# Setup Hangs at "Setup is Starting Windows"



## gaz_0981 (Jun 28, 2008)

Hi guys, wonder if anyone could shed some light on my issue please?
I am trying to reinstall XP SP2 on an Acer Aspire 5100 laptop, as it would not boot up correctly and hang. I tried initially to repair the installation from the Disk, but setup would load all the drivers and when it gets to the "Setup is starting windows" everything stops and just hangs. 
I have a copy of unbuntu and i could boot to that off the live CD, and could browse the HDD contents. I then used the partition manager thing in unbuntu and made the disk one partition (thinking the partitions were screwed and opted to try to start from scratch!) This however has not cured the problem, and now im out of ideas... other than trying to install unbuntu only to prove the HDD isnt knackered! 

Any help is greatly appreciated!
thanks in advance

Gaz


----------



## davegs (May 27, 2009)

Did you finally get it to load? I am having the same problem..


----------



## aceiii222 (May 26, 2009)

Does your bootable ubuntu CD allow you to format the HD? I would try that and delete the partition as well.


----------



## twocows360 (May 27, 2009)

I had the same problem while fixing a friend's laptop. It turned out to be a bad CD. Try a friend's CD and see if it boots; if it does, get a replacement from your manufacturer.


----------



## davegs (May 27, 2009)

Yes i have tried various CD's with no luck....Looking at getting the restore cd's somehow...


----------



## davegs (May 27, 2009)

Finally after a week of endless tinkering i decided to rip this aspire 5100 apart and remove peripherals 1 at a time and sure enough i isolated the problem to the built in webcam....I disconnected it and voila no more hang at setup is starting windows.. Setup is complete and all is good except for no built in webam


Dave


----------



## lorjack (Nov 15, 2007)

Here is a link for troubleshooting this issue for other people who have this problem.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/217073


----------



## troipoison (Jul 22, 2009)

Thanks for sharing this info you saved me some time.
I pulled the wifi, changed ramslots, ran memtest86, pulled battery etc...
was about to give up and I appreciate you sharing.


----------



## lorjack (Nov 15, 2007)

That is what it was for.


----------



## emurze (Apr 1, 2010)

davegs. you are a genius. Removed the webcam, installed just fine.

I ended up removing the lcd screws (which was ultimately unnecessary) to find where the webcam plugged into. The plug is underneath the F11 key, so all you need to do is remove the keyboard.

Here's how:
* Fully open the laptop so that the screen and the keyboard are at 180*.
* Remove the panel (with the power button) above the keyboard by prying it open with a flat screwdriver.
* Pop the keyboard out.
* Un-plug the connection that lies beneath the F11 key.

GL!


----------



## loluengo (Jul 21, 2010)

Thanks davegs and emurze... My windows XP setup now is working fine!! My Acer Aspire 5102wlmi was saved from going to trash.


----------



## jdyoungca (Aug 5, 2010)

Thank you very much for this tip. I had this same problem and disconnecting the camera got me past XP installation. 

However, if this happens to you this is probably indicitive of a larger problem. In my case I discovered that once I had XP working I still had no USB support. The USB controllers and hubs all appeared to be working correctly in the Device Manager but whenever I plugged anything into them I would get "Device Not Recognized". No amount of fiddling with drivers and such would cure this problem.

Digging around on the web indicated that the Aspire 5100 line has a history of warranty motherboard replacements due to blown USB controllers. The internal webcam is a USB device. As near as I can tell what is happening is that when the XP installation starts windows for the first time it is among other things firing up the USB ports to give mouse support, sees the webcam on the USB and tries to install it, fails due to the blown USB controller, and hangs the install. Disconnecting the camera gets the device off the USB port and bypasses the problem.

If you run into this there is a simple solution to get USB support. I was able to get a PCMCIA card with its own USB controller and 4 USB 2.0 slots for about $20. Just make sure you have the proper Card Bus driver (can download this for the Acer website) and you're away to the races. The PCMCIA card I used was this:

http://www.byteccusa.com/product/pcmcia/UC-204/UC-204.htm


----------

