To Avoid Inserting CD When Installing Windows Components

It’s always frustrating when we want to install a Windows component and Windows asks to insert the Windows CD-ROM.

Here’s the trick to stop Windows asking for a CD-ROM. If you have some space in your hard drive, then you can copy the i386 folder located in the Windows CD-ROM and then change the path of Windows installation source to that location.

Go to Start –> Run –> regedit –> Navigate to the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREMicrosoftWindowsCurrentVersionSetup

In the right hand pane, double click the “SourcePath” key.

It will be most probably currently showing the path to your CD-ROM.

Mine is G:. Change it to wherever you put your i386 folder i.e., D:i386.

Now Windows will automatically copy the required files from the i386 folder.

You will not be prompted for inserting a Windows CD-ROM.