I have tried to use troubleshooting procedures from Microsoft and elsewhere without success.

My main concern is that I am going to reformat and install OS, and this will require the CD drive to boot.
Last week I re-installed OS because of a virus/malware and during installation a received a few messages saying "windows cannot copy 'xxx' file". I was finally able to get Windows XP installed however I had an issue installing my Ethernet driver as I would get a message saying "cannot find any inf files".
A member here mentioned it could be due to the CD-ROM drive having issues. Can this be the cause of all these issues? If so, how can I check my CD-ROM drive is working properly before re-installation?

Thanks.1st let us KNOW what exactly it says on this XP CD...or if it's a copy...
2nd..travel to the manuf. website and DLoad all fresh copies of the drivers...

#rd...see if you can borrow a known good DVD/CD drive and we'll take this step by step.As far as the XP CD, do you mean the XP installation CD? If so it just lists WindowsXP Service Pack 3 with ADVANCED Security and a few Windows components like IE and WMP.

As far as drivers, I am not aware of the manuf. as it doesn't have a label or icon anywhere. This PC was given to me as is and i'm not sure how to find out the info needed for my particular drivers.


As for the last question, I have a spare PC which has a CD drive but no DVD.What exactly does it say on the XP CD ? ?

To obtain info on the MACHINE you inherited DLoad Everest Home and or Speccy and run the scans...
They will tell you more than you need to know about the hardware you are dealing with and where to obtain drivers...

Lastly a CD drive will do for the reinstall if in fact it's a drive issue...WindowsXP Service Pack 3 with Advanced Security Technolgies - Internet Explorer 7.0 - Windows MEDIA Player 11 - For Windows Home Edition, Pro, Media Center Edition, and Tablet PC Edition


I have EVEREST installed, what info do I need?MBoard info....go to their site for chipset drivers...
The Ethernet controller driver should be included in thast package...unless it's an adddon card.Here is the info:
http://www.biostar-usa.com/app/en-us/mb/content.php?S_ID=337

The Ethernet driver was not included in the package as far as I know.I would also like to mention, that when browsing EVEREST, I checked my CD-ROM info and it says INF File: cdrom.inf


It was the inf file issue I mentioned in my OP which I was concerned about as well.Quote

I have a spare PC which has a CD drive

With the known good CD drive installed, click start then run and type sfc /scannow and press enter. This will open and run the system file checker. Have your XP CD handy. It will ask for it.

After that, check out this page:
http://www.biostar-usa.com/app/en-us/mb/driver.php?S_ID=337

All of your drivers are there.