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Author Topic: Re: My big mission.  (Read 4701 times)

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Whirlaway

    Topic Starter


    Greenhorn

    • Experience: Beginner
    • OS: Windows XP
    Re: My big mission.
    « on: November 03, 2012, 02:10:53 PM »
    I know this topic is extremely old, but to me it is the tip of an iceberg. I have found numerous hits when feeding a few of these file names into a search engine. It strikes me as very odd that the exact same files (whenever anyone takes the time to list them) have appeared over and over. I've seen responses on different boards suggesting to replace optical drives, that it might be the HDD going bad, you name it, but WHY this identical list of files?

    I recently had to re-install XP Home Edition and thought the copy of the OS disc I had might be damaged, even before I began the installation. The formatting and installation went fine up until the Welcome screen came on, three of the five processes showed as completed, and Setup was copying files. At 35% done, I got a BSOD that said Setup could not copy the file kodac_dc.icm.

    My first thought was, "I was expecting this." I tried Enter, as directed and it had no effect. Judging by file name, I chose to Skip the file, even though "WindowsXP may not work properly". It only copied two or three more files before another file wouldn't copy. I chose Skip again. Within seconds, file after file would not copy.

    I was writing them all down and was just about to give up when, around 55%, Setup resumed as if nothing had happened. Windows loaded. I had a few initial questions ("Do you want Windows to configure your monitor settings?" etc), then when those stopped, I closed out normally, via Start > Turn off Computer > etc. 

    It booted (and boots) up normally, but I couldn't help feeling my installation had a porous foundation and planned to search for those missing files. My very first search attempt -- luckily -- included someone who had printed their list. I was stunned. It was MY list, exactly. So what are the odds of that. Now, you enter those file names in, you get LOTS of hits on tech boards, but I haven't found one yet in which anyone seems to have noticed this anomaly.

    Here is my list, in order. Look at how it compares to the original poster in this thread.

     1. kodac_dc.icm
     2. mdwmdmsp.dll
     3. nikedrv.sys
     4. rio8drv.sys
     5. spnike.dll
     6. sprio600.dll
     7. sprio800.dll
     8. srgb.icm
     9. streamci.dll
    10. tosdvd.sys
    11. tsbvcap.sys
    12. tsbyuv.dll
    13. usbcamd.sys
    14. usbcamd2.sys
    15. vdmindvd.sys
    16. wowfax.dll
    17. wowfaxui.dll
    18. fsvga.sys
    19. paqsp.dll
    20. usrcntra.dll
    21. usrcoina.dll
    22. usrdpa.dll
    23. usrdtea.dll
    24. usrfaxa.dll
    25. usrlbva.dll
    26. usrmlnka.exe
    27. usrprbda.exe
    28. usrvtosa.dll
    29. usrsdpia.dll
    30. usrshuta.exe
    31. usrsvpia.dll
    32. usrv42a.dll
    33. usrv80a.dll
    34. usrvoica.dll
    35. usrvpa.dll

    So, what IS going on here? I'm a newbie and know next to nothing, but is it possible that this is attributable to a flaw in the original OS software that MS was issuing at some point in time? And, maybe should have been addressed as such, if we had seen it... not necessarily all the individual requests/fixes everyone submitted on this? Why would so many of us have the exact same set of files?

    Not everyone has had to reinstall their OS, but if everyone had tried, would we have ALL discovered this issue? (Perhaps between one specified point in time and another?) Lots of people take their machines in and get them wiped, or buy new computers. How many actually tried reinstalling compared to how many needed to? I also know nothing about statistics, but I can't help but wonder about the odds here.

    Any thoughts?  ???

    Allan

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    Re: Re: My big mission.
    « Reply #1 on: November 03, 2012, 02:17:35 PM »
    I moved your post into a new thread.

    Salmon Trout

    • Guest
    Re: My big mission.
    « Reply #2 on: November 03, 2012, 02:24:13 PM »
    It strikes me as very odd that the exact same files (whenever anyone takes the time to list them) have appeared over and over. I've seen responses on different boards suggesting to replace optical drives, that it might be the HDD going bad, you name it, but WHY this identical list of files?

    I expect that the install routine copies files in a set order, in blocks. and that set of files that you listed are ones that are clobbered by a common problem (in many cases bad RAM
    )

    Whirlaway

      Topic Starter


      Greenhorn

      • Experience: Beginner
      • OS: Windows XP
      Re: My big mission.
      « Reply #3 on: November 03, 2012, 02:35:44 PM »
      Thanks for your response, Salmon Trout. What is intriguing to me is that it is the same set of files. If it were bad ram on all these different computers, don't you think the files might vary? Starting and stopping at different points, maybe? Have some different files names?

      And, Allan, thank you for moving the thread. I tacked it onto the old one because it was an example of what I was wanting to discuss, and the original poster's files matched the ones I listed.

      Salmon Trout

      • Guest
      Re: My big mission.
      « Reply #4 on: November 03, 2012, 02:50:24 PM »
      Thanks for your response, Salmon Trout. What is intriguing to me is that it is the same set of files. If it were bad ram on all these different computers, don't you think the files might vary? Starting and stopping at different points, maybe? Have some different files names?

