DOOM III Install Error: Fatal Error -1603

[Mantis]

I had just purchased DOOM III today, and was running the
installation when 3 errors occurred running the
installation passing the process to disc 2 of the
install. The first error I got was from Windows XP
stating in the header "Smart CD Autorun Launcher" saying
that "Smart CD Autorun Launcher has encountered a problem
and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience."
After I dismiss the message, the installation appears to
be running as the photos of the background continue to
change, and the progress bar continues to fill, at the
same time, the progress bar appears to be drawing from
the same file that it was trying to pull from when it
requested to change to disc 2 of the install. The file
path on the progress bar was C:\Program Files\Doom 3
\base\pak001.pk4. When the progress bar fills to the max,
I get the second error which reads "Error 1305: Error
reading from file D:\Setup\Data\base\pak001.pk4. Verify
that the file exists and that you can access it. [Retry/
Cancel]". If I select to retry, I get the same error.
When I select Cancel, I get the third error which
reads "Error: -1603 Fatal error during installation.
Consult Windows Installer Help (Msi.chm) or MSDN for more
information. [OK]". The machine I'm running on is a
Pentium 4 2.8ghz CPU Processor with 1.256 Gig RAM and a
Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB video card. The CD-ROM is labeled
as HL-DT-ST-CD-RW GCE-8483B by my Device Manager, running
on Windows XP Pro O/S. I don't believe it to be a problem
with my computer because I just tried to run disc 2 on a
different computer to see if I could open and explore the
disc, but I got the same error that Windows XP gave on
the other machine when the disc tried to autorun itself.
The second machine I tried was running on Windows XP Home
Edition, 2.4 ghz with 512MB RAM on a Radeon 9000 Mobility
video card on a Slimtype Combo LSC-24081 CD/DVD-ROM. I
could open and explore the disc on both systems in
Windows Explorer after I dismissed the message, and I
could open the folder where the file pak001.pk4 was
located, but it did not continue the installation. I
would assume there is either something wrong with the
disc, or there a file was left out of the burn when the
disc was created. This is all the information I can
provide. I'm going to see if I can replace the disc at
the store I purchased the game from, and try it again,
butI figured I'd try here first. Any help very much
appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Jimmy S.]

Hi Mantis,

Try manually installing Doom 3 on your system using these steps:

1) Create a destination folder (for example, c:\program files\doom 3)
2) Insert CD 1.
3) Copy Doom3.exe from CD 1 (Setup\Data\Doom3.exe) to your destination folder.
4) Create a "base" directory in your destination folder (for example, c:\program files\doom 3\base).
5) Copy pak002.pk4 from CD 1 (SetupData\base\pak002.pk4) to the "base" folder.
6) Copy game00.pk4 from CD 1 (SetupData\base\game00.pk4) to the "base" folder.
7) Insert CD 2.
8) Copy pak000.pk4 from CD 2 (SetupData\base\pak000.pk4) to the "base" folder.
9) Copy pak001.pk4 from CD 2 (SetupData\base\pak001.pk4) to the "base" folder.
10) Insert CD 3.
11) Copy pak003.pk4 from CD 2 (SetupData\base\pak003.pk4) to the "base" folder.
12) Copy pak004.pk4 from CD 2 (SetupData\base\pak004.pk4) to the "base" folder.
13) Go to the base folder and create a text file called "doomkey". NOTE: This file should not have any file extension.
14) Open the doomkey file in notepad.
15) Enter your CD Key exactly as it appears on the CD Key sticker. Use all capital letters and do not include any dashes.
16) Save that file.
17) Doom 3 should now be installed on your computer.

The final layout on the CD drive should look like this:
[destination folder]\Doom3.exe
[destination folder]\base\doomkey
[destination folder]\base\game00.pk4
[destination folder]\base\pak000.pk4
[destination folder]\base\pak001.pk4
[destination folder]\base\pak002.pk4
[destination folder]\base\pak003.pk4
[destination folder]\base\pak004.pk4


