I am trying to install a new clean copy of Windows XP Pro (clean install, not upgrade) on a Thinkpad A20M with a new hard drive (so there should be no leftovers from old OSes). I updated the bios on the laptop to latest available before installing. When Windows XP gets to the point where it says "Setup will complete in approximately: 39 minutes," It halts, and gives an error. The setuperr.log has this information: Error: The signature for Windows XP Professional Setup is invalid. The error code is 6ba. The RPC server is unavailable. Fatal Error: Setup failed to install the product catalogs. This is a fatal error. The setup log files should contain more information. The first thing I thought of was the upgrade bug (which is so common even MS admits it and has posted a solution for it). Unfortunately, this is a clean install of XP, so the fix for the upgrade bug of renaming of catoot2 to catold will not fix it (and I tried it just in case anyway. ). I was going to file a support request with M$, but you can't do that without a product ID, and you don't get a product ID until after you install. All I have right now is the CD key that came with the software. This is a brand new legal copy of Windows XP Professional (full version, not upgrade). Does anyone have any ideas? Thanks in advance, Neal

when i get thoses setup errors, i have a bad cd-rom device. when i install new cd-rom, bingo, the errors go away.

Thanks for the suggestion, but that wasn't it. I swapped out the CDRW and replaced it a CD-ROM from a working unit, and it gave the same error. Any other ideas?

Try these two ideas: 1. Underclock your CPU by turning down the bus freq. If your using PC133 ram, run it at 100MHz. 2. If you have more than one stick of RAM, remove all but one for the install. Lock ups during install are often caused by flakey ram or unstable systems. XP is very picky during install. Any memory errors and it locks up. good luck

Thanks for the two suggestions. I can't underclock the processor since it is a laptop. It is running at default speed, which is 850MHz. I did have two sticks of RAM in there. It was PC133, which was actually being run underclocked on the laptop's 100MHz bus. I removed one, and got the same error. I even tried removing both of them, and replacing them with one stick of actual PC100. Same error each time. I have also ruled out bad media. Any other ideas? Thanks again, Neal

After everyone else's post I figure anything might help. I know you said you updated the BIOS, but here's more to think about from MS support. SYMPTOMS After you install Windows XP on an IBM ThinkPad portable computer (model A20M, A21M, or X20), CAUSE This behavior occurs because Windows XP has no built-in Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) driver for the embedded ACPI controller that comes with these models of the IBM ThinkPad portable computer. RESOLUTION To resolve this behavior, contact IBM to obtain an updated driver for the embedded ACPI controller.

Thanks for all of the suggestions. It is fixed now. I took the laptop apart and started swapping out one part at a time. Finally, I swapped out the mobile PIII processor for a different one (same speed, same stepping), and WinXP installed flawlessly. After installation (just for fun), I put the old chip back in, and I got lots of nasty errors on boot. I put the new one back in, and all was well again. The strange part is, the old processor worked just fine under Windows 98SE. Thanks again, Neal