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…
sorry i just read the above message i typed up this morning and it made only little sense to me hehe.. so here i revised it.
hey richard nice site! came across this because, of course had the same error, “error: the manifest file does not begin with the required tag or format information: *:\i386\asms”. this is the message i got after skipping a file. also the cd was from an iso i downloaded from kazaa and burned in windows 98se. then using nero at 12x, finalize cd, and using a dvd rom to install.
i tried changing the CONTROLS.MAN with yours above. burned it at 1x with nero checked it and the CONTROLS.MAN was there but still no luck with the install. so i used winiso to check the iso image and everything looks complete including the CONTROLS.MAN so i tried burning from iso again at 1x with nero assuming this would be a better burn according to previous posts above, then checked the CONTROLS.MAN and sure enough it was blank when checked with notepad.
so my question is, after reading all the replies above, does it matter what operating system you are using initially on making the the CD? if not, then i really think its just my burning media NERO. after being unsuccessful i had to install win2k pro time-limited version.
my assumption about nero comes from creating a win2000 pro time-limited version to the time-unlimited version where you have to alter the SETUPREG.HIV file with REGEDIT32. according to another website (http://www.winchan.net/win2000/) they say you have to be running nt or 2k already prior to altering the SETUPREG.HIV file. i have the original installation cd for 2k pro but time-limited. i did all the necessary applications to alter the SETUPREG.HIV file then burned to cd with nero at 12x and also 1x. installed unsucessfully. now i was burning this cd in win2k pro. now im confused because there are successful installs listed above when burning with nero. oh yea also chose to disc at once.. finalize cd.. still unsuccessful. so i started with one of the cds i made from the time-limited version got an error switched cds to an iso image made from a downloaded version of win2k pro then got one error which was the TCPIP.SYS file couldnt be found. but ended up with a succesful install of win2k pro but i had to get a new copy of TCPIP.SYS file and copy it into the drivers folder.
now back to winxp pro corp it might also be from dling it. so im dling 2 more iso’s from kazaa. ill try burning it with win2k pro with nero again.. then ill try using another burning software. if anyone can help me please do. THANKS
Thanks for the help on this forum, especially ZD who provided the much needed motivation and the knowledge I needed to proceed. I had reall almost given up, but I tried the link to Microsoft and their advice worked. The only prob was, I expected it not to work, and so had setup the install as an upgrade. This means I now have XP but no 98 - never mind, at least it works, most of the time.
Sometimes when i click on links the window I’m in shuts down for no apparent reason. Any ideas?
Once again, thanks.
Great news Gordon and you’re welcome. Glad to hear you are up and running. As for loosing Win98, it’s really unnecessary now. WinXP is the OpSystem us gamers who loved NT/2000 had been waiting for. It incorporates the necessary components of the Win95/98/ME OpSystem needed for game play. So, basically WinXP is a hybrid of both lines of software. I personally have yet to find any of my mainstream applications from Win98 that will not run in WinXP…drivers aside. However, XP drivers were a mere click away for my hardware.
As for your new problem, I have heard stories…unconfirmed by your’s truly, that an upgrade from any qualified Windows OpSystem to XP is a bad way to go. But then I’ve always felt this way whereas I’ve had problems doing it myself when Win98 came out. This could be a result of a piece of hardware, and/or it’s drivers corrupting XP. So here’s my suggestion:
1. Power down the computer and remove all add-in hardware. ie: Soundcard, modems, network cards, etc… Leave only the video card, and obviously don’t mess with the harddrives, CDROMS, etc.
2. Reinstall WinXP with a fresh FULL copy.
3. Now, basically we’re getting the system to the most basic state of operations. Get out a good pen and some paper. Make a note of what you’ve done so far.
4. Test for the problem. Try to recreate it any way you can remember from when it first occurred. And while you’re at it, test the entire system. Run a scandisk, explore the OpSystem, watch and feel how it responds. In this state it should react quickly and free of trouble…assuming you don’t have an actual problem with the computer itself.
