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…
Here’s my question. I just ran into this very problem myself. I used my XP disk to install XP onto one of my computers and it worked fine. In fact, being new to XP, I ended up reinstalling XP numerous times using this disk thanks to my curiosity with the XP registry. Anyways, I have scrapped the old computer and started using a new one. But when I tried to install XP using the same CD on the new computer, I received the Parse error. Of course, the control.man file was empty when I checked it, but then it’s always been empty hasn’t it… I mean, it’s not as if it was magically erased between the last successful install and this unsuccessful one. So what’s the deal? Do you think it is hardware related? I mean, are certain systems sensitive to this error whereas others are not? I can’t think of any other explanation since CD data simply cannot be altered after it is created… I mean on regular CDs obviously, not CDRW. Any ideas?
Like Dan, above, I am a novice and need specific details on how to resolve this manifest parse error when installing XP. I am not sure how to copy to HD nor replace the controls.MAN file using notepad. Can someone please make things as simple as possible. An idiot’s guide required. Thanks!
Gordon, I made up a quick webpage outlining the details for this fix. Hope it helps. There are several images on this page so be patient.
http://www.geocities.com/zrantheus
Had the same error and problems as everyone else but finally got it to work. Here’s what I did: Copied the contents of my XP CD to a folder on another computer’s hard drive, edited the CONTROLS.MAN file to include what you have posted here on your website, burned all the files with newly edited CONTROLS.MAN file to new blank CD at 2x speed (any faster and the buffer overruns), since I didn’t make the CD bootable I had to download the XP boot floppies from http://www.winxpfix.com, but when I tried it, it worked like a charm. One note though, I may have been the only goofball that did this but the information that you have posted as the contents of the CONTROLS.MAN file shouldn’t include the bracketed stuff. I initially thought that the file resembled a win.ini file with each section separated by bracketed headings. So I copied the brackets as well as the info and it didn’t work. Once I took out the bracketed info it worked great. Thanks for posting this info, it was very helpful.
I finally thought I’d managed to sort it out by following the instructions above, only to encounter a further problem. After copying the installation files my PC reboots and I get missing or corrupt hal.dll windows can’t find the file \system32\hal.dll. I am running 98 and trying to install XP Pro as a dual boot on D (a separate disk). When I look for the hal.dll file I can see it on D but not on the C drive where 98 is installed. Is this right? I’ve heard that it may be a boot.ini problem but being non-technical I am a bit lost as to what to do without clear advice. Any ideas?
This is apparently a problem many people are having whereas I found multiple references to it online. If the following article from Microsoft doesn’t help, try doing a search for “missing or corrupt hal.dll file” on a search engine. That’s how I produced the following link. Good luck!
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q320252
One more note, Gordon… Don’t give up. Relax, work the problem. Microsoft applications have millions of beta testers worldwide (that being the consumers) and someone has experienced your problem out there. Look for the reference, read, take notes and experiment. You say you have more than one harddrive? I myself have two harddrives. Both are 40 gigs. The first drive is partitioned in half for two operating systems. The second drive is for all of my personal data. This way, no matter WHAT I do to Windows, or what problems I encounter, I am only a re-installation away from grace, since everything important is easily re-accessable on the second hard drive. The reason I’m posting this is I just helped someone get their copy of XP to install. It wasn’t a big deal really, but they panicked. Now that it’s running, the modem won’t work and they’re going to dump XP. Gave up too easily and are missing out on a nice build of Windows… well, as nice as it can be anyways. heh! Keep at it, and continue to post here with updates and questions. I’ll keep a watch for your post and help you where I can as I’m sure the other users here will do as well. Good luck Gordon, you’ll get it straight in the end.
I’m afraid I didn’t think that sentence out…now that you mention it, the interpretation is rather dubious.
BTW, how’s the XP Install going Gordon?
ZD
I was just curious to know if anyone else was wondering if it may depend on the speed in which you write the disk? someone above had said that they tried burning again at a slower speed and it worked.
I have the same problem but the error says that my GDIPLUS.MAN file is corrupt as opposed to the controls.man file. I checked and indeed the gdiplus file (but not the controls.man) is corrupted on the CD i burned. I do not have access to the original image and those iso building programs are a pain in the ášš (You cant make an image with winiso over 100mb in the trial version, and I cant find a working key anywhere) I’ve tried just burning a regular cd with only the .MAN files arranged in the same directory structure as the XP CD. I checked the files and they werent corrupted after the burning process with nero. However, when I put the CD in and tried to continue the winxp install it gave the exact same error as before, even though the MAN files weren’t corrupted. My friend has a working WinXP Home edition cd but I dont know if it is the same as the Pro edition in the way of these .MAN files.