Clean installation on Windows® XP or Vista

A common troubleshooting practice for installation problems is to install the software while in safe mode. However, this approach will not work on Windows XP or Windows Vista, because the installer cannot be loaded while in safe mode.

The best alternative is to use MSCONFIG to restart the system in a state similar to safe mode but with the installer services running. Follow these steps: 

Note: By default, MSCONFIG is not installed on Windows 2000, so the following solution will only work on Windows 2000 if you copy the msconfig.exe file from a Windows XP computer first.

1. Click Start menu > Run (Windows XP), or Start menu > StartSearch (Windows Vista)
2. Enter msconfig and click OK. 
3. Select Diagnostics Start Up to turn off most Windows services.
4. Click the Services tab and select the Windows Installer check box. 
5. Click OK and restart Windows when prompted.

Note: This procedure does not require that you copy the contents of the CD to the hard disk, because the basic CD drivers will still be loaded in Diagnostic mode. However, you will not be able to access network resources.

To return to normal start up mode:

1. Click Start menu > Run (Windows XP), or Start menu > StartSearch (Windows Vista)
2. Enter msconfig and click OK.
3. In the System Configuration dialog box, select Normal Start Up.
4. Click OK and restart Windows when prompted.