Lesson 5:?Troubleshooting Windows XP Professional Setup

Your installation of Windows XP Professional should complete without any problems. However, this lesson covers some common issues you might encounter during installation.

After this lesson, you will be able to

• Troubleshoot Windows XP Professional installations

Estimated lesson time: 5 minutes

Resolving Common Problems

Table 2.6 lists some common installation problems and offers solutions.

Table 2.6 Troubleshooting Tips

Setup Logs

During Setup, Windows XP Professional generates a number of log files containing installation information that can help you resolve any problems that occur after setup is completed. The action log and the error log are especially useful for troubleshooting.

Action Log

The action log records in chronological order the actions that the Setup program performs. It includes actions such as copying files and creating Registry entries. It also contains entries that are written to the Setup error log. The action log is stored in SETUPACT.LOG.

Error Log

The error log describes errors that occur during setup and their severity. If errors occur, the log viewer displays the error log at the end of setup. The error log is stored in SETUPERR.LOG.

Additional Logs

Setup creates a number of additional logs, including the following:

• % windir%\comsetup.log Outlines installation for Optional Component Manager and COM+ components.
• % windir%\setupapi.log Receives an entry each time a line from an .inf file is implemented. If an error occurs, this log describes the failure.
• % windir%\debug\NetSetup.log Logs activity when computers join domains or workgroups.
• % windir%\repair\setup.log Provides information that is used by the Recovery Console. (In Windows NT 4, this was used by the Emergency Repair Process.) For more information about the Recovery Console, see Chapter 18, "Modifying and Troubleshooting the Boot Process."

Lesson Review

The following questions will help you determine whether you have learned enough to move on to the next lesson. If you have difficulty answering these questions, review the material in this lesson before beginning the next chapter. The answers are in Appendix A, "Questions and Answers."

1. If you encounter an error during setup, which of the following log files should you check? (Choose all that apply.)
   1. SETUPERR.LOG
   2. NETSETUP.LOG
   3. SETUP.LOG
   4. SETUPACT.LOG
2. If your computer cannot connect to the domain controller during installation, what should you do?
3. If your computer cannot connect to read the CD-ROM during installation, what should you do?

Lesson Summary

• The action log, SETUPACT.LOG, records and describes in chronological order the actions that Setup performs.
• The error log, SETUPERR.LOG, describes errors that occur during setup and indicates the severity of each error.
• A number of additional logs are created during setup, including COMSETUP.LOG, SETUPAPI.LGO, NETSETUP.LOG, and SETUP.LOG.