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Windows XP
Tip: If possible, print this document before starting Setup. Some steps might require you to shut
down the computer, and it will be helpful to have a printed copy of this information.
This document will help you to install Microsoft Windows XP Professional or Windows XP
Home Edition. This document also provides answers to other setup-related questions.
Click a link to go directly to that section:
Prepare for Setup
Upgrade to Windows XP
Perform a new installation of Windows XP
Transfer files and settings from another computer
Partition and format a hard drive
Perform other Setup-related tasks
Troubleshoot Setup
Create boot disks
Configure a computer to boot from CD
Set up a multiboot system
Repair or recover a system
Find a Microsoft Knowledge Base article
Additional resources
Installation overview
This release of Windows XP includes Service Pack 2 (SP2) for Windows XP. If you uninstall this
release of Windows XP, SP2 is automatically uninstalled too. Your computer will be running the
operating system that it was running before you installed Windows XP, or it will not be running
an operating system. You cannot uninstall SP2 only.
Important
• You can install Windows XP Home Edition with Service Pack 2 or Windows XP
Professional with Service Pack 2 on computers that are running the following operating
systems:
○ Microsoft Windows 98
○ Windows 98 Second Edition
○ Windows NT 4.0 Workstation
○ Windows Millennium Edition
○ Windows 2000 Professional
○ Windows XP Home Edition
○ Windows XP Professional
• If you want to upgrade Microsoft Windows 95 to Windows XP Home Edition or
Windows XP Professional, you must first uninstall Windows 95, and then perform a new
installation.
• If you are installing Windows XP on an older computer, it’s a good idea to check with
your computer manufacturer to see whether a BIOS upgrade is available before you
proceed.
Upgrade to Windows XP
Note: Before installing Windows XP, you should disable your virus protection (antivirus)
software, and you might want to run the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool to test your
computer's random access memory (RAM). To use the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool,
follow the instructions on the Windows Memory Diagnostic
(http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp) Web site. Be sure to enable your virus protection
software after installing Windows XP.
When you upgrade to Windows XP, you install Windows to the same folder where your current
version of Windows is located, updating the earlier version. Here's how:
1. Start your computer. Also, make sure you have your product key handy.
2. Insert the Windows XP CD into your computer's CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.
3. On the menu that appears, click Install Windows XP.
4. On the Welcome to Windows Setup page, click Upgrade (recommended) (if it is not
already selected), and then click Next. (You should click Next on each screen from here
on.)
5. On the License Agreement page, read the agreement, and follow the instructions to
accept or reject the agreement.
6. On the Your Product Key page, type the 25-character product key in the appropriate
boxes.
7. On the Get Updated Setup Files page, select the option that you want. Hint: It's a really
good idea to select Yes and get the updated files, but you can only do this if you're able to
connect to the Internet.
Note: Some of the problems addressed in the troubleshooting section of this document
are prevented by getting the updated Setup files.
8. During this phase of Setup, the computer will restart several times, and you'll see screens
telling you about new features in Windows XP. This part of Setup takes a while. It's a
good time to go have a cup of coffee or take a break.
9. Finally, the computer restarts one last time and Windows XP starts.
Do not forget to enable your virus protection software after Setup is finished.
Troubleshoot Setup
Did you run into problems during Setup? Unfortunately, it does sometimes happen. Some
problems can be solved by using the information in this section.
Important: If you have virus protection software installed on your computer, disable it. Virus
protection software can cause problems during setup. Be sure to enable your virus protection
software after installing Windows XP.
You can use the following troubleshooting steps if you have problems when you are upgrading to
Windows XP from Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, or Windows Millennium Edition.
General troubleshooting
If you encounter problems while running Setup, exit Setup and run the Upgrade Advisor from the
Windows XP CD. Here's how:
1. Insert the Windows XP CD into your CD-ROM drive.
2. When the Welcome menu appears, click Check system compatibility.
3. Then click Check my system automatically.
Upgrade Advisor will check for hardware and software incompatibilities. These are often the
cause of Setup problems. Remove or uninstall the incompatible hardware or software, and then
run Setup again.
