The file 'asms' on Windows Home Edition Service Pack 2 CD is needed

[Catriona]

I recently decided to re-install windows on my laptop. It went fine all the way through till the actual installation of the new windows (ie deleted the old partition and made a new one). The problem is that it is now saying:-

"The file 'asms' on Windows Home Edition Service Pack 2 CD is needed.
type the path where the file is located, and then click OK"

I have pressed shift+F10
Typed regedit.exe and press Enter
Selected HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
On the file menu. I've pressed Load Hive
but I cannot find %Windir%\System32\Config\System.sav ( to load)

Could you please tell me where I can find this? I have tried putting in my Windows Disk and also the Service pack 2 disk.

[jasonz0rz]

Hi Catriona and welcome to TechIMO

When you began the install, did you insert the disc and follow the on-screen prompt, or did you boot from the CD?

Did you back up any data (pics, movies, music, files) that you don't want to lose?

[Catriona]

Thank you very much for your reply. I boot up from the CD.

I am getting as far as Windows is loading and it should complete in 35 minutes but then the computer just freezes.

[jasonz0rz]

Did you delete the partition and reformat using NTFS Fast? What are the titles on both discs? Did you check the bottom of the discs - are there any scratches or smudges?

Also, unplug all peripherals so that only the keyboard, mouse and monitor are plugged in.

[Catriona]

Yes, I deleted the partition and reformatted using NTFS. I do not have the recovery discs for the laptop (Packard Bell Easynote MV46 005) but I have purchased a genuine retail version of Windows XP Home Edition and it also has the separate Service Pack 2 cd in the package.

[jasonz0rz]

Change your BIOS settings so that the hard drive is loaded before the disc drive, then reboot and run setup again - for some it seems the files transferred from disc to hard drive, but the BIOS had to be adjusted to continue.

Beyond that, MS recommends a registry change to address the problem. After looking around, it seems like this fix did the trick for a lot of people. I noticed you tried part of this already - some people were able to insert the disc after seeing the error, then following the steps from there.


__________________________________________________ ____________
Follow the Microsoft instructions fron the "support/microsoft" link above, but do the things that microsoft DID NOT tell you.

Forget disconnecting drives or trying 'older' CD-ROMS.
When the "File 'asms'... " problem occurs, press 'SHIFT F10' for DOS
Type regedit.exe then 'Enter' key
Scroll down and click to highlight HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE (must be highlighted!)
Up top L/H side click 'File', then click 'Load Hive'
A window box will appear and, in there, type
%Windir%\System32\Config\System.sav click 'Enter'
When prompted for a name, type Test
Locate and then click the following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Test\ControlSet1\Control\Class\ {4D36E965-E325-11CE-BFC1-08002BE10318}

Delete the UPPERFILTERS and LOWERFILTERS registry keys by left click highlight, right click 'delete' + (are you sure) buttons.
You may have to do this again if there are any "..\Test\Controlxxx\control\Class" entries apart from ..ControlSet001\
Either way, up top left click 'File' , then click 'Exit'
The Microsoft site says the following:................................
If the path in the error message is the correct drive letter for the CD-ROM drive, click OK to continue the Setup program. .................................................. I did not find that this worked, so I just "Cancel" 'd out and the system restarted in the setup as before "" DO NOT PRESS ANY KEYS "" Wait until Setup does it's work: it gets to the same point, but now, with the registry key changes, it will recognise the CD/DVD ROM drive

Source: windows xp problems

[Catriona]

Hi Jason

Thank you very much for your reply, which again I really appreciated. I will try what you have suggested and will get back to you sometime today with the result.

Thanks once again.

Catriona

[Catriona]

Hi Jason

I did as you suggested and I have managed to complete the windows installation. The only problem now is that when I switch the computer on, it freezes at the Black Windows screen (the one with the red, green,blue and yellow motif) the three small blue dots come up but freeze seconds later. I can get into safe mode but dont know what I can do to check this.

I would be very grateful if you have any suggestions.

Catriona

[jasonz0rz]

Well, at least it's a step in the right direction

Moving forward, follow these steps to run a repair - you'll have to boot from the disc. Just be sure to read through the info before starting and things should turn out OK. I'll check on this later.

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install