[4dsmom]

I got a pop-up last night saying, " Files that are required for Windows to run properly have been replaced by unrecognized versions. To maintain system stability windows must restore the original version of these files. Insert Windows XP Professional CD2 now." I have XP Media Version .
I tried all of the CD's I got including the Operating System CD and all gets the response wrong cd. Try again. What is going on?

Thanks for any help on this one

[Saga Lout]

Originally Posted by 4dsmom

I got a pop-up last night saying, " Files that are required for Windows to run properly have been replaced by unrecognized versions. To maintain system stability windows must restore the original version of these files. Insert Windows XP Professional CD2 now." I have XP Media Version .
I tried all of the CD's I got including the Operating System CD and all gets the response wrong cd. Try again. What is going on?

Thanks for any help on this one

It may be that the CD's version of Windows has been superceded by Service Packs and other updates so is no longer being recognised. Try popping in your OS CD and clicking on Start then Run and in the Open box, type sfc /scannow (including the space) to let the System File Checker run through and replace anything missing or flawed with originals.

[TheOutcaste]

When you purchase XP Media Center 2005 from a store it comes on two disks. Disk 1 is XP Pro that has been modified to look for Disk 2 and install the Media Center components. Disk 2 is just the Media Center components.
Many OEMs combined these into one DVD, but didn't do this correctly so that the system can see that both CDs have been combined into one.

Disk 2 has one folder, CMPNENTS, which contains three folders:
MEDIACTR, NETFX, and TABLETPC

You should have an i386 folder on the hard drive, usually C:\i386, which should contain the CMPNENTS folder. It might not have the TABLETPC folder if your system isn't a Tablet PC though, but should have the other two.
If you burn that folder to a CD, and label the CD MRMSD2_EN (that's the label on the CD2 I downloaded from MSDN) you might be able to use that for your Disk 2. I'm not sure it if checks the disk label, or looks for the CMPNENTS folder (or one of the cab files it contains) to verify that the correct disk is inserted

You can also try changing the SourcePath item in the Registry so that it looks to the i386 folder on the hard drive, rather than looking for a CD.

Click Start | Run, type regedit, press Enter
Navigate to this location:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup

Look for a SourcePath item. Note the current value so you can restore it if needed.
Double click it to edit the value to point to the parent folder of the i386 folder.
For example, if your i386 folder is C:\i386, change SourcePath to read C:\

Check these locations for a SourcePath item as well (the 2nd key might not even exist):

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Windows NT\Windows File Protection

[4dsmom]

Thanks Outcaste and Saga Lout
I must say I like Saga's solution much better, if only because I do not ever mess with the registry. Next question... do I wait until I get another pop-up telling me this or go ahead and do it now? I do have a Service Pack 2 disc that I didn't try. This XP came on my PC, it was not installed by me.
I still would like to know how the files got changed for I have done nothing that would have caused them to be replaced. Any ideas how that happened?

Thanks again, I will be waiting for your answer.

[TheOutcaste]

The error message is actually coming from SFC. When you run SFC it will also ask for the CD. If it won't take it now, I don't think running it manually will make a difference. Hope I'm wrong though, would be easier.

I'd go ahead and run it now.

As to how they got changed, hard to say. Could just be a glitch that corrupted a file, an update (Windows or a program) that didn't install properly, or possibly malware

[4dsmom]

Thanks again, Will try it. Will mark solved for now

[4dsmom]

I did as Saga Lout suggested. Put cd with OS in and opened Run, typed in sfc /scannow. it started to scan but a pop-up said wrong cd, It scanned for awhile and then stopped 3 different times. Twice when it stopped it said, "Files that are required for Windows to run properly must be copied to DLL cache. Insert Service Pack 3 disk.I do not have a 3 disk only a Service Pack 2 disk.(It would not accept SP 2) I checked and Service Pack 3 5.1.2600 Service Pack build 2600 is installed and must have been at the factory for after looking through all my uodates it is not listed there. The third time it stopped it said, "Insert XP Pro . I tried the OS disk again and it said wrong cd. The only cd's I received with this PC are OS Reinstallation DVD, Drivers and Utilities and MS Service Pack 2. I had a hard time canceling these pop-ups when I didn't have proper disk to insert, It would then ask if I wanted to go on without fixing the file. So I am assuming there are at least 3 files that need fixing, and I haven't a clue to know what to do. The PC seems to be running fine. Any suggestions from someone who can help me would be much appreciated.

[Saga Lout]

Have a look in Control Panel>Administrative Tools>Event Viewer to see if there's anything showing as an error in the System or Applications logs. If there are no red entries, chances are you'll have a smooth ride until something wants to run and cannot. At that stage, you may need to start a new thread but for now, you seem to have overcome the problem.

In the meantime, there's an interesting article at Paul Thurrot's site that you might care to read on slipstreaming Service Packs on to a CD of your Windows installation to make sure you always have the latest version on disk and at least that stops that silly message appearing when you need a repair. You should find it here, somewhere http://www.winsupersite.com/

[4dsmom]

Saga Lout
I did as you suggested and I am attaching a file with the results. I have had no more po-ups warning me of "unrecognized" files.
I went to the site you suggested and asking if I download XP Service Pack 3, can I then burn it to a cd or is just designed for an install?
If I would do a system restore to back before I got the warning about the unrecognized files, would that correct the problem? Thanks so much

[Saga Lout]

Originally Posted by 4dsmom

Saga Lout
I did as you suggested and I am attaching a file with the results. I have had no more po-ups warning me of "unrecognized" files.
I went to the site you suggested and asking if I download XP Service Pack 3, can I then burn it to a cd or is just designed for an install?


