[wannabe1]

It wasn't the size of the file that was preventing the upload...it was the extension (.inf). Compressing the file changed it to an acceptable file extension (.zip).

It appears to be hanging when it tries to install the serial ports. Kind of an odd place to hang.

If you aren't still at that command prompt, you will need to get back to it. At the prompt, type del msports.inf and press "Enter"...then see if the installation will continue.

Note: If you receive an invalid path error, try typing del inf\msports.inf

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Thank you for explaining why my upload did not work. I appreciate that.

I am assuming you mean the msports.inf file located within the C:\windows\inf directory. There is also a msports.pnf file located there as well as many other files. So I have two questions for the sake of clarity:
Will not deleting the msports.pnf file make a difference?
If, in the unlikely event, the msports.inf file exists anyplace else on the system path could this also cause a problem, and if there are other instances of the msports.inf file should these also be deleted?

Also, could the c:\windows\inf\spxports.inf file be causing the installation to hang?
...and should the c:\windows\system32\msports.dll file also be deleted?

Note: The c:\windows\inf\msports.inf file has been moved to a floppy disk and removed from the c:\windows\inf directory.
I am in the process of repeating the repair process to see if it will continue or hang.

Edited by geekstogouser, 23 November 2007 - 12:43 PM.

[geekstogouser]

Thank you for explaining why my upload did not work. I appreciate that.

I am assuming you mean the msports.inf file located within the C:\windows\inf directory. There is also a msports.pnf file located there as well as many other files. So I have two questions for the sake of clarity:
Will not deleting the msports.pnf file make a difference?
If, in the unlikely event, the msports.inf file exists anyplace else on the system path could this also cause a problem, and if there are other instances of the msports.inf file should these also be deleted?

Also, could the c:\windows\inf\spxports.inf file be causing the installation to hang?
...and should the c:\windows\system32\msports.dll file also be deleted?

Note: The c:\windows\inf\msports.inf file has been moved to a floppy disk and removed from the c:\windows\inf directory.
I am in the process of repeating the repair process to see if it will continue or hang.

Edited by geekstogouser, 23 November 2007 - 12:43 PM.

[geekstogouser]

It now appears to be hanging at 34 minutes left to completion.
I'm going to repeat the process one more time making sure I've deleted msports.inf before the reattempt, as soon as it hangs I will bring up the a command prompt via Shift+F10 and copy the setupapi.log file to a disk and attach it to the next post so you may have a fresh look at what is going on.

[geekstogouser]

I have restarted the repair process until it hangs at 34 minutes to completion.
I then made sure to delete the msports.inf file by rebooting without the CD in the tray so I could Shift+F10 to a command prompt and verify that the msports.inf file was indeed deleted.
At that point the computer was turned off and the CD was put in the tray while the computer was off.
The computer was then switched on and I choose the boot from the CD when asked.
After following the steps for the repair process as I have in previous attempts, it hung at 34 minutes to completion.
At that point I pressed Shift+F10 and copied the c:\windows\setupapi.log file to a floppy disk.

Since it is no longer consistently hanging at 33 minutes and is now consistently hanging at 34 minutes to completion, I am hoping that something has changed. The setupapi.log file has been zipped and attached to this post.

I hope having this file will help, and I am as always in debt to your time and patients on this issue. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Patrick

Attached Files

•  setupapi.zip   11.6KB   197 downloads

[wannabe1]

Keyboard's hanging it up now. Do you have access to a PS2 mouse and keyboard (not adapted) that you can use to run the setup with?

[geekstogouser]

Yes, I've been getting false "keyboard not detected" error's at startup that go away as soon as they appear. One the rare occasion that error message flashes briefly on the screen, the computer does seem to respond to keystrokes and the keyboard does seem to function properly.

The keyboard is PS/2, but the mouse is not. I do have a PS/2 mouse I can try out, but the keyboard is going to be a little more tricky. I will look in my old parts box and see if I can dig one up. If I can't find one I'll see if I can borrow one temporarily from work or the media or tech departments at school.

I'll keep you updated on the progress.
Sincerely,
Patrick

[geekstogouser]

I never shut down the last repair process since the very last post that mentioned one. After exiting the command prompt I let it continue to run over night and it did make it down to 33 minutes left to completion.

The setupapi.log file from this session did actually continue successfully past the keyboard section of the file and we are back to it hanging on the com ports. Note: The msports.inf file was verified as deleted before this repair process was started.

I am attaching the latest setupapi.log file from this same session where it pretended to hang on the keyboard section but then continued successfully past it and hung on the com ports section instead.

Attached Files

•  setupapi_0001.zip   13.43KB   195 downloads

[wannabe1]

Everytime the installation is restarted, it will copy those files to your HDD. The trick is to let the machine hang, open the command session, delete the file (msports.inf), close the command session (type exit...press Enter), and see if the install will continue.

Here's something else you might try. Start the setup and as soon as you get to where you no longer need a keyboard and mouse, remove them. When you need them again, plug them back in using USB ports rather than the PS2 ports. See if it will complete that way.

