How to Resolve a Windows XP Setup File Error

About Setup File Errors

This error message means that the computer operating system is unable to access a file that it needs in order to run. Typically, this error message indicates a scratched or otherwise damaged CD during the installation of an operating system. Sometimes installation CDs are flawed during production, and sometimes the program on the CD is somehow damaged.

Check your CD/DVD Disk Drive

If you were trying to install an operating system when you received this error message, it is possible that you have a bad CD and might need to get another copy. If you were not trying to install an operating system, you might have left a CD in the drive. If there is a CD in the drive when you turn your computer on, then the computer will automatically think that you want it to boot from CD and will attempt to read the disk. However, if the disk isn’t the operating system, or if the operating system disk is flawed, the computer won’t be able to read it.

Windows Repair Tool

If there is a disk in the drive and you are not trying to reinstall your operating system, remove the disk and reboot the computer to see if the operating system is able to launch. If there isn’t a disk in the drive, or if you are trying to boot from your Windows CD, you will have to try and repair the operating system. Unlike reformatting and reinstalling the operating system, the repair tool overwrites the system files but saves your preferences, settings and data. However, you will definitely need to reinstall all your updates, including Service Packs after the repair.

Repair your Operating System Installation

1. You will need to put the original Windows CD in the drive and reboot your computer.
2. As it is booting up, press any key to prompt the computer to boot from the CD.
3. At the page titled To Setup Windows XP Now, press Enter and then press Enter again at the Welcome screen
4. ***DO NOT PRESS R TO USE THE RECOVERY CONSOLE***
5. Press F8 to agree to the Windows XP licensing agreement
6. Find your current installation from the box, then press R to repair your operating system
7. Complete the instructions as they are offered then reboot your system

Consider Remote Tech Support

Unfortunately, if this doesn’t work, you might be facing a reinstallation of your operating system, which would mean the loss of your files and settings. If you want to seek personalized help before taking this step, you should consider contacting a remote technician who will help you troubleshoot your error and resolve the problem in the least harmful way.

It sounds like somehow installing that device corrupted something that Windows uses to load on your computer. Regardless of why you are having the problem, there are several things you can do to get Windows to boot again and get your system back up and running.

System Restore

The first thing to try is a System Restore. It is the easiest and most reliable way to bring your computer back to a point where it was working correctly - as that was recently, it is even easier. If Windows loads to a point, you can run System Restore by going to Start, All Programs, Accessories and System Tools. If you can’t get into Windows at all, you can run System Restore from Safe Mode. Restart the computer and immediately press F8 to get into Safe Mode. In the dialog box, type in: %systemroot%\system 32\restore\rstrui.exe. You will then follow the steps to restore the system back to a date before you installed the device that caused the problem.

Last Known Good Configuration

This is another cool Windows trick that will bring your computer back to a point where it You will see a number of options - select “Last Known Good Configuration” and let it run.

Boot from Startup Disk

If you have a Windows Startup Disk, you can boot from there to repair the system. Just put the disk in the drive and it should bypass the corrupt partitions and start Windows. If you don’t have one, you can make one by using a similarly configured Windows computer. Put a blank disk in the drive and click on My Computer. Double click on the C drive icon to get to the root directory. Copy these files to the disk:

• Boot.ini
• NTLDR
• Ntdetect.com

Once you have the disk formatted, put it in the ailing computer and see if you can boot Windows that way.

Recovery Console

If none of these methods work, then it is time to get serious. For this, you will need a Windows XP CD. Put it in the computer and reboot the system. Follow the prompts to load basic files for Setup. When you get to the Setup screen, press R to run the Recovery Console. You will need to press 1 to choose the operating system and you may have to enter the administrative password. If you don’t have one, just press enter and that should work.

If neither of these work, then you can try a few other things like fix a corrupt master boot record or fix a corrupt partition boot sector, but I don’t think you’ll need to.

Recovering Deleted User Account Documents

While the data recovery software that we recommend can recover deleted documents for a low price ($40-$50 depending on the product selected), the good news is that you most likely won’t need it. That’s because when you delete a user account, you aren’t actually deleting the underlying folders where the data is stored.