If Upgrade Advisor does not find the problem, you can also clean boot your computer and run
Setup again. Clean-boot troubleshooting is simply a way of removing variables that could cause
problems.
To perform clean boot troubleshooting in Windows Millennium Edition:
1. Click Start, click Run, in the Open box, type msconfig and then click OK.
2. On the General tab, click Selective startup.
3. Clear all the check boxes under Selective startup.
4. On the Startup tab, select the *StateMgr check box (Windows Millennium Edition
only), and then click OK.
5. When you are prompted to restart your computer, click Yes.
6. After the computer restarts, click Start, click Run, in the Open box, type msconfig, and
then click OK.
Important: Look closely at the General tab to make sure that the check boxes under
Selective startup are clear. Proceed to the next step if none of the check boxes are
selected. If you see a disabled or gray check box, your computer is not truly clean-booted
and you might need assistance from the manufacturer of the program that is affecting
Msconfig.
7. After you verify that your computer is clean-booted, try running Windows XP Setup
again.
For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 267288.
To return from a clean boot state
1. Click Start, click Run, in the Open box, type msconfig, and then click OK.
2. On the General tab, click Normal startup, and then click OK.
3. Click Yes when you are prompted to restart your computer.
To perform clean boot troubleshooting in Windows 98:
For information about performing a clean boot for troubleshooting purposes in Windows 98, see
Microsoft Knowledge Base article 192926.
File copy error during Setup
Suppose Setup stops when copying files, and you see a message like this:
Setup cannot copy the file <file_name>. Press X to retry, Y to abort.
Here are some possible causes and solutions for this problem:
• Your Windows XP CD is scratched, smudged, or dirty. Clean the CD with a soft cloth,
insert it into the CD drive, and then click OK.
• Your CD drive is not working properly or the CD might be vibrating too much for the
laser to accurately read the data. For more information about this problem, consult your
hardware documentation, or contact the CD drive manufacturer.
• If you are using multiple CD drives, your computer might be trying to locate files on the
wrong drive. If your hardware has a feature to disable CD drives that are not being used,
disable the CD drives that you are not using.
Note: To disable a device in Windows 95, right-click My Computer, click Properties,
open Device Manager, and then clear Original Configuration (Current). In
Windows 98 and Windows Millennium Edition, select the Disable in this hardware
profile check box in Device Manager.
If required, re-enable the device after upgrading to Windows XP. For more information,
see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 283658.
• There is a virus on your computer. Run a virus-scanning program to check your system
and identify needed repairs.
Note: If you experience problems during installation, you can use the Windows Memory
Diagnostic tool to test your computer's random access memory (RAM). This tool helps
determine whether installation problems are caused by failing hardware, such as RAM or the
memory system of the motherboard. To use the tool, follow the instructions on the Windows
Memory Diagnostic (http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp) Web site.
For information about several more technical issues that might be causing the problem, see
Microsoft Knowledge Base article 310064: How to Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During
Installation.
If you can rule out all of the causes listed above, and you continue to receive the error message,
copy the i386 folder from the CD drive to your local hard disk, and then try to run Setup from
your hard disk. Here's how:
1. The Smartdrv.exe tool will speed up the process of copying files from the CD to your
hard drive. To use the Smartdrv.exe tool, make sure the Smartdrv.exe file is present on the
startup disk.
If you don't have Smartdrv.exe, file copying will take much longer but it can still be done
successfully. Verify that the following entries exist in the following files on your startup
disk; add the entries if they do not already exist:
In Autoexec.bat, add this line:
smartdrv.exe
In Config.sys, add this line:
device=himem.sys
Note: For information about modifying the Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files, see
Microsoft Knowledge Base article 232558.
2. Insert the startup disk into your computer's floppy drive, and restart the computer.
3. When the DOS prompt appears (it looks like this: C:>), type the following lines, pressing
ENTER after each one. Substitute the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive for the letter D,
if yours is different.