I keep XPSP3 on a memory stick and probably install it four times a week on systems which haven't got it yet so yes, you can burn it to a CD if you wish but the object of the slipstream is to combine it with the existing XP system so you have a disk with an up-to-date system and you no longer see that message that implies you're trying to use a CD that's older than the system.



If I would do a system restore to back before I got the warning about the unrecognized files, would that correct the problem? Thanks so much

I'm not sure you still have a problem, having looked at the Event logs. Also, without knowing which files SFC corrected, I can't say whether SR would have any effect. If anything continues to crop up, it might be worth a try. There were rather a lot of errors but you may have sorted it now. Let a few days go by and keep an eye in Event Viewer.

[4dsmom]

Thanks, but I am not sure how to "slipstream", the article had me confused. Seems pretty crucial that you follow the directions to a "T". I think I will wait until I have another problem, and if I do I think it would be simpler to buy SP 3 on a disk.,

Thanks again

[Saga Lout]

Originally Posted by 4dsmom

Thanks, but I am not sure how to "slipstream", the article had me confused. Seems pretty crucial that you follow the directions to a "T". I think I will wait until I have another problem, and if I do I think it would be simpler to buy SP 3 on a disk.,

Thanks again

Believe me, it's so simple even I can do it at my great age The written instructions on carrying out the simplest of tasks always appear daunting but there are really only four major steps so don't be put off - have a go. At worst you'll make a couple of coasters before you get it right.

[TheOutcaste]

Paul's article shows how to slipstream manually. Though as SagaLout says, if you follow the steps it's really not that hard, it's well written.
Another option some people find easier is to use NLite or Autostreamer. I like nLite better myself, but nLite does require that .NET Framework 2.0 be installed, whereas Autostreamer doesn't. Some people just don't want to install .NET if they don't have to, I've not had a problem with it myself. you can find several guides online for both programs.

With NLite, once installed it really easy.
Download the SP3 file from Microsoft and put it on the Desktop
Download and install nLite, then run the program. If you need to install .NET Framework, you'll be prompted.
Click Yes, and it will open your browser on the Microsoft download page for .NET Framework 2.0.
Click the Download button on the MS Web page, and save the file on your Desktop. Double click the file to install it.
Restart nLite.

Create a new folder in the root of your drive. (You can also do this from within nLite)

• Click Start | My Computer
• Double click the C: Drive
• Click File, point to New, click Folder
• Type XPCD for the name of the folder
  You can use any drive and any name. You can use an existing folder, but the folder must be empty.

Put the XP CD into the drive. If the Welcome to Microsoft Windows screen appears, click Exit
Switch back to Nlite
Click Next
Click Browse and select the CD drive. Click OK.
You'll get a warning box:
Select where to save the CD installation files for modification.
Choose or create an empty folder.
Click OK
The file browser should reopen. Select the C:\XPCD folder. Click OK.
nlite will copy the files, and display info about the XP version when finished.
Click Next.
Don't need to do anything on the Presets screen so click Next.
In the Integrate section click Service Pack
In the Create section click Bootable ISO
These two buttons should now have a green dot, the others will all be red.
Click Next.
We now need to tell nLite where the SP file is at.
Click Select. Browse to the Desktop and select the SP3 file (WindowsXP-KB936929-SP3-x86-ENU.exe)
Click Open.
nLite will begin Slipstreaming. This can take several minutes
You'll see an Extracting Files dialog, then a Software Installation Update Wizard dialog, showing the progress as the files are integrated.
When finished, you'll get a success message box, click on OK
You'll be back at the nLite screen where you selected the Service Pack file.
Click Next.
On the Bootable ISO Screen, you can change the default label (WinLite) to something more descriptive like XPPro-SP3 or XPHome-SP3
Then click Make ISO.
Select a location and name for the ISO File, then click Save.
I'd save it on the Desktop, and name it XPPro-SP3.iso
You can then use your favorite burning software to burn the image to disk.
If you don't have ISO burning software, here's a couple of free ones. I'd recommend the ISO Recorder for this, it easy to use.

ISO Burning Software

ISO Recorder
Img Burn
ISO Recorder is one of the easiest you'll find. It doesn't install as a program, but adds itself to the context menu. Right click on an ISO file and click Copy image to CD
A simple Recording Wizard appears.
You can Select the source, either a different file or a CD.
Select the burner if you have more than one, and set Speed and if it should eject when finished.
Click Next and it burns the image.
Click Finish when it completes.

Img Burn is a full fledged program with lots of features, very useful, but overkill for this purpose.

Once you've burned the CD, you can delete the C:\XPCD folder and the Service Pack file. You can uninstall nLite and .NET Framework as well if you won't be using them again. Easy enough to re-install if needed.

You may want to keep the iso file in case you need to burn another disk should something happen to the first one.

HTH

Jerry

[Saga Lout]

I've never used the nLite method but you almost have me sold on it, Jerry. Is it equally easy to include your drivers in the slipstream so you have a complete up-to-date version of your own system by adding windows\inf, windows\system32\drivers and drv_store?

[TheOutcaste]

I've used it to slipstream SATA drivers a couple of times, but not much else. It was very easy though.
You can slipstream in post SP updates as well, but can run out of space if you want to keep it CD size, especially if adding several drivers.

This guide goes through quite a few customizations:
Slipstreaming Windows XP

It suggests disabling System Restore and SFC which I don't recommend as I've found both have been useful, but you can if you want.