Windows XP Setup Cannot Continue

When you run Windows XP Setup, you may experience one of the following symptoms:
• You may receive an error message that is similar to the following:

Fatal Error: An error has been encountered that prevents setup from continuing.
One of the components that Windows needs to continue setup could not be installed.
Press OK to view the setup log file.

• Setup may stop unexpectedly, you receive a black screen with a blinking cursor, and then the computer restarts.

This issue may occur if Setup cannot correctly read files from the Windows XP CD.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, follow these steps:

1. Remove the Windows XP CD from the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, and examine it for damage or scratches. If the CD shows any signs of damage, skip the following steps. Use the information that is listed at the end of the "Resolution" section of this article to obtain a replacement CD from Microsoft. If you have to, clean the CD.

2. If you upgrade to an existing installation of Windows, follow these steps:

a. Insert the Windows XP CD in the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.
b. Click Start, click Run, type cmd in the Open box, and then press ENTER.
c. At the command prompt, type xcopy CD-DriveLetter\I386\*.* c:\i386\*.* /s /e, and then press ENTER. For example, if your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive is designated as d:, type d:\I386\*.* c:\i386\*.* /s /e.

Note Because of the size of the I386 folder, this process may take a few minutes.
d. Type c:\i386\winnt32.exe, and then press ENTER.

3. If you install Windows XP on a computer that is not currently running Windows, follow these steps:

a. Insert a Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) or Microsoft Windows 98 Startup disk in the floppy disk drive, and then restart the computer.
b. Insert the Windows XP CD in the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.
c. Type xcopy CD-DriveLetter\I386\*.* c:\i386\*.* /s /e, and then press ENTER. For example, if your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive is designated as d:, type d:\I386\*.* c:\i386\*.* /s /e.

Note Because of the size of the I386 folder, this process may take few minutes.
d.Type c:\i386\winnt.exe, and then press ENTER.