Error messages appear during upgrade from Windows Me or Windows 98 to Windows XP

If you try to upgrade to Windows XP on a computer that runs Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition, Microsoft Windows 98, or Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition, or if you try to upgrade from Windows XP Home Edition to Windows XP Professional, you may receive one or more of the following error messages while the Microsoft Windows XP Setup program is running, and you cannot complete the upgrade installation:

• Error:
  Cannot get main entry point for C:WINDOWSSYSTEMVIPERSTI.CPL. Error:127 [ERROR=127 (7Fh)]
• Error:
  The signature for Windows XP edition Setup is invalid. The error code is fffffdf0.
  
  The system cannot find message text for message number 0xfffffdf0 in the message file for Syssetup.dll.
• Fatal Error:
  Setup failed to install the product catalogs. This is a fatal error. The setup log files should contain more information.
• Error:
  Warning! Setup failed to remove the setup catalog ieexcep.cat
• Error:
  Warning! Setup failed to remove the setup catalog sp1.cat

When you try to upgrade from Windows XP Home Edition to Windows XP Professional, you may receive the following error message when you have 39 minutes remaining:

This problem may occur if the Setup program does not delete all the files in the WinDir\System32\Catroot2 folder during the removal of the earlier version of Windows.

Note WinDir is the Windows installation folder.

To resolve this problem, rename the %WinDir%\System32\Catroot2 folder. For more information about how to rename folders by using the Windows XP user interface, click Start, click Help and Support, type renaming folders, press ENTER, and then click Change the name of a file or folder.

To rename the %WinDir%\System32\Catroot2 folder at a command prompt, follow these steps:

1. While the Setup program is running, and while the error message still appears on the screen, press SHIFT+F10 to start a command prompt.
2. At the command prompt, type cd\windows\system32\, and then press ENTER.
3. Type rename catroot2 catold, press ENTER, and then restart the computer.
4. Try again to finish the upgrade.

If you cannot start a command prompt while the Setup program is running, start the computer from a Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Millennium Edition startup disk, and then rename the %WinDir%\System32\Catroot2 folder. Or, start the computer from the Windows XP CD, and then rename the folder in Recovery Console.

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the "Applies to" section.