User Accounts

User accounts make it nicer for individuals who share a single computer. For example, when two users share a computer, with separate user accounts, each person has their own My Documents folder and can customize the desktop to suit individual preferences. E-mail accounts can be tailored to download the user’s messages, Web browsers can be set to display personal favorites, specific software can be loaded, and so on.

The documents, photos, videos, music files, and other data are stored in folders such as: Documents, Pictures, Videos, Music, Downloads, Favorites, etc. When signed on as a specific user, the operating system loads all of the preferred settings for that user and makes the user’s folders readily accessible.

When you delete a user account, these subfolders remain on your PC. The trick is to find them.

Finding User SubFolders

First, make sure that you are signed on with administrative rights and then into Windows Explorer. The easiest way to do this is to right-click the Start button and choose Explore. While an option in the submenu says, “Explore all users” it basically just opens Windows Explorer where you can then look for the folders. Choose this option or the Explore option (the result is the same).

Now, you’ll see the contents of the hard drive. Click the hard drive which is usually the C:\ drive. Scroll down to the User folder and click it. You should see subfolders for each user account, included the deleted one. Click your son’s User folder and you’ll find all of his User account subfolders - and all data.  

Creating a New Account

Now that you know the data is safe and sound - and accessible - you can create a new user account for your son and then drag and drop the files into the newly created user subfolders.

Data Recovery Software

Even though you won’t need data recovery software to solve your problem, let me answer your questions for future reference. We recommend ParetoLogic’s Data Recovery products (Standard and Pro) because they’re easy to use. A free scanner let’s you see what’s recoverable so that you don’t waste money on a product when your data isn’t there to recover. Whenever downloading a data recovery program or scan, it’s important to download it to a different media device than the one experiencing data loss, because you don’t want to overwrite the files that you’re trying to recover. If the lost data is stored on the hard drive, download the data recovery software to USB stick, CD-R, floppy, or some other storage device and then run the .EXE file from that device.

The fact that you have the Windows XP disk is half the battle and will make this process much easier. The NLTDR stands for NT Loader which loads from the hard drive boot sector and helps Windows NT load on your system. The most common cause for this problem is having a non-bootable CD in the drive - make sure it is empty before you try to boot up the computer. If this doesn’t work, move on to the next steps.

You say that you ran the Windows XP disk - did you run a repair? I’m going to give you directions for two different things to do using the XP disk that should take care of the problem.

Corrupt NTLDR File

Put the Windows XP disk in the CD Rom. I’m assuming that your computer is set to boot from the disk first - if not, you are going to have to go into the BIOS and get it to see the CD ROM first. Follow these instructions to correct a corrupt NTLDR file:

1. At the prompt, press R to repair the Windows Installation.
2. Press 1 to log into the correct Windows Installation.
3. You will be asked for the Administrative password. If you don’t have one, try pressing Enter. Otherwise, enter the password.
4. Copy these two files to the root directory of the primary hard disk:
   1. Copy e:\i386\ntlr c:\
   2. Copy e:\i386\ntdetect.com c:\ (Where e is the letter name of the CD ROM drive. If your drive is a different letter, it should say that letter in the file.)

5. Once they have been copied, remove the CD from the drive and restart your computer.

Corrupt Master Boot Record

You can use the Windows XP disk to correct a corrupt master boot record. Follow the first three steps as listed above with the XP disk in the CD ROM drive.

1. After you have entered your password you will see the MS DOS prompt. Run these two files:
   1. fixboot
   2. fixmbr
2. After the master boot record repair has run, remove the CD and restart the computer.

If you can access the Internet now, make sure you download the newest Windows Service Pack 3 to make sure that you have the latest updates and all of the drivers. If you still have problems with your drivers, let us know what the specific issues are and we can address them separately.

Configuring Adobe Flash Player in Windows Vista

About Flash Player and Vista

These incompatibilities can sure be frustrating! In your case the problem isn’t with your Adobe download, which you confirmed was successful but rather with your Vista and your Adobe combined. As I am sure you know as a Vista user, there have been a large number of problems synching the new Windows operating system up with other programs. Fortunately, there is a simple fix that should solve your problem and have Flash Player up and running on your Vista-based computer.