D:
cd \i386
winnt
When Setup begins, follow the prompts on your screen.
Note: There is no option to boot to a command prompt on the initial startup menu in Windows
Millennium Edition. However, you can boot to a startup floppy disk and then type C: and press
ENTER to access the hard drive, as long as the startup disk uses the same file system as the hard
disk.
Your computer hangs or stops responding and displays a
black screen
When you try to upgrade to Windows XP, your computer might stop responding (hang) and a
black screen might be displayed. This is usually caused by hardware or software that is
incompatible with Windows XP.
Note: Before beginning Setup, you should compare your system's hardware to the Hardware
Compatibility List (HCL). You can also find information about each of your computer's devices
(such as printers, scanners, and so on) at the device manufacturer's Web site, in the Windows
Catalog:
Text version of the HCL (for all operating systems)
(https://winqual.microsoft.com/download/default.asp)
Text version of the HCL (for Windows XP only)
(https://winqual.microsoft.com/download/display.asp?FileName=hcl/WinXPHCLx86.txt)
The Windows Catalog
(http://www.microsoft.com/windows/catalog/)
You can get to all of the above from Windows Hardware and Driver Central
(http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/default.mspx)
If your computer stops responding and displays a black screen during Setup, follow these steps:
1. Wait at the black screen for 10 minutes to make sure that the computer does not continue
with the Setup procedure. Watch the hard drive indicator to see if there is any disk
activity. Setup might resolve the problem on its own.
2. Restart the computer to see if it stops again at the same place during Setup. Occasionally,
Setup will proceed farther than the last time it stopped responding. If this occurs, restart
your computer several times so that Setup will finish.
3. If steps 1 and 2 don't work, to revert back to Windows 98 or Windows Millennium
Edition, restart the computer and choose the option to Cancel Windows XP Setup. If
canceling Windows XP Setup is not an option when you restart your computer, see step 5.
4. After you revert back to Windows 98 or Windows Millennium Edition, uninstall all virus
protection programs, uninstall all boot manager programs (such as GoBack), and then
perform a clean boot of your computer.
5. If the upgrade fails again, there might be a hardware incompatibility issue. You can try to
disable ACPI functionality. To do this, when your computer restarts, watch for an option
to press F6 to install SCSI drivers. On this screen, press F7 (not F6).
6. If Setup continues to stop responding, disable any unnecessary hardware. Remove any
USB devices, remove or disable network cards, sound cards, and serial cards, and then
restart Setup.
7. If you continue to receive this error message, you might need to flash (update) the BIOS
on the motherboard. Please refer to the manufacturer of your computer or to the
motherboard Web site for information about how to flash the BIOS.
Warning: Do not attempt to flash the BIOS unless you are an advanced user. Doing this
incorrectly can make your computer unusable.
8. If a BIOS update does not resolve the issue, or if you are unable to obtain an updated
BIOS version for the computer, you might want to install Windows XP with a Standard
PC Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL). To do so, press F7 (not F6) when you are
prompted to press F6 after Setup restarts the computer for the first time. For more
information about how to force the Standard PC HAL, see Microsoft Knowledge Base
article 299340: How to Force a HAL During Windows XP Setup.
You receive an error message or Stop message during Setup
If you receive one of the following error messages during Setup, refer to the appropriate
Microsoft Knowledge Base article:
311562: 'An Unexpected Error (768) Occurred at Line 5118@ind:Xp\Client\Boot\Setup\Setup.c'
Error Message During Windows XP Setup
311564: 'Stop 0x0000000A Irql_Not_Less_or_Equal' Error Message During Windows XP
Upgrade
311442: Error Message: Setup Cannot Continue. Please Contact Microsoft Technical Support.
(Error: 3E6h)
Troubleshooting other errors:
Note: If you experience problems during installation, you can use the Windows Memory
Diagnostic tool to test your computer's random access memory (RAM). This tool helps
determine whether installation problems are caused by failing hardware, such as RAM or the
memory system of the motherboard. To use the tool, follow the instructions on the Windows
Memory Diagnostic (http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp) Web site.
