Re: Windows XP SP2 -> Windows XP SP3 upgrade fails w/ "File Copy Error"

I replied to you over on Technet as well.

I can't thank you enough... I followed your instructions and it went
without a hitch. I honestly didn't think I would get any help at all
on this (just the usual smug unhelpful replies) but you really
suprised me. :)


On Jun 18, 7:14 am, microsoftoly...@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
Hi

I think this is a bug. I've seen it happen to some users before. It's
not specific to the XP SP3 CD... I saw this on SP2, as well as Windows
Server 2003.

When it does happen, it only happens when you choose "upgrade" after
running setup.exe. Before the first reboot, the progress bar goes to
100%, then returns anerrorthat it can'tcopyafile. Thefilestarts
with "a" followed by seven random alphanumeric characters followed
by .sys. The setup routine run by the CD actually is scripted to look
for the randomly generatedfile. In other words, the CD is NOT bad and
it is NOT caused by a virus trojan or malware. The randomly generatedfilename is NOT any kind of valid driver, it's just garbage. To date,
no one associated with Microsoft has publically acknowledged this
behavior, what it is, why it happens, etc.

Anyway... if this is happening to you, it's relatively easy to fix it:

Run the setup.exe on the CD and choose "upgrade". When it stops with
the "FileCopyError," click "SkipFile." Let it reboot.

On reboot, it will give you a boot menu. DON'T select the "Windows XP
Install" option. Instead, select the normal operating system and boot
back into Windows XP.

After you're back in XP, go into the C:\$WIN_NT$.~BT\ directory. Open
the unsupdrv.inffilein notepad. There will be two sections in it.
The header, then a section that only references the randomly generatedfilename from above. DELETE the ENTIRE SECTION that references the
randomly generatedfilename. Leave the header alone. Save thefile.

Reboot, then when you get the boot menu, select the "Windows XP
Install" option.

It should now run normally.

Good luck!!!

On Jun 18, 1:02 am, zulu...@xxxxxxxxx wrote:

Hello,

I have one computer that I have been upable to upgrade to SP3. I have
spent about ten hours on it now and I can't solve the problem. This is
one of those problems that has left me extremely frustrated,
emotionally drained, and on the verge of tearing my hair out.

It has SP2. I have a VLK CD that I am using to upgrade. I put the CD
in, run setup.exe, select "upgrade," enter the key, then it does
"copying files." The bar gets all the way to the end, then anerror
message comes up saying "FileCopyError." Thefilethat it says it
can'tcopyis different every time. It appears to always start with
"a", then seven random letters and numbers, then ".sys". For example,
"aeuvv323.sys". Since thesefilenames are randomly generated, they
are not on the CD, hence the "FileCopyError." If I do "SkipFile,"
then the install fails on reboot because it wants the missingfile.

I have done extensive searching on the web and cannot find any
information whatsoever about this problem.

Any info or ideas on how to fix this would be greatly appreciated.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Hard drive showing as H: instead of C:
    ... Windows XP loaded fine and runs fine, but the HD is assigned H: ... Contrary to some other replies, ... Rename \DosDevices\H: to DosDevices\C: ... Reboot the machine. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.general)
  • Re: Where can i get another lsp.dll file?
    ... I removed the items and lost winsock and internet access. ... I am going to remove all tcp/ip services from windows, reboot then reinstal them. ... > * PLEASE post all messages and replies in the newsgroups ...
    (microsoft.public.win2000.networking)