Manifest Parse Error…
You receive the following message: “Manifest Parse error: Invalid at top level of document” when installing Windows XP for the first time and the installation fails because it cannot correctly parse the CONTROLS.MAN file. At no point does Microsoft’s installation program allow you to select an alternate source location for the file. It doesn’t even allow you full command prompt access. And the Recovery Program is useless, as it doesn’t even allow you to copy directories or copy using wildcards!
That’s what happened to me, too, after I decided to give Microsoft one more chance to have one of its operating systems on my main computer. I must be a glutton for punishment, because rather than scrapping it completely, I decided to figure out how to get around the problem. Old habits, like most computers running Microsoft operating systems, die hard.
I’ve heard everything from “it’s a copy protection scheme” to “it locks you out after three installations”. I’ve even heard of hundreds of people who have experienced the error from fresh-out-of-the-shrink-wrap, boxed versions of Windows XP. I couldn’t even get my freshly opened XP CD direct from Dell to work properly. Also, many folks prefer to install from CD copies and keep the original disks in close-to-pristine condition, yet rumors abound that as many as 60-70% of the copies experience this same problem. It must be another one of those undocumented Microsoft features.
The /i386/asms/6000/msft/windows/common/controls/controls.man file on the CD is corrupt. Copy your entire CD to your harddrive, use my version of the CONTROLS.MAN file (don’t forget to change the file extension!), and burn another CD. In theory, you could copy the entire i386 directory to your harddrive, replace the damaged file, and then run \i386\winnt.exe to install, but if you really want a reliable and stable system, it is not wise to install the XP operating system over an existing, older OS. So burning a CD is the only viable option for a fresh, clean install.Whether the new OS works well enough to dissuade me from breaking down and purchasing an iMac remains to be seen…
I came across this page last night while I was trying to get round the same problem. The floppy drive in my spare pc is dead and I didn’t want to mess around getting my cd burner set up (I was reinstalling my main pc), so decided to try to hack it… and here’s how I managed it:
1. remove installation cd and reboot. wait for setup to start
2. press shift-F10 asap after setup starts
3. when dialog box appears with “insert XP cd”, move it to one side & ignore it for now
4. examine problematic file in cmd window - on my cd, the files seemed fine (use “type controls.man | more” or, in my case, “type vcrtl.man”) - maybe some people suffer more corruption that I did…
5. put cd back in drive (but DON’T click OK on the “insert XP cd” dialog)
6. create a new directory c:\i386 and cd into it. Use “xcopy /e d:\i386 .” to copy installation files from cd onto drive C. Check file still looks ok in the new copy.
7. go back to “insert XP cd” dialog and make it look in c:\i386.
8. Wait a short while. It had a problem finding “nt5.cab” (I think that’s what it was called, I’m doing this from memory), so at this point I reinserted the XP cd.
9. Installation continued from here and completed successfully!
Good luck to anyone who decides to try this… worked well for me and saved me having to burn another cd
Thank you Google! Thank you Richard! Thank you whoever posted the “floppy method”. I almost lost my mind when I got this error…Googled it for the hëll of it and found this page. XP is up and running smoothly.
THANK YOU
Ok, I was trying to reformat my computer and do a fresh install of a pirated copy of XP PRO, but it would not let me delete the partion so I had to install over my old version so windows could run again, I ran into the manifest error this is how you fix it quick and easy.
1.Borrow a legitimate copy of XP Home or Pro.
2.Get a blank floppy disk.
3.explore your CD drive when you have the legitimate copy in.
4. the control.man file should be located somewhere like
D:I386/ASMS/6000/MSFT/WINDOWS/COMMON/CONTROLS/
All the files needed are in there,
5. copy all the folders above onto the floppy disk, but only the folders not the files inside!(it would probably be easier if you just made new folders and named them appropriately)
The 3 files in the controls folder are the most important thing, directly copy the CONTROLS folder into the COMMON folder.
6. Boot up the computer with NO CD in the drive, it will ask for you to insert the windows XP pro cd, hit ok but DO NOT ENTER THE CD.
after you hit ok it should show you
D:/I386 or something, change that to A:/I386 and hit Ok.
it will run for a while and voila it takes the needed files, after it will ask for the XP Pro cd again so pop it in and continue the install, it may ask for some other files but just hit cancel and it will ask if you want to just continue installing anyway.
Good luck hope this helped because I could barely understand the other explainations.
I am another one with the problem of upgrading to Windows XP Pro,a handfull of files “cannot be downloaded” from the burned cd and after skipping these files,i get “components file does not match the verification info present in the components manifest”. Problem is,i fix cars for a living,and was looking for the simplest solution for a dummy like me. Thank You.
OK, I have yet another stupid question re installation of XP. Maybe someone here knows.
I have a ‘reinstallation CD’ for XP Pro from Dell that came with a laptop I bought. I’m wiping the laptop and installing another OS on it. Can I use the reinstallation CD on another, non-Dell machine, or will it fail?
This is in response to Chris on February 24, 2003 12:52 PM
Chris, you are a God. THANK YOU SO MUCH! I have fought and fought with this stupid install and kept having problems with the 60100 folder (not the 6000). I finally found your posting and just DELETED the whole dámn folder and…will wonders never cease….XP works! Gee Microsoft, that’s so intuitive.
Many thanks to all of you who took the time to help; by your success stories and by your expertise. Like many of you who took the time to comment because you found answers at this wonderful site I offer my experience in exchange for what you gave me. Thank you Mr. Richard.
The only error message I ever got, after 8 burned CDs, 20 pages of instructions and three days of frustration was: SXS.dll syntax error in manifest or policy file “E:\I386\ASMS\6000\MSFT\VCRTL\VCRTL.MAN” on line 16.
The solution. I copied the entire I386 folder(1) from the installation CD to my hdd, used Nero to burn the entire folder to another CD(2) and named the folder for the hdd C:\I386. I named CD-ROM drive folder G:\I386(3). I began the installation from my DVD drive and the installation continued until it automatically shut down and restarted. Seconds after the restart, XP stopped and displayed the above error message. I warm booted the computer, took the installation disk out and waited for XP to display the “cannot find files of indicate where the files may be found” message or something similar.
I Change the offered file location to the location where I had saved the I386 folder. For this drive it was C:\I386. XP copied the files and displayed a menu prompting me to place the XP installation back in the drive. Seconds later the installation was complete. Hours later I am beyound words in attempting to thank all of you. I plead with those of you who have been helped by this site to add your successful experience. An aside. If you are considering purchasing an ASUS Motherboard, be aware of their support service. Their resellers claim they have no knowledge about the product and email to ASUS.com is three days out with no response.
If I were to say thank you a million times it would not be enough. Interestingly my retail copy of XP Pro Corp SP1 (got it on the first day it was released) gave it up on the second time I tried to re-install. Fortunately I found this site and it saved my life. I downloaded the Common.man from above. After copying XP to my hard drive I over wrote the file and burned the disk contents using Nero Burning Rom without finalizing. My burner is a Verbatium 24/10/40 and I am happy to say that it did the trick. Installation stalled at 39 minutes remaing and then the error message(s). Can you imagine my delight when the install continued? YES! Thanks again for the correct fix.
SIMPLE SOLUTION FOUND.
Problem: XP setup failed, with manifest error in line 4 related to the gdiplus.man file.
Solution: Disabling on chip cache of microcontroller in BIOS during Xp installation.
Remark: it is an old system (AMD-166Mhz).
Greetings Marcel.
Who besides me thinks that the installation of an operating system should actually work flawlessly without having to mess with hardware or the BIOS?! *sigh* - RDL