5. No problems? Make a note and power down the PC.
6. Now, install one piece of hardware at a time, testing each time to see if the problem reoccurs. Keep notes each time, they help later I promise.
Odds are, your problem is from a nasty upgrade and can be remedied by a FULL reinstall of WinXP. But if it’s being caused by hardware or drivers, you will find it only through a methodical process of elimination. If and when you do discover the culprit, get online and start researching, and research some more. You’ll most likely find someone with a similiar problem and what they did to fix it…just like this page here. If not, you may have to consider an alternative piece of hardware.
Well, I’ll cut this short before Richard sends me a mail bomb for eating up his server space. Keep at it and ask if you need an answer. Personally, I loved moving up to WinXP. It’s like a puzzle, figuring out the new system, learning it’s little quirks, solving hardware issues, etc. Solve the puzzle Gordon, and take solice in the fact that unlike women, there will come a point when you will understand what the hëll is going on.
ZD
Another solution to the parse errors, I got them all . CONTROLS.MAN, GDIPLUS.MAN and VCRTL.MAN , Burned a lot of cd to try to fix it
when I got a bootable its man menu would not let me execute the install menu option. Using the soluton at barts http://www.nu2.nu/bootcd/#wxp
Go to microsoft get Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 1 Utility: Setup Disks for Floppy Boot Install
6 floppies,
Install up till you get the error.
Boot off the floppies.
It works.
Thanks, it worked! I created …\CONTROL.MAN on my HD, removed the CD, rebooted, it asked me for my cd i386 dir, I typed in my HD dir, no error, then switched back to CD for the rest. A floppy could be used too.
My FCKGW.. key failed (it worked running setup in windows) and my XFKFG.. key worked (it failed running setup in windows).
Richard, have you seen this? Any thoughts on how to help this problem? I have a pirated version of XP how do I go about preventing this from geting to me if I can’t update to protect against it? Also, is there a site to get updates for my XP pro system that I’m using without buying it?
December 19, 2002
XP Flaw Puts MP3, Windows Media Files at Risk
By Dennis Fisher
Thanks to a newly found flaw in Windows XP, two of the most popular audio file formats can be used by crackers to take control of remote PCs. Users only need to hover their mouse pointers over the icons for malicious MP3 or Windows Media files to execute the attacker’s code, Microsoft Corp. said in a bulletin published Wednesday.
The vulnerability lies in the Windows Shell, which is the portion of the operating system responsible for defining the user’s desktop as well as organizing files and folders and enabling the OS to start applications. An unchecked buffer in a function used by the shell to extract custom attribute data from audio files enables an attacker to create a malicious MP3 or Windows Media file and use it to run code on a remote user’s machine.
MP3 files are traded and shared by the millions on sites and peer-to-peer networks all over the Internet. Users commonly download and play files posted by people they’ve never met, and there is essentially no practical way of verifying the content of these files to ensure that they’re not corrupted. The Windows Media format is somewhat less popular than the MP3 format, but is still quite prevalent online.
To exploit the vulnerability, an attacker can do one of three things: host the malicious file on a Web site or on a network share or send it to a user in an HTML mail message. If a user hovered the mouse pointer over the file or the folder containing the file–on a Web page or on the local disk–the code would execute. A user would need to open or preview a mail message containing the code to execute it in the e-mail attack scenario.
Thank you, Richard for posting the fix! Thanks to you, my computer now is working! It’s people like you that make the internet such a wonderful place!
After reading all of the above postings, I decided to just try reburning the ISO image at Nero’s slowest setting (2x on my version). That did the trick. I join the many others in thanking you for this information. I wish Microsoft had the guts to publish this kind of stuff.
HELP!! I keep getting the syntax error on line 4 problem of the controls.man file when upgrading winxp from 98se, despite following the code and relevant instructions above. The same thing happened during a fresh install too ;(
Any suggestions??
Okay…I don’t know bout many other ppl…but I fixed the controls.man file…it’s changed and set…but now I get another error
“A Component’s file does not match the verification info present in the component manifest.”
Any one any idea what it means?
I’m installing from my hard drive cuz I’m sick of wasting cd’s trying…