XP install boot cd is stuck at "copying: driver.cab"

[BygDave]

XP install boot cd is stuck at "copying: driver.cab"

Not sure what to do from here to make the installation continue. Any suggestions?

[johnlgalt]

Sounds like the CD may have a problem - do you have access to another computer? If so try making a 1:1 copy of the disc and see if it works, and if it does, try using the copy.

If you try to copy the disc, don't open the contents and copy the folders - you'll never get the boot info needed to boot the disc. Instead, use a program that will make a copy of the disc directly (Nero includes a Copy Disc feature for exactly that purpose, and allows you to use the same drive as the source and destination, and other programs work as well - for example, Alex Feinman's ISOrecorder will allow you to do it in 2 steps, making an ISO image and then allowing you to burn the ISO - although I am not 100% positive that that will make a perfect copy.

As to the cause of the problem, have you run any memory diagnostics? Does the process just hang without ever moving forward, or do you get a BSOD or other error?

[BygDave]

thanks for the reply!
Well, I checked the memory banks and found out that one of them was not working, so I switch banks and the installation now hangs at "copying:dotnetfx.exe"

[johnlgalt]

Hmm - you might want to check the memory itself - if you have access to another computer, download memtest86+ v1.7 from memtest.org (ISO or USB types available) and run it - I wonder if the bad bank hosed your memory stick as well...

I just performed an install last night and it didn't hang at all, but then again, it is the same CD I have used since 2001, and thankfully the media is well preserved.

What kind of hardware are you trying to install it on, and is the mobo new? If so, another idea is to reset the CMOS to default values and try the install...