to insert your Windows CD-ROM only if the path points to your CD-ROM drive and the right disc isn't there. If the installation path points to a folder on your hard drive, you won't be asked to insert a disc.

The easiest way to find the installation path is with Microsoft's free Tweak UI add-on. Download a version for Windows 9x, Me, 2000, and NT, or get Microsoft's PowerToys for Windows XP (which includes Tweak UI).

Once Tweak UI is installed, launch it by selecting Start, Settings, Control Panel and double-clicking the Tweak UI icon. Click the My Computer tab, and in the Folder drop-down list, select Installation Path; it will appear in the Location field below.

For Tweak UI for Windows XP, the instructions are slightly different: Once it's installed, select Start, All Programs, PowerToys for Windows XP, Tweak UI for Windows XP. Navigate in the left pane to My Computer, Special Folders. In the Folder drop-down list, select Installation Path.

To find the installation path without Tweak UI, select Start, Run, type regedit, and press Enter. Select MyComputer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup in the left pane, and in the right pane, find the value named 'SourcePath'. The installation path is listed in the Data field.

Now when you're prompted to insert the Windows CD, click Browse and enter in the 'Browse to' field the installation path you just found. In XP, click OK and then enter the installation path in the 'Copy files from' text box.