# XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

Alright, so I recently bought a brand new computer, and now I'm wanting to sell my laptop. Before I sell it, though, I want to do a complete wipe of the hard drive, and reinstall a fresh (legal) copy of Windows XP Home Edition, using the disc that originally came with my laptop.

So far, I've been able to completely reformat the hard drive, and setup loads just fine. The problem I run into, is when the OS is reinstalling. Here's what I get:










The thing is, I've got that exact disc in the drive already. This is the same disc that was originally bundled with my laptop. The OS and SP1 weren't on two separate discs. They were both put together on 1 disc, so there couldn't possibly be another disc to use. I've spent about an hour on Google, and finally found what I believe to be the solution to this situation. It comes straight from the horses mouth too: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=311755

The problem, though, is that pretty much everything on that Microsoft support page is foreign to me. Use a Windows 98 Startup disk? Where do I get one of those? Copy files using the command prompt? Yikes. Now I have a fairly good understanding of Windows and computers in general, but I never had to go through this much of a hassle the last time i reinstalled XP Home on this very same laptop.

I'm wondering if there might be a kind soul who might be able to give me a step by step of what I need to do to get XP Home reinstalled on my laptop before i sell it. Any insight/information would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Zach


----------



## sobeit (Nov 11, 2007)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

the link you have gives you the step by step instructions. Just scroll down to where it says *Hard disk formatted with NTFS file system* then follow the steps that follows.


----------



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

I'm getting stuck when I get to step 6:



> 6. Locate and then click the following key:
> HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Test\ControlSet1\Control\Class\{4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
> 7. Delete the UPPERFILTERS and LOWERFILTERS registry keys.
> 8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 for the other ControlSet# keys under the Test hive.


The problem is, when I click all the way to Class, I don't have a {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}.

I have:

{4D36E967-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
{4D36E96B-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
{4D36E96F-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
{4D36E972-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
{4D36E973-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
{4D36E974-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
{4D36E975-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
{4D36E97B-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
{4D36E97E-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}
{71A27CDD-812A-11D0-BEC7-08002BE2092F}

Are all 10 of those the ControlSet# keys that step 8 is referring to? If so, only 4 have an UpperFilters entry (the first 3 and the last one), and none have a LowerFilters entry. Should I just delete those 4 and continue on?

Thanks again!
Zach


----------



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

Anyone?


----------



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

I anyone familiar with the above mentioned keys?


----------



## sobeit (Nov 11, 2007)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

do not delete any key other that what was mentioned. If you do not have it, skip that step. 

as far as the upper and lower keys, delete any thats found per the instructions. If it does not have any, skip it also.


----------



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*



sobeit666 said:


> do not delete any key other that what was mentioned. If you do not have it, skip that step.
> 
> as far as the upper and lower keys, delete any thats found per the instructions. If it does not have any, skip it also.


The thing that confuses me is step 8. Do I need to perform steps 6 and 7 for the other 10 keys then?


----------



## sobeit (Nov 11, 2007)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

I personally hate messing with the registry....:grin:

since you are installing, go ahead and skip that step and see what happens. If it still dont work. try it again and then in those other keys you mentioned, delete the upper and lower filters - if they have them.


----------



## sobeit (Nov 11, 2007)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

I was just rereading all the post in this thread but I need clarification on something which could have something to do with your problems.

You said you recently purchased a brand new computer. What operating system came on it. As far as the Winxp, is it a full retail version or did it come with another computer?


----------



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*



sobeit666 said:


> I was just rereading all the post in this thread but I need clarification on something which could have something to do with your problems.
> 
> You said you recently purchased a brand new computer. What operating system came on it. As far as the Winxp, is it a full retail version or did it come with another computer?


The new computer has Vista Home Premium. The disc I'm trying to reinstall from is the Dell branded one that originally came with my laptop.


----------



## sobeit (Nov 11, 2007)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*



MidwestDrummer said:


> The new computer has Vista Home Premium. The disc I'm trying to reinstall from is the Dell branded one that originally came with my laptop.


then that is the reason why it will not install. It is oem and was created for the specific dell laptop and its looking for that specific laptop. You will need to purchase a full retail version of xp.

