Clean XP Home install problems

The hard drive on my Dell Dimensions 8300 died so I am trying to do a clean
install of XP Home using the Dell supplied re-installation disc. I replaced
the bad drive with a Seagate 160 G. I ran the installation disc for the new
drive without any problem. I start to boot the computer using the OEM disc
and the select drive and formatting goes smoothly. As the system is copying
files a screen appears that says “shell32.dll was not copied correctly. The
file Setup placed on your hard drive is not a valid Windows XP system image�.
It gives you the option to hit return for a re-try, which I tried numerous
times, but still no go. I used this disc one other time for a re-install
(using the original drive) and it worked fine. I thought the disc may be bad,
so I borrowed an installation disc from a friend, but I still get the same
error. This is licensed software I received from Dell with the computer. Any
ideas what I may be doing wrong? Thanks for the help!

Have you tried contacting Dell about this? Your problem is typical of faulty
memory.

--


Harry Ohrn MS MVP [Shell\User]
www.webtree.ca/windowsxp


"Mike G" <Mike G@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:E5E72C2A-A548-480E-9EDF-096B8ACA8905@microsoft.com...
> The hard drive on my Dell Dimensions 8300 died so I am trying to do a
> clean
> install of XP Home using the Dell supplied re-installation disc. I
> replaced
> the bad drive with a Seagate 160 G. I ran the installation disc for the
> new
> drive without any problem. I start to boot the computer using the OEM disc
> and the select drive and formatting goes smoothly. As the system is
> copying
> files a screen appears that says "shell32.dll was not copied correctly.
> The
> file Setup placed on your hard drive is not a valid Windows XP system
> image".
> It gives you the option to hit return for a re-try, which I tried numerous
> times, but still no go. I used this disc one other time for a re-install
> (using the original drive) and it worked fine. I thought the disc may be
> bad,
> so I borrowed an installation disc from a friend, but I still get the same
> error. This is licensed software I received from Dell with the computer.
> Any
> ideas what I may be doing wrong? Thanks for the help!
>
>

Harry,
No, I have not contacted Dell. The computer is six years old. I was afraid
of memory problems. This computer uses RDRAM which is very expensive. I may
try taking out one set of memory modules at a time and see if that clears up
the problem. Thanks for the help.

"Harry Ohrn" wrote:

> Have you tried contacting Dell about this? Your problem is typical of faulty
> memory.
>
> --
>
>
> Harry Ohrn MS MVP [Shell\User]
> www.webtree.ca/windowsxp
>
>
> "Mike G" <Mike G@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:E5E72C2A-A548-480E-9EDF-096B8ACA8905@microsoft.com...
> > The hard drive on my Dell Dimensions 8300 died so I am trying to do a
> > clean
> > install of XP Home using the Dell supplied re-installation disc. I
> > replaced
> > the bad drive with a Seagate 160 G. I ran the installation disc for the
> > new
> > drive without any problem. I start to boot the computer using the OEM disc
> > and the select drive and formatting goes smoothly. As the system is
> > copying
> > files a screen appears that says "shell32.dll was not copied correctly.
> > The
> > file Setup placed on your hard drive is not a valid Windows XP system
> > image".
> > It gives you the option to hit return for a re-try, which I tried numerous
> > times, but still no go. I used this disc one other time for a re-install
> > (using the original drive) and it worked fine. I thought the disc may be
> > bad,
> > so I borrowed an installation disc from a friend, but I still get the same
> > error. This is licensed software I received from Dell with the computer.
> > Any
> > ideas what I may be doing wrong? Thanks for the help!
> >
> >
>
>
>

If you suspect memory problem then:
Try running Memtest86+, this runs from a boot disk and should eliminate or
confirm if your ram is bad.
Let it run for as long as you can, 2,4,6,8 or more hours, if no errors by
then your ram is OK.
See: http://www.memtest.org/

