defective Windows XP CD

[Guest]

Hello
I'm trying to install the Windows® XP Recovery Console.
According to the Microsoft instructions, "Prior to booting to the Windows®
XP Recovery console, you must install the console. To do so, perform the
following steps:"
1, Insert the Windows XP CD into the CD or DVD drive.
2, Click the Start button and then click Run.
The Run window appears.
3, In the Open: field, type x:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons, where x is the
drive
letter of the CD or DVD drive.
4, Click the OK button.
5, Follow the instructions on the screen to finish Setup.
6, Click the Start button, click Turn off the computer, and then click
Restart.

The problem is that the SETUP, alluded to in step 5, never finishes. I
consistently get the error message,
"Setup information file D:\i386\COMPDATA\NTCOMPAT.INF is invalid."
followed by
"Setup failed and Cannot Complete the Windows Setup Wizard"
and finally,
"The installation did not complete correctly."
This seems to indicate, to me, a bad Windows XP CD.
Any suggestions and or comments are greatly appreciated.

 

[Pennywise]

|>This seems to indicate, to me, a bad Windows XP CD.
|> Any suggestions and or comments are greatly appreciated.

Wash the CD with dishsoap, dry well, try again.

 

[Guest]

Is this a serious forum or are you on prescription medication??!!

 

[Pennywise]

|>Is this a serious forum or are you on prescription medication??!!

Totally serious, if I have a CD that won't work be it PC or PS2 I'll
wash it and it will usually fix it.

|>"(e-mail address removed)" wrote:
|>
|>>
|>> |>This seems to indicate, to me, a bad Windows XP CD.
|>> |> Any suggestions and or comments are greatly appreciated.
|>>
|>> Wash the CD with dishsoap, dry well, try again.
|>>
|>>
|>>
|>> --
|>>

|>>

 

[John Loaf]

If there are smudges on the CD it is a valid suggestion. Has worked for me
with rental DVDs.

 

[Pennywise]

|>> |> Any suggestions and or comments are greatly appreciated.

Jerk

 

[DL]

|> Any suggestions and or comments are greatly appreciated.
you said

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi,

Have you installed a service pack since the original installation from this
CD? If so, you need to slipstream the service pack with your CD and create a
new one.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[Guest]

Sorry, I didn't really mean to hurt somebody's feelings.
Maybe I should have said " Only serious suggestions and or comments are
greatly appreciated.

 

[Guest]

Hi,
No I haven't installed an additional service pack. I've had this computer
for about a year now and it came with Windows XP SP2 already installed.
I only recently found it necessary to use the XP CD.
If I need a new CD, I have the license numbers.
If the one I have can be repaired then good.
It's just that when I run this thing, it's not doing what it is supposed to
do.

 

[Rick Rogers]

Hi,

Follow up question: Is this a generic OEM or Retail disk, or is it a
manufacturer's Recovery Disk? Can you manually browse to and locate the
winnt32.exe file on the CD?

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[Mike Fields]

Not only is the suggestion to wash with dish soap
(the liquid type) a good one, but if there are some
scratches, they can often be polished out using
a circular motion using tooth paste -- and before
you further embarrass yourself with comments, do
a google search for it ... (there are better options
for $$, but I have used the toothpaste method and
it does work -- toddlers and CD's are a problem)

mikey

 

[Richard Urban]

Telling you to clean the CD is a valid answer! It solves many problems.


--
Regards,

Richard Urban
Microsoft MVP Windows Shell/User
(For email, remove the obvious from my address)

Quote from George Ankner:
If you knew as much as you think you know,
You would realize that you don't know what you thought you knew!

Sorry, I didn't really mean to hurt somebody's feelings.
Maybe I should have said " Only serious suggestions and or comments are
greatly appreciated.

 

[Guest]

Hello,
The disk was created with the Dellâ„¢ OS Recovery Utility already on the
computer.
Apparently, Dell stop including the disk with the computer shipments. As
far as the
second part of your question, yes I can locate the winnt32. exe file on the
CD.
Furthermore, I navigated to the folder indicated in the error message
("Setup
information file D:\i386\COMPDATA\NTCOMPAT.INF is invalid." )- i386 - and
located the file 'COMPDATA\NTCOMPAT.INF.' I right clicked to open the file
and it
was empty (a notepad document with no data). I then navigated to the C
drive and
located the i386 file and and the corresponding file. This file ( a similar
notepad
document, was packed with data).
What do you think?

 

[Leythos]

Telling you to clean the CD is a valid answer! It solves many problems.

I can remember taking plastic polish to a couple CD's to fix blemishes
that caused them to fail reading

 

[Pennywise]

|> located the i386 file and and the corresponding file. This file ( a similar
|>notepad
|> document, was packed with data).
|> What do you think?

I happen to know exactly what to do...

 

[Guest]

indeed.

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

I would suggest that you ought to run the command directly from that I386
directory rather than the CD. The .inf file packed with data is the one you
need.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[Guest]

Hello Rick,

Sounds good. I'll see what I can do
Thank you for sticking with me on this one.
How about a link to directions for running a command directly from a
directory rather than a CD.

Thank You again.

 

[Guest]

Hello again Rick,

Hang on to the link for now.
It seems that to redirect the command, I just change the drive letter in the
initial command, ie D:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons becomes C:\i386\winnt32.exe
/cmdcons.
And it worked. The Windows Recovery Console is now installed.
I really didn't know you could do that.
I just wonder, could I have run that command without the XP CD loaded in the
CD drive?

Thanks a million again, Rick and to all who offered their advice.