      And, Allan, thank you for moving the thread. I tacked it onto the old one because it was an example of what I was wanting to discuss, and the original poster's files matched the ones I listed.

      I am only guessing here, but I wonder if a couple of things could be happening here: 1. The installer might copy files in blocks at a time, and if only a small amount of RAM is reported by the system, e.g. 256 MB, it copies a small number of blocks, and then gets the next set, and so on. If a larger amount of RAM is reported, say 1 GB, it copies more blocks in each phase. Possibly bad RAM after the first 1 GB is a common problem. I have read many stories of bad RAM causing this exact problem, including a forum thread of somebody who reported a very similar list of failed files as you and subsequently got a successful install after removing all but 128 MB of RAM.  Another thing is you might have been Googling for that particular list of files and got lots of results. There might be other lists of files which give numerous search hits.

      Whirlaway

        Topic Starter


        Greenhorn

        • Experience: Beginner
        • OS: Windows XP
        Re: My big mission.
        « Reply #5 on: November 03, 2012, 02:54:24 PM »
        Oh, wow. Now I see that there is no reference to the original thread at all and it was somewhat integral to my post. I'll try to connect the two, in concept, at least.

        It seemed to start around 2008 in which posts were being made, asking for help with a specific type of failed XP re-installation, ones that included a segment of the installation process that failed with the same result. A BSOD would appear and give a file name that Setup could not copy. Your choices were to Retry (Enter, which didn't work for any of us), Skip (apparently, all of us chose because we ended up with lists of the skipped files), and F3 to quit Setup.

        Now that a number of years have gone by, a lot more posts have been added to the search engines, all pretty much giving the same file list. (In addition, there are other posts that were probably related to this same issue, but included only a few of the names and don't show up in the search as readily.)

        It struck me as particularly strange that so many different people should be having the same issue, the same group of file names, over a period of years. Only common denominator that I can think of would be we were all recipients of software that had a flaw, regardless of the solution.

        I hope that ties my thread to the original poster's and makes it more understandable.

        ~ I definitely would have named it something else, had it been my original thread.  :)


        Salmon Trout

        • Guest
        Re: My big mission.
        « Reply #6 on: November 03, 2012, 02:59:55 PM »
        It struck me as particularly strange that so many different people should be having the same issue, the same group of file names, over a period of years. Only common denominator that I can think of would be we were all recipients of software that had a flaw, regardless of the solution.

        All the CDS have the same layout and the files are processed in the same order in every install process. The problem files might be all in the same compressed archive (CAB) file, which commonly gets clobbered by RAM trouble.


        Whirlaway

          Topic Starter


          Greenhorn

          • Experience: Beginner
          • OS: Windows XP
          Re: My big mission.
          « Reply #7 on: November 03, 2012, 03:12:36 PM »
          Salmon Trout ~ Thanks again! I'm a fish out of water here (reference intentional, lol) so let me make sure I understand what you're suggesting. (I also messed up the Quoting feature, so this will be simple copy/paste.)

          The installer might copy files in blocks at a time, and if only a small amount of RAM is reported by the system, e.g. 256 MB, it copies a small number of blocks, and then gets the next set, and so on. If a larger amount of RAM is reported, say 1 GB, it copies more blocks in each phase. Possibly bad RAM after the first 1 GB is a common problem.

          Again, though, wouldn't it seem strange that so many of us, presumably with all sorts of different amounts of RAM, would get that same set?

          Another thing is you might have been Googling for that particular list of files and got lots of results. There might be other lists of files which give numerous search hits.

          As I was saying in my first post, I was lucky that one of the other people looking for help with this issue gave their list, because I only put in one file name, to start. I just saw that their list matched mine and clicked it. Perhaps theirs came up so close to the top because lots of other people with the same issue recognized their files, as well, and also clicked on it. Wouldn't number of hits drive that search result closer to the top of the first page, SEO and all that?

          In going back and forth between search results and the search main page, I started to see a commonality. It was later that I started entering more names and eventually the entire list, which brought me to this site.

          In the original poster's discussion with helpers here, I think using a different optical drive might have solved the problem. I don't have it to refer to at this point. There seem to have been different solutions that worked for different people. It's the root cause that grabbed my attention. Is it far-fetched to think a batch of Microsoft XP OS discs could have been sent out for an unknown period time with a flaw like that?

          Whirlaway

            Topic Starter


            Greenhorn

            • Experience: Beginner
            • OS: Windows XP
            Re: My big mission.
            « Reply #8 on: November 03, 2012, 03:19:59 PM »
            All the CDS have the same layout and the files are processed in the same order in every install process. The problem files might be all in the same compressed archive (CAB) file, which commonly gets clobbered by RAM trouble.

            AHA!! That makes perfect sense. Perhaps the files are all in the same CAB file! That's why it's the same group, regardless of the solution. Finally, some sort of reasoning starts to dawn. I LOVE this feeling. LOL Thank you.

            I have another question, then, based on this. If it turns out that lots of those files might be something I don't actually need... for example, if all the usr*.* are for supporting USRobotics modems or something, and they turn out to be 1/2 of the missing files, couldn't I just locate the other files that are essential and import them, from another OS disc, into the area where this CAB file should be?

            Is it possible I could find that CAB file and see if the files are actually in there, just unattainable?