Help with problem ugrading ME to XP Home

[Guest]

I am trying to upgrade my laptop running ME to XP Home and I am having no
luck at all. My CD drive is not working properly so I saved the upgrade
files on the CD to my hard drive and am running the setup program from there.
I have upgraded the BIOS firmware and disconnected the peripherals and also
stopped NAV from running.

At the 58 minute mark I receive the following error: "Setup failed to
install the product catalogs. This is a fatal error. The setup log should
contain more information."

I have tried everything I can think of to install this software. I would
welcome any thoughts or suggestions on possible solutions.

Thanks

 

[Nepatsfan]

First off, I don't have a solution, only suggestions.
If you can still boot into ME then take a look at the following
files:
C:\Windows\setuperr.log
C:\Windows\setupapi.log
They may hold some clue as to why this is happening.

If you're unable to boot into ME then restart your installation
but this time choose to use the Recovery Console. From the
command prompt you can access those files with the TYPE command.

You might also want to take a look here:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;823303&Product=winxp

Good luck

 

[Guest]

I tried the option below to no avail. I copied the error I received from the
setup errorlog. It is posted below.

Error:

The C:\$WIN_NT$.~LS\I386\NT5.CAT catalog file could not be found. The error
code is d. This is a fatal error.

The data is invalid.


***

Error:

The signature for Windows XP Home Edition Setup is invalid. The error code
is d.

The data is invalid.


***

Fatal Error:

Setup failed to install the product catalogs. This is a fatal error. The
setup log files should contain more information.

Any thoughts on how to solve this problem is appreciated.

 

[Raymond J. Johnson Jr.]

I am trying to upgrade my laptop running ME to XP Home and I am having no
luck at all. My CD drive is not working properly so I saved the upgrade
files on the CD to my hard drive and am running the setup program from there.
I have upgraded the BIOS firmware and disconnected the peripherals and also
stopped NAV from running.

At the 58 minute mark I receive the following error: "Setup failed to
install the product catalogs. This is a fatal error. The setup log should
contain more information."

I have tried everything I can think of to install this software. I would
welcome any thoughts or suggestions on possible solutions.

Thanks

The OEM copy of ME on your laptop probably includes special drivers that
aren't present on a generic CD. Contact the manufacturer for advice.

 

[Nepatsfan]

For both of those error messages Microsoft suggests renaming the
%WinDir%\System32\Catroot2 folder. If, as you said, you've
already tried this then I'd lean towards a problem with your
installation files.

The obvious thing to suggest is to repair/replace your CD drive
if it's not functioning properly. If that's not an option then
you might want to take a look at what kind of shape your upgrade
CD is in. Any scratches or smudges?

If your CD looks OK then you might want to start searching for
the file mentioned in the setup error log:

First, look in C:\$WIN_NT$.~LS\I386 to see if it was copied to
the installation folder.
Next, look in the I386 folder that you created on your hard drive
for a file named NT5.CA_ . If you don't see it there then you
might want to put the installation CD in your CD drive, navigate
in Explorer to the I386 folder and see if you can find the
NT5.CA_ file. Copy that file to the I386 folder on your hard
drive.

Good luck

 

[Guest]

I tried the suggestions on Dell's website but I still get the same error.
This should not be that difficult an of upgrade. Any other ideas?

 

[Bruce Chambers]

I am trying to upgrade my laptop running ME to XP Home and I am having no
luck at all. My CD drive is not working properly so I saved the upgrade
files on the CD to my hard drive and am running the setup program from there.
I have upgraded the BIOS firmware and disconnected the peripherals and also
stopped NAV from running.

At the 58 minute mark I receive the following error: "Setup failed to
install the product catalogs. This is a fatal error. The setup log should
contain more information."

I have tried everything I can think of to install this software. I would
welcome any thoughts or suggestions on possible solutions.

Thanks

Have you made sure that your PC's hardware components are capable
of supporting WinXP? This information will be found at the PC's
manufacturer's web site, and on Microsoft's Windows Catalog:
(http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/default.mspx) Additionally, run
Microsoft WinXP Upgrade Advisor to see if you have any incompatible
hardware components or applications.

You should, before proceeding, take a few minutes to ensure that
there are WinXP device drivers available for all of the machine's
components. There may not be, if the PC was specifically designed for
Win98/Me. Also bear in mind that PCs designed for, sold and run fine
with Win9x/Me very often do not meet WinXP's much more stringent
hardware quality requirements. This is particularly true of many
models in Compaq's consumer-class Presario product line or HP's
consumer-class Pavilion product line. WinXP, like WinNT and Win2K
before it, is quite sensitive to borderline defective or substandard
hardware (particularly motherboards, RAM and hard drives) that will
still support Win9x.

HOW TO Prepare to Upgrade Win98 or WinMe
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q316639

Upgrading to Windows XP
http://aumha.org/win5/a/xpupgrad.htm

HOW TO Troubleshoot Windows XP Problems During Installation When You
Upgrade from Windows 98 or Windows Me
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;q310064

--

Bruce Chambers

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