XP Pro install error - Help?

[Lai704]

Hello experts,

I have a 6 year old Dell Dimension 4550 w/ XP Home. Machine is old/slow...so
I did new install w/ XP Pro to start off with a clean drive and hopefully
make it faster.

On the format I did a quick format (learned it the hard way...did
normal/regular format...it took over 12 hours to complete!) Once format was
done it did the install. On the install/setup I received an error as such
"Setup cannot find the file cmd.exe"

Options were: continue setup (prompted...XP may not work properly) or quit.
I chose quit and reformat/install a few times and got same error. On the 5th
attempt I chose continue setup and the FINALLY proceeded. It installed and
working ok so far..

3 questions:
1. What is the file cmd.exe and what does it do?
2. What potential errors will I get by ignoring the error and continued with
the install?
3. What can I do or how can I reinstall to get that file, cmd.exe to load
properly?

This was my first time doing a full install and I definately learned a LOT!!!

Thanks in advance for your expert comments and suggestions.

Lai704

 

[Lai704]

CORRECTION: The error message was "Setup cannot copy the file cmd.exe......"

 

[philo]

Hello experts,

I have a 6 year old Dell Dimension 4550 w/ XP Home. Machine is old/slow...so
I did new install w/ XP Pro to start off with a clean drive and hopefully
make it faster.

On the format I did a quick format (learned it the hard way...did
normal/regular format...it took over 12 hours to complete!)

<break>

Hold it right there.
If a regular format took 12 hours you have a *serious* hardware problem.

No sense in even trying to install XP until you get that sorted out.

Yous should run the mfg's diagnostic on the harddrive...

or replace it with another and try again.





Once format was

 

[Daave]

<break>

Hold it right there.
If a regular format took 12 hours you have a *serious* hardware
problem.

No sense in even trying to install XP until you get that sorted out.

Yous should run the mfg's diagnostic on the harddrive...

or replace it with another and try again.

Good catch, philo.

 

[philo]

Good catch, philo.

Well, at 12 hours...I figured either the drive is bad
or he's using a p-1 with 8 megs of RAM to format a 40 Terabyte drive <G>

 

[Lai704]

Philo/Daave --- fyi...I went back and did a quick format..(yes..the regular
format took about 12 hours..) As I was saying...at the 5th attempt when
getting that error "Setup cannot copy the file cmd.exe...." I press ESC and
the install continued on. It is up and running now. But my question was,
what is the CMD.EXE file...and what problems will I have down the road
without that file?

Again...at that error..I hit ESC and the install was able to continue....and
XP Pro installed succesfully..(just w/o the CMD.EXE file)....

I did a reinstall just to clean out the hard drive.....

 

[philo]

Philo/Daave --- fyi...I went back and did a quick format..(yes..the regular
format took about 12 hours..) As I was saying...at the 5th attempt when
getting that error "Setup cannot copy the file cmd.exe...." I press ESC and
the install continued on. It is up and running now. But my question was,
what is the CMD.EXE file...and what problems will I have down the road
without that file?

Again...at that error..I hit ESC and the install was able to continue....and
XP Pro installed succesfully..(just w/o the CMD.EXE file)....

I did a reinstall just to clean out the hard drive.....

cmd.exe is simply the "dos box" or command prompt.

just go to the "run" box and type in "cmd" to verify

If that was the only file not copied, it may simply be due to a dirty or
scrathed cd.


Note: check your machine, it very well may have been copied but you got the
error simply because the original
verification was not annunciated and was merely a case of not being able to
over-write an existing file

However:

I really advise checking out the H/W on that machine...especially running
the mfg's HD diagnostic.

A full format should NOT take 12 hours if your H/W is OK

 

[Daave]

I really advise checking out the H/W on that machine...especially
running
the mfg's HD diagnostic.

A full format should NOT take 12 hours if your H/W is OK

Agreed.