“Failed To Install Product Catalog” Error Message When You Install Windows XP

When you try to install Microsoft Windows XP, you may receive an error message similar to one or both of the following error messages: -or-

This behavior may occur if one of the following conditions is true:

• The Catroot2 folder is not correctly deleted during the installation.
• Therandom access memory (RAM) configuration is not compatible with Windows XP.
• One or more of the RAM modules on your computer do not work correctly.

To resolve this problem, follow these steps:

1. Rename the Catroot2 folder during the installation. To rename the %WinDir%\System32\Catroot2 folder at a command prompt, follow these steps:
   1. During setup, and while the error message that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section of this article appears on the screen, press SHIFT+F10 to open a command prompt, type cd\windows\system32\, and then press ENTER .
   2. Type rename catroot2 catold, press ENTER, and then restart the computer. Try to finish the installation again.
   If you cannot start a command prompt in Setup, restart the computer from a Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition startup disk and rename the %WinDir%\System32\Catroot2 folder, or restart the computer from the Windows XP CD and rename the folder in Recovery Console.
   
   If this does not resolve the problem, go to step 2.
2. If you are upgrading the operating system to Windows XP or Windows XP Service Pack 1, use the earlier version of the operating system to start the computer, set the maximum random access memory (RAM) for the computer to use to 128 MB, and then run the installation program again. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Restart the computer in the earlier version of Windows.
   2. Click Start, and then click Run.
   3. Type msconfig, and then click OK.
   4. In the System Configuration Utility, click the BOOT.INI tab, and then click Advanced Options.
   5. Click to select the /MAXMEM= check box, in the box to the right, type 128, click OK, and then click OK again.
   6. Try again to install Windows XP.
      
      If this does not resolve the problem, go to step 3.
3. Replace any faulty individual memory modules. To do this, follow these steps:
   1. Remove some of the memory modules that are installed on the computer. Leave at least the RAM required for the computer to start and run Windows XP.
      
      Note The recommended RAM to run Windows XP is 128 megabytes (MB). The minimum is 64 MB and the maximum is 4 gigabytes.
      
      For example, if two 256-MB memory modules are installed on your computer, remove one of the memory modules.
   2. Restart the computer, and then run Setup.
   3. If you again receive the error message that is mentioned in the "Symptoms" section of this article, go to step 3d.
   4. Remove a different memory module, or install the RAM in a different memory slot.
   5. Restart your computer, and then rerun Setup.
      
      You may have to restart your computer several times to identify the specific memory modules that are not working correctly.

For information about how to add and remove RAM, contact the manufacturer of the computer or see the documentation that is included with your computer.

For additional information about Windows XP Setup, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:For information about how to contact your hardware manufactuer, visit the following Microsoft Web site: Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

For additional information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: For additional information about how to start your computer from the Windows XP CD, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: