Troubleshooting Failed Installations

Although the Windows XP Professional installation is generally easy and problem free, there is always a possibility that something may go wrong during installation. Typically, if you follow the hardware guidelines and setup procedures, you are unlikely to experience installation problems, but, as an IT professional, you should be aware of potential problems and troubleshooting areas.

In a typical Windows XP Professional installation scenario, the most common causes of installation problems or failure are as follows:

• Hardware incompatibilities, or hardware that does not meet the minimum hardware requirements. Typically, Windows XP will tell you if the hardware in the PC is not compatible or does not meet minimum standards; however, in a failed installation, you should always start by making sure that there are no compatibility problems.

• Some CD-ROM drives, particularly older drives, may not work well with Windows XP. Make sure the CD-ROM drive is compatible. Also, make sure you do not have a faulty CD.

• During hardware detection and driver installation, your computer can lock up. Although this typically does not happen with Windows XP, you can simply restart the computer, and installation should continue where it left off.

• Make sure your video card is up to date and is supported by Windows XP Professional. Installation problems can occur due to faulty video cards.

If you are having extensive problems with setup and you have checked the previous bullet points, you can also access a setup log to determine what problems may have occurred. This assumes that you can actually install the operating system. The log is called setupact.txt and is located in C:\Winnt (if you installed in a different drive, just substitute the correct drive letter for C).