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I need to load XP Pro mostly to run my legacy software [DOS] How much space would I need on hard drive? - How do I go about loading as little as possible to run my dos programs? Also is it possible to load it on an USB flash drive? I will be installing from a CD.

Thanks K.Hira

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Don't go that route. First of all, Windows XP has been the first Windows system for home users being based on the NT line and as such broke many old DOS games (since there's no longer a base DOS system outside Windows and they dropped things such as direct hardware access). And not to forget that Microsoft dropped support for it.

Instead, go and grab an emulator such as DosBox. You can run your old DOS stuff in fullscreen without rebooting and you're also able to do stuff such as applying filters (scanlines, blur, etc.), if you want to (since some low res stuff might look horrible on modern flatscreens). Especially if you're not too deep into computers/drivers/emulation, take this route, since it will come preloaded with most stuff set up for you (like sound drivers; who remembers those days of old where you had to set the right SOUNDBLASTER environment variable etc.? :D).

If you prefer the native/non-emulated way (or would like to use a full virtual machine), then have a look at FreeDOS, which is a project aiming at creating a 100% compatible free alternative.

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