Hi,
I have searched the posts to this forum and can't find anyone with the same problem as the one I have. I don't know where the problem lies - with my PC or with Windows XP, however when I try to install my copy of Windows XP Pro (Eng) by upgrading from Windows 98SE, everything works fine (installation begins, checks my PC, asks for the CD key etc. etc.) until the installation begins to copy the files from the CD after having rebooted.

I get the following error after roughly 6% of copying the files (it does copy some files at the start):

"
Setup cannot copy the file: *****.***

To retry, press ENTER.
If you are installing from a CD, make sure the Windows XP CD is in the CD-ROM drive.

To skip this file, press ESC.
CAUTION: If you skip this file, Setup may not complete and Windows XP may not work properly.

To quit Setup, press F3.
"
I hit ENTER many times with no luck, as well as the "skip this file" option only to be taken to 3 more errors of the same message. Strangely, after skipping this file, it began copying other files again until it got to 3 more files it couldn't copy, these filenames ("*****.***") are:
esent.dll
dsquery.dll
mmc.exe
article.chm

After trying to install more than a dozen times over 2 days, "*****.***" stood for the same 4 files over and over again. Trying to install from my hard drive didn't do anything either. Searching on Google, I found an article telling me the following:

"
Receiving a File Copy Error During Setup
When you try to install Windows XP, you may receive the following message, where file_name is the file that Setup cannot copy:
Setup cannot copy the file file_name. Press X to retry, Y to abort
This behavior can occur for any of the following reasons:
1) Your Windows XP CD-ROM is scratched, smudged, or dirty. Clean the Windows XP CD-ROM with a soft cloth, insert it into the CD-ROM drive, and then click OK.
2) Your CD-ROM drive is not working correctly or the CD-ROM might be vibrating too much for the laser to accurately read the data. For more information about this problem, consult your hardware documentation, or contact the CD-ROM manufacturer.
3) If you are using multiple CD-ROM drives, your computer may be trying to locate files on the wrong drive. If your hardware has a feature to disable CD-ROM drives that are not being used, disable the CD-ROM drives that you are not using.
4) Your computer is over-clocked. Because over-clocking is very memory-intensive, decoding errors may occur when you extract files from your Windows XP CD-ROM.
5) Try to use the default clock timings for your motherboard and processor. For more information about how to do this, consult your hardware documentation or contact the motherboard manufacturer.
6) Your computer has damaged or mismatched random access memory (RAM) or cache memory. For example, you might be using a combination of extended data out (EDO) and non-EDO RAM, or different RAM speeds.
7) Decoding errors can occur even if Windows appears to be running correctly because of the additional stress that is put on your computer when Windows tries to extract files and access the hard disk.
8) To determine how to make your computer cache memory unavailable during Setup, see your hardware documentation or contact your hardware manufacturer.
9) Your computer has Ultra direct memory access (DMA) turned on in the CMOS settings, and the data is moving too quickly.
10) Change from DMA mode to Processor Input/Output (PIO) mode to lower your data transfer rate. If this does not resolve the problem, lower your PIO mode settings. The higher your PIO mode settings are, the faster your data transfer is.
11) You are using a third-party memory manager.
12) There is a virus on your computer.
"

Having done everything in the above article (other than change my RAM - which I see no need as it works fine on Win98SE & Linux and I've only had it for a month) I still get the same error... aaaarrrgggghhhh!!!

Frustrated, I decided to give Microsoft call (never called a tech support before in my life, untill now!). Having given them my PC specs (shown below) the tech support lady said she did not know the exact cause but would "get back to me as soon as possible" - now a week later I have still to hear from Microsoft and am getting quite "pissed off" not knowing what the problem is.

My PC specs are as follows:
MSI KT3 ULTRA2-R motherboard
AMD Athlon XP+ 2200 (1.8GHz) processor
512MB PC2700 DDR 333 RAM CL2.5
40GB ATA-133 hard disk drive (7200 RPM)
16x/48x DVD-ROM drive
40x/12x/40x CD-Rewriter drive
1.44 MB 3.5” floppy disk drive
Hercules 3D Prophet FDX8500LE 128MB DDR graphics card
56k V.92 PCI Data/Fax/Voice modem
10/100 network card

If anyone can provide me with a solution I'd be so appreciative - I am for the first time in my life, truly stuck with a computer problem that time and effort on my behalf couldn't fix.

Michael (Cambridge, England)

I cant help you much but seems that I had a similar problem loading on one of my computers (the other 2 had no problem loading xp) and guess what it was and MSI mother board I dont know if its something to do with their motherboard or not but it was the only one I had this problem with for me the fix was to load windows 98 first then load xp as and upgrade I hope this helps somehow

Have you used a lens cleaner on your CD ROM? If that doesn't help have you considered that the CD itself just might be damaged? Take it back and demand a replacement. To get the same error every time you try to load indicates the disk is corrupt.

thanks for your replies. no it can't be the CD-ROM - already checked it - perectly clean (no scratches) and I could copy all files to my hard disk without error.

i'll try the MSI update route, though it's strange as my motherboard is newer than Windows XP...

If you can copy all the files to your hard drive without error, you can install XP that way too. Go to the /I386 directory. Run winnt32.exe.

-=Bryan=-

I am experinencing the same problem as you,though different hardware.I get copy errors,install hangs,and the problems can change on each attempt.The odd thing is that for months I ran a friends copy of XP with no problems,installed a purchased copy once successfully without activating,decided to re-install again ,no dice.The friends copy would not install either.
I have installed from the same cd on another pc flawlessly multiple times.I tried the same hd & cdrom drive with my pc,no dice.Though once installed on the hd with the other pc ,hooked to mine it booted up fine.
At this point I believe its either the motherboard or the ram.My understanding is that XP uses the ram more aggressively,so I will try swapping this next.

My XP installation problem was the 256m ram.It must have a weak area.I swapped it with another Pc's 128m and everything worked fine.The weak ram works fine in the other Pc as well.I even changed memory slots prior to be sure and it failed.Good luck.