Microsoft KB Archive/73431

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Setup Hangs When Creating Windows Directory

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Q73431

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The information in this article applies to:


 * Microsoft Windows versions 3.0, 3.0a, 3.1, 3.11

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SYMPTOMS
The Windows Setup program may return you to an MS-DOS prompt or stop responding (hang) immediately after the Windows directory has been specified.

This problem occurs before the System Information screen appears in Windows Setup.

CAUSE
This may be caused by installing Windows to a hard drive with an excessive number of lost clusters. In such a situation, when the Setup program tries to create the Windows directory, it fails.

WORKAROUND
Use the steps below to troubleshoot the problem.

CAUTION: The following troubleshooting steps advise the use of the MS-DOS utility CHKDSK with the /F parameter. Running CHKDSK/F on a hard drive with a large number of lost clusters may result in damaged files, loss of data, and the loss of directory integrity. For more information regarding CHKDSK, please read the &quot;Microsoft MS-DOS User's Guide and User's Reference&quot; (pages 44-45 for version 4.01 and pages 381-383 for version 5.0).

Troubleshooting Steps
NOTE: Read the entire procedure before beginning, then either do steps 1-5 or skip steps 1-2 and begin with step 1b.

  At the MS-DOS prompt, type: "chkdsk/f" If the CHKDSK reveals lost clusters, convert those lost clusters to files by typing Y when prompted to do so.   Delete all files with the CHK extension in the root directory by typing: "del *.chk" -or-

Step 1 b. At the MS-DOS prompt, type: "chkdsk/f" If the CHKDSK utility reveals lost clusters, and you type N, MS-DOS corrects the disk, but does not save the contents of the lost allocation units.

NOTE: If the number of lost clusters is excessive, there may be a hardware problem. It is difficult to provide a specific definition for excessive because some situations are more likely to produce lost clusters than others. For instance, it is far more likely that there would be lost clusters on a machine running software that creates large temporary files because an improper exit from such a program can result in many lost clusters. In any event, running CHKDSK/F in such a situation may result in the loss of data. When the CHKDSK reveals anything more than 100-200K of lost clusters, you may want to contact your service technician to have your hardware checked.   After following steps 1-2 or step 1b above, continue with step 3.

If CHKDSK/F reveals no lost clusters, try to create a directory named WINDOWS by typing: "md windows" If the command is not successful (and you are not able to create the directory from MS-DOS), there may be a hardware problem. Contact your service technician. If the command is successful, try running the Windows Setup program with the Windows directory already on the hard drive.

If these steps are not successful, query on the word tshoot to find more troubleshooting steps to resolve an improper installation of Windows.

Additional query words: 3.0 3.00 3.0a 3.00a 3.1 3.10 3.11

Keywords :

Issue type :

Technology : kbWin3xSearch kbWin300 kbWin300a kbWin310 kbWin311