Besides you will never get it legal as long as its installed in your laptop and its a violations of the eula since it can never be transfered to another computer.


----------



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*



sobeit666 said:


> I personally hate messing with the registry....:grin:
> 
> since you are installing, go ahead and skip that step and see what happens. If it still dont work. try it again and then in those other keys you mentioned, delete the upper and lower filters - if they have them.


*Sigh*

Well I went ahead and deleted those 4 registry entries and then rebooted. Setup loaded again, but instead of continuing on like normal, I received a Fatal Error message. Unfortunately I did not write down anything pertaining to it. At this point I decided to make a duplicate copy of the XP Home CD that originally came with my Dell laptop. It went surprisingly quick with Nero, and I threw the duplicate into the laptop and rebooted. Setup started once again, and imediately a message popped up asking me to insert the Windows XP Home Service Pack 1 disc. Not only did it not take the duplicate, but i discovered that both the touchpad and keyboard are not reading touches and keystrokes. Just for the heck of it, I popped open the CD drive and closed it again. My laptop started reading it, and out of nowhere it accepted and continued to go through the normal setup process. Unfortunately I have come to a screen where I need to set the Region and Language Options. Normally this would be a piece of cake, but i cannot bypass this screen, seeing as how my touchpad and keyboard currently aren't functioning. Once door has openned, but another has closed. Argh! I'm not quite sure where to go from here. Is it possible to abort the setup process mid-setup and completely start over?

*EDIT*: When I reboot my laptop, hold down F12 to access the BIOS, the keypad is functional. However, when I exit the BIOS, and the computer starts the Setup process again, the keypad becomes nonfunctional again. Any ideas? Would it be best to start the Setup process over? Is that possible once the Setup process has already begun?


----------



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*



sobeit666 said:


> then that is the reason why it will not install. It is oem and was created for the specific dell laptop and its looking for that specific laptop. You will need to purchase a full retail version of xp.
> 
> Besides you will never get it legal as long as its installed in your laptop and its a violations of the eula since it can never be transfered to another computer.


I'm confused. I am using this disc in the laptop that it was originally bundled with. I've used it in the past to reinstall the OS with success. I do have a legit serial too. The sticker is still on the underside of the laptop.


----------



## sobeit (Nov 11, 2007)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*



MidwestDrummer said:


> I'm confused. I am using this disc in the laptop that it was originally bundled with. I've used it in the past to reinstall the OS with success. I do have a legit serial too. The sticker is still on the underside of the laptop.


please forgive my stupidity...I got your computers mixed up for some unknown reason.


----------



## sobeit (Nov 11, 2007)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*



MidwestDrummer said:


> *Sigh*
> 
> Would it be best to start the Setup process over? Is that possible once the Setup process has already begun?


Yes, start the setup process all over again.


----------



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*



sobeit666 said:


> Yes, start the setup process all over again.


This is exactly what I can't figure out how to do. Every single time i reboot, it kicks into the existing Setup. I'm not sure how to completely erase/abandon this Setup and start a new one.


----------



## sobeit (Nov 11, 2007)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

reformat first. use dban to reformat once you reformat, you should be able to start the setup again.


----------



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

thanks, I'll give it a shot

*EDIT*: I used DBAN to make a bootable CD with the DBAN ISO file I downloaded, and it's currently wiping as I type. I'm gonna have to pick this up in the morning. Thanks a lot for you continued assistance sobeit666! ray:


----------



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

Well, the wipe completed with DBAN, but now my laptop will not boot from any of the XP Home CD's I have. It's no longer booting from the original CD that came with my laptop, nor will it boot from the duplicate disc I burn. I've tried putting both CD in the CD drive prior to booting, but all I get is a few lines of text, will the last 3 being:



> PXE-E61: Media test failure, check cable
> PXE-M0F: Existing Brodcom PXE ROM.
> Operating System not found


It's like my laptop CD drive doesn't even know the CD's are there. This is completely baffling to me.


