XP setup can't copy files

[Steve Smith]

I'm having problems doing a XP repair installation on a Gateway PC. During
the file copy process, I get an error that says "setup cannot copy the file
XXXXX.XX_. Of course XXXXX.XX_ refers to the file name. If I browse the XP
CD, I see the problem file and I can select it, but it still won't copy it.
If I ignore and skip the file, the next file has the same problem and so
on for several files. I can complete the XP installation but some XP functions
don't work. I've tried a different XP CD-ROM, a different CD drive, different
memory, different hard drive and a different PSU, but have had the same problems.
However, interestingly it's not always the same files that won't copy. I've
ran diagnostics on the hard drive and the drive and file structure are fine.
I ran Prime95 on the computer for several hours with no errors. I successfully
did a clean XP install on a new hard drive. But we really wants the current
installation fixed because we have a lot of programs installed.

The PC had initially failed with an installation of Service Pack 2. The PC
was in an endless reboot. I tried an in-place XP repair and ran into the
file copy problem. I've read on the web that this problem can be caused by
a bad XP CD-ROM, bad CD drive, bad memory or bad hard drive, all of which
I swapped out.

I'm sure the problems is caused by existing files on the hard drive, but
I don't know which ones. I've uninstalled antivirus and several utilities
and several unnecessary programs. I'm currently removing the read only attributes
of the files and perhaps that will work. In the mean time, any ideas would
be appreciated.

Steve Smit

 

[Steve Smith]

When I have run into this it has always been the HD.
Are you sure the one you replaced it with is good?
Try ghosting old drive to new one and if that doesn't work then try a
fresh install with new drive.

I ghosted the old Maxtor drive to a new Western Digital drive, but that didn't
help. Prior to ghosting the drive, I ran ScanDisk on thorough mode, ran Norton
Disk Doctor and ran Maxtor's extended drive diagnostics and no errors were
found by any of these programs. I did do a fresh XP install on another drive
and it installed just fine. However, the customer really wants her existing
installation fixed if possible.

...when I went to reload had the exact problem where couldn't copy the
files. During the XP install, I actually HIT F6 "to install a 3rd
party driver" and popped in the floppy that came with the motherboard
that had the Sis RAID/IDE drivers on it (this is a SATA drive). Then
everything loaded beautifully.

This motherboard does not have SATA and no additional drivers are needed.
Also, the files that won't copy are often different from installation attempt
to installation attempt. I have discovered that when a file can't copy, I
can browse the hard drive and usually find a copy of the file and it will
copy just fine. Of course, this file may not be the right version. However,
the end result is the same. BTW- I also tried copying the XP CD to a folder
on the hard drive, but the XP installation won't copy these files either.
When I skip the problem files(or use existing copies on the drive), upon
completion of the XP installation, XP boots and works but some functions
don't work. For example, I can't get Windows Update to work(and I've tried
all the tricks). XP also won't display network connections and says the Network
Connections service may not be running, but it is running. Also, I can't
install any software because it says the Windows Installer service might
not be running or the computer might be in Safe Mode. However, Windows Installer
is running and the computer is not in Safe Mode. The bottom line is that
the XP installation is corrupt probably because of the file copying problem.

I tried to fix the flawed installation by running sfc /scannow and I've also
tried all of the fixes on "Dial-A-Fix" but nothing has helped. BTW Dial-A-Fix
is a great time saver, see http://djlizard.net/software/Dial-a-fix.png

Perhaps a fresh XP is my only option. I've already spent more time than it
would have taken to reload all of my programs, etc. If anyone has any more
ideas, I'd love to hear them.

Steve Smith