--
Cheers, Windows XP MVP Shell / User
Jimmy S. http://mvp.support.microsoft.com


Game FAQs: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=FH;[LN];gms
Visit my Zone.com / Gaming Helpsite: http://nibblesnbits.tk or Call / Contact
MS Support at: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=sz;en-us;top
My advice is donated "AS IS" without warranty; nor do I confer any rights.
_________________________________________________________

| I had just purchased DOOM III today, and was running the
| installation when 3 errors occurred running the
| installation passing the process to disc 2 of the
| install. The first error I got was from Windows XP
| stating in the header "Smart CD Autorun Launcher" saying
| that "Smart CD Autorun Launcher has encountered a problem
| and needs to close. We are sorry for the inconvenience."
| After I dismiss the message, the installation appears to
| be running as the photos of the background continue to
| change, and the progress bar continues to fill, at the
| same time, the progress bar appears to be drawing from
| the same file that it was trying to pull from when it
| requested to change to disc 2 of the install. The file
| path on the progress bar was C:\Program Files\Doom 3
| \base\pak001.pk4. When the progress bar fills to the max,
| I get the second error which reads "Error 1305: Error
| reading from file D:\Setup\Data\base\pak001.pk4. Verify
| that the file exists and that you can access it. [Retry/
| Cancel]". If I select to retry, I get the same error.
| When I select Cancel, I get the third error which
| reads "Error: -1603 Fatal error during installation.
| Consult Windows Installer Help (Msi.chm) or MSDN for more
| information. [OK]". The machine I'm running on is a
| Pentium 4 2.8ghz CPU Processor with 1.256 Gig RAM and a
| Radeon 9800 Pro 256MB video card. The CD-ROM is labeled
| as HL-DT-ST-CD-RW GCE-8483B by my Device Manager, running
| on Windows XP Pro O/S. I don't believe it to be a problem
| with my computer because I just tried to run disc 2 on a
| different computer to see if I could open and explore the
| disc, but I got the same error that Windows XP gave on
| the other machine when the disc tried to autorun itself.
| The second machine I tried was running on Windows XP Home
| Edition, 2.4 ghz with 512MB RAM on a Radeon 9000 Mobility
| video card on a Slimtype Combo LSC-24081 CD/DVD-ROM. I
| could open and explore the disc on both systems in
| Windows Explorer after I dismissed the message, and I
| could open the folder where the file pak001.pk4 was
| located, but it did not continue the installation. I
| would assume there is either something wrong with the
| disc, or there a file was left out of the burn when the
| disc was created. This is all the information I can
| provide. I'm going to see if I can replace the disc at
| the store I purchased the game from, and try it again,
| butI figured I'd try here first. Any help very much
| appreciated. Thanks.

 

[NT Canuck]

I had just purchased DOOM III today, and was running the []
the game from, and try it again,
butI figured I'd try here first. Any help very much
appreciated. Thanks.

just some standard checks...
1. you may have inadvertently got the cd dirty (fingerprint etc)
cleaning the edges "gently" around the rim may help
2. try to copy the file to your hard drive, to check if file
or cdr/hard drive are all working well.
3. disable any anti-virus real-time monitors or scripting
blockers (usually in the av) in case that's the problem.
4. check "run box" %SystemRoot%\system32\eventvwr.msc /s
which is the administration "even viewer" in applications
and system and look for red/yellow icons that relate to
the CD drive or hard drive errors (read/write).
5. If you have set manually the pagefile/cache then
you may not have left enough room for copy operations.
6. If you had previous cdrom problems like writing or
reading files...winxp will revert to a lower setting for
the cdr (this is bit tricky to reset..let us know if so).
7. make sure you have "DMA" or "UDMA" set in the
hard drive and cdr device properties (quicker).
8. check google.com for "doom 3" + "install error"
9. make sure the hard drive is defragmented before
you do the install...otherwise files may not fit together
properly (fragmented).
10. hold "shift" key down when inserting the doom install
cd (bypasses auto-run) and start setup by navigating
to the cd and run setup.
11. not sure...maybe copy the cd files all to hdd and
try starting the setup from the hard drive..then after
the setup is done...delete the setup folder.

of course...may be a buggy cd or bad file, but a google
check for those keywords should bring it up.

a lot of above applies to many game setups via CD
so they are good place to start (don't worry...since the
system itself is working fine, the problem is a small one).

NT Canuck

 

[Bret Butcher]

Mantis,
I had the exact same problem. I tried the manual installation
but got CRC errors on one of the .pak files. I went back to
the place I purchased the game and exchanged it for another
copy. The new copy installed fine...It was just a bum disk..