----------



## sobeit (Nov 11, 2007)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

i am wondering if there was something else wrong with your computer. 

go into your bios and select return to default. leave

when you put the cd into the drive, are you getting anything about press any key to boot from cd. If not, just as soon as you get past the initial screen just press any key and see if it will start the boot process.


----------



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

I'll check it out when I get home from work.


----------



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*



sobeit666 said:


> i am wondering if there was something else wrong with your computer.
> 
> go into your bios and select return to default. leave
> 
> when you put the cd into the drive, are you getting anything about press any key to boot from cd. If not, just as soon as you get past the initial screen just press any key and see if it will start the boot process.


I tried both of those suggestions...no dice. 

I went into the BIOS and restored everything t the default settings. The answer your question, I'm not getting any message that asks me to "press any key to boot from CD." I know which message you're talking about too, because I've seen it in the past. This is kind of why I was saying that it's like my laptop doesn't even know that the disc is in the drive. I also tried pressing any key after the initial screen, but to no avail. I keep getting to the screen where the last three lines are:



> PXE-E61: Media test failure, check cable
> PXE-M0F: Existing Brodcom PXE ROM.
> Operating System not found


----------



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

This is the screen that I've been referring to:










This seems to be all I can get to load now, since it's not currently wanting to boot from the disc in the drive.


----------



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

*UPDATE*: I've been rebooting my laptop a few times, and making sure everything was set up correctly in the BIOS. I rebooted my computer again, and all of the sudden a new Windows Setup started. I haven't the slightest idea what triggered it to start, but I'm going to run with it and see where I get. I'm crossing my fingers that I'll be able to use the touchpad and keyboard when get to that point. I'll provide more details once they're available.

*UPDATE*: Setup was running, and started copying files. All of the sudden I started getting error messages that said "Setup cannot copy the file: [insertfilenamehere]. I figure I could skip 1, and then the second one, but it started giving that error message for every file it was trying to copy. Just when I think things are looking up, I get another road block. So, I rebooted my laptop again to try and jump back into the Setup process, and now my laptop is again not wanting to see the disc. I have no idea why my CD-ROM drive is picking random moment to see and boot from the disc.


Zach


----------



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

Now I'm getting a very short, very different error message when I reboot my laptop. I get the initial screen, then almost immediately is goes to:



> NTLDR is missing
> Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart


----------



## chauffeur2 (Feb 7, 2006)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

Hi Zach,

Try this workaround....

Enter the *BIOS* (continually tap the *Delete Key* at start up), and change the *Boot Sequence * to …

*1: CD/DVD*

*2: HDD (or IDE0)*

*3: Floppy Disc or Other bootable device.*

Insert the Windows® XP CD-ROM into the CD-ROM Drive; *Save and Exit* the *BIOS*; restart the computer. 

Click to select any options that are required to start the computer from the CD-ROM drive when prompted.

At the *"Welcome to Setup" * screen, press *R* to start the *Recovery Console*.

_(If you have a dual-boot or multiple-boot computer, select the installation that you must access from the Recovery Console.)_

When you are prompted, type the Administrator password...If the administrator password is blank, just press *ENTER*. 

Enter in the following commands: (presuming that E: is the CD/DVD Drive.) _Press *Enter* after each command._ 

*COPY E:i386NTLDR C: *

*COPY E:i386NTDETECT.COM C:*

_(Please note the spaces in the command lines)_

You now need to *create a ‘boot.ini’ file*, so type *bootcfg /rebuild*, and then press *ENTER*.

When the Windows installation is located, the following instructions are displayed: 

*Add installation to boot list? (Yes/No/All)*
[Type *Y *in response to this message.]

*Enter Load Identifier:*
[This is the name of the operating system. Type Windows XP Professional or Windows XP Home Edition.]
*Enter OS Load options:*
[Leave this field blank, and then press ENTER]. 

