On installing IIS on Windows XP without the original XP cd

I had a need to install IIS when my Windows XP cd was sitting with someone else who was away on vacation. It was quite urgent. This is not an easy thing to do and I finally solved the problem using a torrent download of the integrated Windows XP with SP3 ISO file ( my first torrent download ) and Microsoft's unsupported ISO mount utility called VCDROM.SYS.

You need to go through this entire process. When IIS starts complaining about missing files, do not download them one at a time from sites like dll-files.com.
Firstly, you will have to download plenty of files one at a time because you dont know which one IIS will ask for next. Second, once it starts asking for wierd files like infoctrs.h2, you will be out of luck.

Thus you need to download the Windows XP CD ( not the Service Pack cd because they do not contain ALL the files ). There is a integrated Windows XP+SP3 ISO file which can be downloaded by torrent. If torrents are new to you, so they were to me yesterday. It is easy.

Here is the torrent url - if you cannot find a peer email me and I will gladly host it for you.

http://torrents.calcuttatraders.com/Windows_XP_Professional_with_Service_Pack_3_(x86)_Retail.4169906.TPB

I am assuming you have uTorrent or something similar. If not, google it and
download it. Install the software and load the torrent file mentioned above. Start the download. This is the tricky part. I am new to torrents but it seems your luck depends on extraneous factors on which you have little control.

Anyway, my download completed in 5 hours. uTorrent saves the downloaded ISO file in the Downloads subfolder of My Documents.

Now you have to mount the ISO file. Download VCDROM from the following link -

http://download.microsoft.com/download/7/b/6/7b6abd84-7841-4978-96f5-bd58df02efa2/winxpvirtualcdcontrolpanel_21.exe

Follow the instructions in the README file. Once you are done, you should have a new drive on your machine ( eg. Z: ) where you have all the files needed by the IIS installation under the subfolder i386/.