Do you have important files on this machine?

[geekstogouser]

Today I purchased a used PS/2 keyboard and a used PS/2 mouse for $3 bucks at a recycled computer shop. They are warrantied and should be compatible with the computer since they are the same brand as the computer.

The msports.inf file was deleted before shutting down the previous repair attempt and the new keyboard and mouse were installed while the computer was off. The CD was left in the tray and I selected to boot from it when it asked me to. I went through the various blue screen questions and the computer is currently at 34 minutes left.

I've tried deleting msports.inf and exiting the command prompt on a few of the previous attempts and it remains hung each time. However this is the first time trying it with both a PS/2 keyboard and mouse.

I'm aware that my only option left might be to format the HD and start over from scratch. I'm ok with doing that provided I can check the partition table before continuing so I can make sure all the important files are located on the Secondary drive and not on the Primary drive along with WinXP. It would really suck to have to format / reinstall / reconfigure everything, but if it has to be done, then it has to be done.

Before I goto bed tonight if it is still stuck at 34 or 33 minutes, I'll delete the msports.inf file again, exit the command prompt shell, and allow the computer to run overnight. I'm not feeling very optimistic about this next repair attempt but I'll let you know what happens and for good measure I'll include the setupapi.log from this attempt once I'm sure it has failed.

Thanks for being as persistent as I am about this. I really appreciate it.
Sincerely,
Patrick

[geekstogouser]

After deleting the c:\windows\inf\msports.inf file and exiting the command prompt, the repair has remained stuck at 33 minutes to completion over night.

In the last block of the setupapi.log file it shows that *PNP0501 is found twice (supposedly within msports.inf) and given a different "Rank:" each time. Why does this happen? Could this be part of the problem? Should it only be found once?

Also in the very last line of the setupapi.log file where it states the following:
#I289 Removing device "ROOT\*PNP0501\1_0_17_0_0_0".
This is the only time within the entire file that any attempt is ever made at removing a device, and this is where the file ends and possibly but not necessarily where the computer hangs. So why is it trying to remove this device? Is there a way to force the repair process to stop trying to remove devices or at least to skip that step and continue? Should we attempt to manually remove the device mentioned?

Note: "ROOT\*PNP0501\1_0_17_0_0_0" is a key with subkeys located within the system registry in at least two places.
Specifically:
Instance #1: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Enum\Root\*PNP0501\1_0_17_0_0_0"
Instance #2: "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\Root\*PNP0501\1_0_17_0_0_0"
Note: That there are many other instances of "PNP0501" with many branches rooted throughout the system registry.
Also PNP0501 seems to be registered / defined as Com1. What is typically hooked up to Com1? Is it the mouse? A modem?

I'm using DSL so there is a network card but I unplugged it at the modem side...
Could removing all non-essential hardware before starting the repair process make a difference or is the repair process trying to repair the OS back to where all the hardware was already installed?

I am attaching copies of both msports.inf and the setupapi.log file from this last attempt.

Attached Files

•  msports.zip   4.77KB   200 downloads
•  setupapi_0002.zip   13.42KB   183 downloads

Edited by geekstogouser, 25 November 2007 - 11:43 AM.

[wannabe1]

It seems to be failing at registering/unregistering devices...it may not be trying to load a driver so it's not documented as such in the log.

As you thought, the next step would be to physically remove any devices you can. Network cards have been known to hang installs...try that first.

[geekstogouser]

Ok I'll remove the network card.
If the Motherboard also has an embedded network card or modem built in should it be disabled in the BIOS?

Also, if the repair process locks up again, should I do as before and remove the msports.inf to see if it will continue without it?

Again thank you for being patient.
Sincerely,
Patrick

[wannabe1]

See if it will continue without it. You shouldn't have to disable the onboard network card...give it a shot without doing that first.

[wannabe1]

I wonder if we can get it to take a parallel install? We can always give that a try, too.

[geekstogouser]

I hadn't even though of using a parallel install to do a repair.
Yeah, that might be fun to try if this attempt doesn't work. The only problem is that I'm not quite sure I have enough HD space on the C: partition to allow for it. However I could pick up a used one for cheap, remove the secondary drive, make the current primary a secondary and swap in the one that was purchased as a primary to be formated. I'm curious how I could proceed from that point to complete the repair, but we can wait to cross that bridge until we have too.

Note: I discovered there was a 56K modem card hiding in there as well as a wireless network card. Both have been removed. There is a network card embedded in the motherboard and it was the one being used for internet connectivity however the cable for that has been unplugged on the router side so hopefully that is not causing the hangups. If it does hang I will try disabling it in the BIOS and try again to see if that helps anything.

Current Status:
Repair in progress.
Waiting to see if the clock will run down to and then past 33 minutes to completion.

Wish me luck. I'm keeping my fingers figuratively crossed on this one.

Edited by geekstogouser, 25 November 2007 - 04:01 PM.