[Phippl]

Attempting to clean install Win XP Home Edition on my Dell Inspiron clean hard drive (I formatted it) where the CD ROM drive is not bootable I get the message listed above when booting from the six floppies downloaded from Microsoft support site. From the reading I have done in other forums (where it seems this problem is quite common) I deduct that the problem is with my CD-ROM hardware - even though Device Manager has told me that the CD drive is working properly. Should I bite the bullet and buy a new CD drive (external), or is there a simpler and less costly solution?

[Phippl]

I chatted with Dell tech support, and it was suggested that I repeat the Setup floppy creation process again. I was skeptical, but did so. To my surprise the new floppys worked without a hitch! Maybe my CD drive is intermittently not functioning, or maybe the floppy really was defective. Anyway, the problem is solved.