JS

"Mike G" <MikeG@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:2FD6F1EC-A349-4660-9682-66A9C664BD34@microsoft.com...
> Harry,
> No, I have not contacted Dell. The computer is six years old. I was afraid
> of memory problems. This computer uses RDRAM which is very expensive. I
> may
> try taking out one set of memory modules at a time and see if that clears
> up
> the problem. Thanks for the help.
>
> "Harry Ohrn" wrote:
>
>> Have you tried contacting Dell about this? Your problem is typical of
>> faulty
>> memory.
>>
>> --
>>
>>
>> Harry Ohrn MS MVP [Shell\User]
>> www.webtree.ca/windowsxp
>>
>>
>> "Mike G" <Mike G@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:E5E72C2A-A548-480E-9EDF-096B8ACA8905@microsoft.com...
>> > The hard drive on my Dell Dimensions 8300 died so I am trying to do a
>> > clean
>> > install of XP Home using the Dell supplied re-installation disc. I
>> > replaced
>> > the bad drive with a Seagate 160 G. I ran the installation disc for the
>> > new
>> > drive without any problem. I start to boot the computer using the OEM
>> > disc
>> > and the select drive and formatting goes smoothly. As the system is
>> > copying
>> > files a screen appears that says "shell32.dll was not copied correctly.
>> > The
>> > file Setup placed on your hard drive is not a valid Windows XP system
>> > image".
>> > It gives you the option to hit return for a re-try, which I tried
>> > numerous
>> > times, but still no go. I used this disc one other time for a
>> > re-install
>> > (using the original drive) and it worked fine. I thought the disc may
>> > be
>> > bad,
>> > so I borrowed an installation disc from a friend, but I still get the
>> > same
>> > error. This is licensed software I received from Dell with the
>> > computer.
>> > Any
>> > ideas what I may be doing wrong? Thanks for the help!
>> >
>> >
>>
>>
>>

"Mike G" <MikeG@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:2FD6F1EC-A349-4660-9682-66A9C664BD34@microsoft.com...
> Harry,
> No, I have not contacted Dell. The computer is six years old. I was afraid
> of memory problems. This computer uses RDRAM which is very expensive. I
may
> try taking out one set of memory modules at a time and see if that clears
up
> the problem. Thanks for the help.
>
> "Harry Ohrn" wrote:
>
> > Have you tried contacting Dell about this? Your problem is typical of
faulty
> > memory.
> >
>


RD ram is used in pairs and if you take a pair out you still must put in
"dummy" continuity Rimm


I'd run a memory diagnostic on the whole thing...

If the RAM is bad though you'd probably be better off just replacing the
whole mobo

"Mike G" wrote:

> Harry,
> No, I have not contacted Dell. The computer is six years old. I was afraid
> of memory problems. This computer uses RDRAM which is very expensive. I may
> try taking out one set of memory modules at a time and see if that clears up
> the problem. Thanks for the help.
>
> "Harry Ohrn" wrote:
>
> > Have you tried contacting Dell about this? Your problem is typical of faulty
> > memory.
> >
> > --
> >
> >
> > Harry Ohrn MS MVP [Shell\User]
> > www.webtree.ca/windowsxp
> >
> >
> > "Mike G" <Mike G@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> > news:E5E72C2A-A548-480E-9EDF-096B8ACA8905@microsoft.com...
> > > The hard drive on my Dell Dimensions 8300 died so I am trying to do a
> > > clean
> > > install of XP Home using the Dell supplied re-installation disc. I
> > > replaced
> > > the bad drive with a Seagate 160 G. I ran the installation disc for the
> > > new
> > > drive without any problem. I start to boot the computer using the OEM disc
> > > and the select drive and formatting goes smoothly. As the system is
> > > copying
> > > files a screen appears that says "shell32.dll was not copied correctly.
> > > The
> > > file Setup placed on your hard drive is not a valid Windows XP system
> > > image".
> > > It gives you the option to hit return for a re-try, which I tried numerous
> > > times, but still no go. I used this disc one other time for a re-install
> > > (using the original drive) and it worked fine. I thought the disc may be
> > > bad,
> > > so I borrowed an installation disc from a friend, but I still get the same
> > > error. This is licensed software I received from Dell with the computer.
> > > Any
> > > ideas what I may be doing wrong? Thanks for the help!
> > >
> > >
> >
> >
> >

"Harry Ohrn" wrote:

> Have you tried contacting Dell about this? Your problem is typical of faulty
> memory.
>
> --
>
>
> Harry Ohrn MS MVP [Shell\User]
> www.webtree.ca/windowsxp
>
>
> "Mike G" <Mike G@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:E5E72C2A-A548-480E-9EDF-096B8ACA8905@microsoft.com...
> > The hard drive on my Dell Dimensions 8300 died so I am trying to do a
> > clean
> > install of XP Home using the Dell supplied re-installation disc. I
> > replaced
> > the bad drive with a Seagate 160 G. I ran the installation disc for the
> > new
> > drive without any problem. I start to boot the computer using the OEM disc
> > and the select drive and formatting goes smoothly. As the system is
> > copying
> > files a screen appears that says "shell32.dll was not copied correctly.
> > The
> > file Setup placed on your hard drive is not a valid Windows XP system
> > image".
> > It gives you the option to hit return for a re-try, which I tried numerous
> > times, but still no go. I used this disc one other time for a re-install
> > (using the original drive) and it worked fine. I thought the disc may be
> > bad,
> > so I borrowed an installation disc from a friend, but I still get the same
> > error. This is licensed software I received from Dell with the computer.
> > Any
> > ideas what I may be doing wrong? Thanks for the help!
> >
> >
>
>
>