Problem Solution
First, try reinstalling the program or device. If that
doesn't solve the problem, check with the manufacturer
for a newer version of the software or hardware that is
A program or a device doesn't work
designed to work with Windows XP. If this is an older
after upgrading to Windows XP.
program, search Windows Help and Support for the word
"compatibility" to see instructions for running the
Program Compatibility Wizard.
Refer to the file copy troubleshooting section in
Message: Incomplete file copy
Microsoft Knowledge Base article 310064.
If you choose to update files at the beginning of Setup,
this will be fixed automatically. See Microsoft
Message: NTLDR is missing
Knowledge Base article 322069. For troubleshooting this
error, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article 314057.
Rename the Windows\System\Catroot2 folder and run
Setup again. See Microsoft Knowledge Base article
Message: Error 127 or error code
307153. This has been fixed in Dynamic Update 1.3. Run
fffffdf0 in catroot2 folder
Setup again and download the updated Setup files when
prompted.
For troubleshooting tips, see Microsoft Knowledge Base
Message: "File not found: ASMS"
article 311755.
This error is usually caused by virus protection software.
Cancel Setup, disable your virus protection software, and
Setup hangs during "finalizing
then start Setup again. (Or, if you choose to update files
settings" phase.
at the beginning of Setup, this will be fixed
automatically.)
Precautions
Before creating a multiboot configuration with Windows XP and another operating system,
review the following precautions:
• Be sure to back up your current system and all data files.
• Each operating system must be installed on a separate volume. Microsoft does not
support installing multiple operating systems on the same volume.
• If you have only one volume on your computer, you have to reformat and repartition your
hard disk to contain multiple volumes before you begin creating a multiboot
configuration, unless you are simply installing another copy of Windows XP.
• Do not install Windows XP on a compressed drive that was not compressed using the
NTFS compression utility.
• Before installing Windows XP, you should disable antivirus software, and you might
want to run the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool to test your computer's random access
memory (RAM). To use the Windows Memory Diagnostic tool, follow the instructions on
the Windows Memory Diagnostic (http://oca.microsoft.com/en/windiag.asp) Web site. Be
sure to enable your virus protection software after installing Windows XP.
• You must use a different computer name for each operating system if the computer is on a
Windows 2000 or Windows XP domain.
• The operating systems should be installed from oldest to newest. If possible, install
operating systems in the following order:
○ MS-DOS
○ Windows 95, Windows 98 or Windows Millennium Edition
Note: You cannot install Windows Millennium Edition over any version of
Windows NT, but they can exist together on a single system. It is recommended
that you install each to a separate hard disk or partition. If Windows NT is already
installed, Windows Millennium Edition Setup will add itself to the Windows NT
boot menu to allow you to multiboot between Windows Millennium Edition and
Windows NT. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article
271240.
○ Windows NT
○ Windows 2000
○ Windows XP (Professional or Home Edition)
Additional resources
Visit these Web sites for updates or late-breaking information about Windows XP.
• General information: Microsoft Windows XP Web site
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=10087)
• Product updates and fixes online: Microsoft Windows Update
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=25683)
• Products compatible with Windows XP: Microsoft Windows Catalog
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=6582)
• Articles about product support issues: Microsoft Knowledge Base
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=4441)
• Information about using a Tablet PC: Microsoft Windows XP Tablet PC Edition Web Site
(http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=8676)
• SP2 information for consumers: Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 Web site for
consumers (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=25086)
• SP2 information for IT professionals: Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 Web site for
information technology professionals (http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=25682)
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Copyright 2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Microsoft, MS-DOS, Windows, Windows 98, Windows 98 Second Edition, Windows NT,
Windows Server 2003, Windows Millennium Edition, Windows 2000 Professional, Windows XP
Home Edition, and Windows XP Professional are either registered trademarks or trademarks of
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