Upgrading Windows Xp home edition fatal error

Question

i was recieving an error message stating that some of my files were damaged and i needed to put in my reinstillation cd. so i did that and dell told me that i should just upgrade my windows. so i did that but halfway through the upgrade i recieved a fatal error stating 'an error has been encountered that prevents setup from continuing. setup failed to install the product catalogs. this is a fatal error.' so then i check the setup log file and it says 'the signature for windows xp home edition is invalid. the error code is fffffdda.the system cannot find message text for message number 0xfffffdda in the message file for sysetup.dll.' now whenever i start up my computer it goes back to the middle of the system upgrade and i cant get out of it. my computer is stuck there. please shed some light for me.

joecool1437 · Answer

thank you for your response but what do i do now then? i only have the original windows xp that i recieved from dell. how do i go back and just reinstall that original xp? it wont let me do anything, it keeps on going back to the middle of the upgrade whenever i reboot.

Denny Denham · Answer

joecool1437, What 'upgrade' were you trying to install? I am not aware of any upgrade to Windows XP that will replace missing system files. You can do a fresh installation of Windows using the procedure here. When you boot from the CD the system will not return to an earlier incomplete upgrade state.

TotalCTRL · Answer

Sounds like you have installed sp2 and your recovery xp disk is either XP or XP sp1 in either case niether will repair or upgrade install your system because XP SP2 sees those as previous operating systems. If this is the case you will have to format to reinstall xp unless you get a copy of XP SP2 or slipstream SP2 with your copy.

simpswr · Answer

After you salvage your important data, you can boot from the XP CD and perform a clean install. .

Once you set your BIOS to boot first from cd . . when it restarts you will see a black screen with a prompt "Press any key to boot from CD" . . do that and you will be able to delete partitions and recreate the ones you want and proceed to formating and installing XP

That message can pass quickly, so have a finger on the keyboard when you boot. This will delete all data on the drive so be sure you have your important data backed up.

If you do not get that message, and you have another optical drive, try the XP CD in the other drive.

This is a great guide for reinstalling on a Dell: http://www.djdenham.com/Install%20Procedures.htm

wrs

joecool1437 · Answer

Thank you sooooooo much. It worked, I was able to get out of the upgrade and I followed the instructions to boot from the cd. Now I am preparing to install a new XP. Now I know how to save my outlook Express messages. Thank you again.

Windows General

Upgrading Windows Xp home edition fatal error

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