Take out the CD ROM and type *exit*, and *reboot the computer*.
Upon rebooting, select the first item on the boot menu. This should allow Windows XP to start normally.
_More information about editing the *'boot.ini'* file is available from the Microsoft® website *here*._

Please report back with the results.

Kind Regards,


----------



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*



chauffeur2 said:


> Hi Zach,
> 
> Try this workaround....
> 
> ...


I already have my laptop set to boot from the CD/DVD drive. It's just like I've said, for some reason it refuses to do just that. It's almost like it doesn't even know that there's a disc in the drive.


----------



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

I'm not sure if this would help anything. I have an external USB CD/DVD drive. My laptop is running BIOS version A04. Would it be possible for me to boot from the external drive? I've Google searched it, but i can't seem to find a definitive answer regarding my BIOS version.

I have no idea if what I'm saying is even feasible, but I grasping at straws at this point.


----------



## BCCOMP (Jul 9, 2007)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

Hi,
Seeing you can sometimes load the setup and other times not:
1. I would run MEMTEST86 to check the RAM. Many error messages occur from bad RAM.
2. I would also run the Diagnostic Utility from the HD Manufacture to test the HD.
3. Have you tried to boot a live linux cd to see if that will load? 
This will test the CD-Rom.
I am also thinking your CD maybe at fault. I know you have the Original (Dell) CD and you did burn it. I have seen original CD's burn successfully, but then will not work. Do you have another XP CD to try? 
As far as booting from an USB external drive your BIOS will have to have the option to boot from USB, Does it?
Thanks,
Bill


----------



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

Thanks! I'll give all of that a shot, and report back what I find out.


----------



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*



BCCOMP said:


> Hi,
> Seeing you can sometimes load the setup and other times not:
> 1. I would run MEMTEST86 to check the RAM. Many error messages occur from bad RAM.
> 2. I would also run the Diagnostic Utility from the HD Manufacture to test the HD.
> ...


Sorry it took so long to report back. I've been busy the last couple of days. I ran MEMTEST86. I downloaded the ISO, burned a bootable disc, and my laptop read it right on startup. It took about 2 hours, but in the end it said there there were no errors.

How exactly do I go about doing number 2? I'm not sure who manufactured the hard drive.

Thanks!
Zach


----------



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

Alright, well I sort of figured out how to run the Dell diagnostic utility. I rebooted my laptop, and help down F12. This brought up the boot menu. The very last option was "diagnostics". It started, and looked like it was running a couple of tests. After just a couple of minutes, a box popped up that said this:



> No Diagnostic Utility Partition found. To run diagnostics, insert your Dell "Drivers and Utilities" CD, then select OK to restart the system and boot off the CD.


I have that CD as well, so I put it in the drive, and rebooted. I pressed F12, and selected to boot from the CD drive, and...nothing.


----------



## BCCOMP (Jul 9, 2007)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

What is the exact make and model of the laptop?


----------



## MidwestDrummer (Jun 28, 2005)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

It's a Dell Inspiron 1100.

Another Update: I was able to obtain a Windows XP Professional Disc (retail version: one that I had already purchased from when I attended the University of Nebraska - Lincoln). I placed that in the CD drive, and rebooted my laptop. The first 5-6 times it didn't boot from the disc, but on about the 7th time it did. I didn't get my hopes up, though, and rightfully so. When it got to the point where it needed to copy all of the Setup files, I started getting all sorts of error messages about not being able to find certain files. After 5 in a row, I just abandoned the Setup.

I have no idea why it'll bot from the disc every once in a while, and then when it does, I always get error messages about missing files.


----------



## Pizza Boy (Sep 1, 2009)

*Re: XP Home reinstall help: "The file 'asms' on Windows XP Home Edition CD is needed"*

Hi everyone!!! very excited i am, i have been getting that annoying msg all night and i think i worked it out, i have 3 harddrives and a dvdrom in my comp. so i unplugged 2 secondary harddrives and left the main drive and the dvd in. I restarted the computer and the damn setup worked!!!!!! now i can go to bed so good luck and hope it works for everyone else and GOODNIGHT!!!!!


----------