Configure Vista for Flash Player

As with many other situations in Vista, you will need to be logged in as an Administrator to make the necessary changes. Follow the steps below to install Flash Player in compatibility with Vista.

If you are running 32 bit Vista:

1. Click to open Computer
2. Find the listing C:\Windows\System32\.
3. Now find and open the directory called Macromed
4. Inside this directory there is a listing for Flash, click to open
5. Find the listing called FlashUtil9b and right click it to open its menu
6. Choose the option to Run As Administrator
7. A prompt will appear, click Continue
8. Now a Flash Player Installation Wizard will open. Follow the directions completely for your Vista-Flash Player installation

If you run 64 bit Vista, here are the steps:

1. Click to open Computer
2. Find the listing C:\Windows\SysWOW64\.
3. Now find and open the directory called Macromed
4. Inside this directory there is a listing for Flash, click to open
5. Find the listing called FlashUtil9b and right click it to open its menu
6. Choose the option to Run As Administrator
7. A prompt will appear, click Continue
8. Now a Flash Player Installation Wizard will open. Follow the directions completely for your Vista-Flash Player installation

Enable JavaScript in Internet Explorer 7

Now reboot your system and this should solve your problems and enable Flash Player to run on your Vista system. A few other common causes of problems with Flash Player include having JavaScript turned off in your browser, or installing an old version of Flash Player. I am sure that you have already checked these possibilities but if not, get the newest release of Flash Player and enable JavaScript. In Internet Explorer 7 you can do this by clicking the Tools tab, then Internet Options, and then Security. Choose the Custom Level tab and scroll to Scripting. You will see a listing called Active Scripting and Scripting of Java Applets, click OK and then Yes if a confirmation box opens. Select OK again and close the window. Now you should reload the page or reboot your computer.

The steps you take to remove unwanted programs depend on the type of program that you are trying to remove. However, rebooting the laptop will involve basically the same steps no matter which type of program you are trying to remove. You have several options available to you and I will go through them. Simply pick the one that best suits your needs. These directions might vary slightly from what you need to do since the manufacturer of your laptop and the operating system that you use make a difference.

Boot Up in Safe Mode

If you have been having difficulty with your computer’s performance, then you might want to boot your computer up in Safe Mode. Refer to the directions that came with your laptop if you have them to see which function key you should press to use this feature. If you don’t have the manual, try the following directions:

• Turn the power for the laptop on.
• Immediately press the “F2,” “F8,”or “F12″ function key on the keyboard.
• Follow the prompts, selecting “Last known good configuration.”

Boot Up with System Restore

1. Click “Start.”
2. Click “All Programs.”
3. Click “Accessories.”
4. Click “System Tools.”
5. Click “System Restore.”
6. Select “Restore my computer to an earlier time,” and click on next.
7. Follow the prompts to complete the process.

Boot Up or Installation Disk

If you have the installation or boot up disk that came with your laptop handy, this is an excellent strategy for booting up a troublesome computer. Turn the power for your laptop on, insert the boot up disk, and press the “ESC” key on the keyboard. As soon as the phrase “check system” appears, press the “F1″ key on the keyboard. Switch the boot up option to the CD drive and follow the prompts given.

How to Remove Unwanted Programs

If you are simply looking to remove basic programs or applications, you can try using the “Add/Remove Program Utility” to do so. You will find it located in your computer’s “Control Panel.” Note that in Windows Vista, this utility is now called “Programs and Features.”

For some applications, it is necessary to use the “Uninstaller” that the manufacturer provides for the program. This ensures that the assorted files associated with the application are properly removed. If you prefer a commercial product designed to effectively remove even the most troublesome installations, try PerfectUninstaller.

If the unwanted applications that you have on your laptop are forms of malware such as spyware, viruses, adware, Trojans, etc, then you should use a reliable “Anti-virus/anti-spyware application.” I can recommend ParetoLogic’s “Anti-Virus Plus” for you. This application has a free trial scan that you can use prior to purchasing the product.