Installation problems can be caused by a number of factors. The following list shows the most common causes and their associated solutions during the installation process.

• Incompatible BIOS: Obtain compatible BIOS, replace the motherboard -with one that has compatible BIOS, or do not upgrade/install Windows XP

• BIOS needs to be upgraded: Upgrade the BIOS.

• Incompatible hardware: Replace the hardware or do not upgrade/install Windows XP

• Incompatible hardware drivers: Obtain Windows XP drivers from the hardware manufacturer.

• Incompatible TSRs: Remove TSRs or obtain updated ones from the software manufacturer.

• Incompatible applications: Obtain upgrades from software manufacturer.

• Minimum hardware requirements have not been met: Upgrade the hardware. The most likely things to check are the CPU (233 MHz minimum) and RAM (64 MB minimum).

• A virus is on the hard drive: Run an anti-virus program and remove the virus.
Pre-installation steps have not been completed: Go back through the list!

• The installation floppy disks or CD is corrupted (not as likely as the other causes).

Try the disk in another machine and see if you can see the contents. For the CD, check to see if any scratches or dirt are on the surface. Clean the CD as necessary.

• Incorrect CD Key-Type in the correct CD key to complete the installation. The key is located on the CD case.
• If a STOP message occurs when installing a dual boot system, boot from the Windows XP installation CD rather than the other operating system.
• If the installation halts, try removing any non-essential hardware such as network cards, modems, and USB devices and start the installation again. Reinstall the hardware once XP is loaded.
• If the computer locks up during setup and shows a blue screen, check the BIOS and hardware compatibility.
• If a message appears during setup that a device driver was unable to load, obtain the latest device drivers that are XP-compatible and restart the setup program.
• When upgrading from Windows 98 or Me to XP and setup displays an error that states it has disabled the upgrade option, clean boot the computer and try to run setup again. If that does not work, copy the 1386 folder from the Windows XP CD and run setup manually by locating the folder and double-clicking on the WINNT32.