The Problem
I decided to give Microsoft one more chance to have one of its (non)operating systems on my primary home computer. After reformatting my drive and beginning installing Windows XP from a freshly opened WinXP CD that I received direct from Dell, the following message appeared: “Manifest Parse error: Invalid at top level of document”. The installation failed and stopped because it could not correctly parse the CONTROLS.MAN file.
There are many theories as to what causes the error. Many folks prefer to keep their original disks in close-to-pristine condition and install from CD copies, yet rumors abound that as many as 60-70% of copies experience this error during installation. On the other hand, hundreds of people have gotten the error while installing from fresh-out-of-the-shrink-wrap, boxed versions of Windows XP. I’ve heard everything from “it’s a copy protection scheme” to “it locks you out after three installations”. None of the theories seem to be accurate.
I must be a glutton for punishment, because rather than scrapping the OS completely, I decided to push all the theories aside and figure out how to get around the problem. Old habits — like most computers running Microsoft operating systems — die hard.
The Solution
The /i386/asms/6000/msft/windows/common/controls/controls.man file on the CD is corrupt. Microsoft’s installation program doesn’t 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!
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. Burning a CD is the best 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.
Maybe so, but I don’t usually buy two copies of the software I’m trying to install, perhaps naively expecting the single copy I buy to actually work as designed. Remember, my OEM original CD purchased separately from Dell experienced the problem originally. – RDL
Seems to be a CDROM issue too. I have one that didn’t work on one DVD drive, but did work when I replaced the DVD with an old CDROM drive I had. Go figure.
Interesting thought! My installation was on a Dell Dimension 8100 with a stock DVD. Maybe you’re on to something… – RDL
Actually, I had the exact same parse error, but with a different file:
i386asms6000msftvctrlvctrl.man
I think I might give another CD-Drive a go. Bah! And I had to reinstall Windows-ME just to find out what’s gone wrong.
I had the same problem with the ISO CD Image that I downloaded from Microsoft’s MSDN Download’s Site. On that site, Microsoft claims the image is meant to be burned to CD. Upon mounting the image with Daemon Tools (CD-ROM drive emulator), I checked the file’s contents and they looked good. (So the download, at least, is viable.)
After performing a CD copy from the mounted virtual CD to CD-R (Plextor Hi-Speed Media) using Adaptec CD Copier (Platinum 5.1), I checked the contents of the copied file on the CD-R with Notepad and it appeared empty. I forgot to check the file size before I threw the disk away so I’m not sure if it was actually empry or just corrupt.
I re-performed the copy from the mounted virtual CD to CD-R (lower speed generic media) using CloneCD (4.0.1.10). I again checked the new copy’s file contents. This time the file looked good. The disk was usable.
One theory is that this is some sort of copy protection (the correct information is stored in the sub-channel of the CD image, or something) that Adaptec can’t or won’t override. CloneCD, better for making true bit by bit copies of any disk, seems to accomodate the problem.
I didn’t do any further testing to prove this theory. Just a thought for people trying to get around this problem.
I had this same problem. I tried everything mentioned above, and still no luck. I formatted my harddrive at least 6 times, started a new installation still nothing. I copied all of the setup files to my hard drive, and made a new controls.man file and then ran the setup. Even after all of that, still, I got the same error. After two days of dealing with this problem, I finally gave up (I’ve worked on it 20 hours in the past 48), and installed win 2k pro. If anyone can provide anymore info on this problem, and/or a working link to a cd image of a PERFECT working copy of the Windows XP cd, I (along with everyone else I am sure) will greatly appreciate it.
You guys are funny. It’s just copy protection. Copy XP to HDD, replace controls.man with a good copy from working XP CD and burn.
“Reggi”, I have already done what you have said…and I had no luck. On a few of the copies, the controls.man file became corrupt?! I’m wondering wtf is with that.
Justin you need a working copy of controls.man. I can give it to you, or you can download it, or make your own. You might want to check all the *.man files before you burn to make sure they are not corrupt or empty.
If you’re gonna make a CD, you’ll probably want to make it bootable too… go here for help with that
http://members.chello.nl/a.vanheumen1/nero/
email me if you’re still having probs..
bryson_c@hotmail.com
The issue seems to be with the actual cd, I just had the problem occur and happened to have another XP pro cd handy. i took out the cd before setup started when it prompted me for the cd I put the new one in. and it worked like a charm.
I have been trying really hard to get XP to work over the past few days but I always no matter what i do get the Manifest Parse Error.
I have followed all the tips of this site ie
Replacing my DVD rom with a cd rom
Makeing a bootable disk
Replacing the controls.man file
And it still doesnt work and all its achieved is losing all my data
Anyone else got any suggestions?
SUCCESS STORY! I tried to install a copy of WinXP Pro, got the Manifest error… control.man errors, and catalog invalid rubbish… Copied entire disk to a folder on my desktop, replaced control.man with Richard’s text… burnt a new CD using Roxio Easy CD creator 5 (memorex700CDR)… Deleted XP folder from PC… removed all programs not compatible with XP… cleaned up HD… Put in XP Pro… and YEEEEHHHHAAAAA, I’m now running XP Pro… Upgraded instead of clean install, running smooth so far… Tx, Richard for your help!
Funny enough i tried to install Window’s XP using my DVD-Rom and i didn’t work even with replacing the Control.man folder.So i installed using my Burner rom…..And it works…So DVD players have a hard time reading the folder but Richards replacement controle.man file really works…THANKS
Heya guys.
I ran into this problem this weekend… I tried replacing the Controls.man and re-burning the CD using Nero but it still doesn’t work. The CD boots fine but it still fails when trying to read the controls.man … I double checked on another computer and the Controls.man file is in the right place and can be read by notepad. Anyway I did a little more searching and in addition to the link above describing how to burn the CD in Nero, another webpage said you need to check Finalize CD, and choose Disc-At-Once as the burning method (which the above link didn’t mention). Trying to re-burn the CD one more time… I sure hope it works!!
I’m encouraged by the other success stories here so I’m trying to stay positive… But god, failed Windows installs has *got* to be one of the most annoying things in the universe!! I hope I don’t have to send my CD back for a replacement because it could take another 5-7 business days to get it shipped 
(everyplace only wants to ship free replacements via Ground unless you pay extra $$, sigh)
I’ll try to write back again if those extra 2 Nero options work.
Still didn’t make a difference.. However I found an article on M$’s page. Going to try doing that now. Also, though the computer I’m trying to install this on doesn’t have a burner, I’m borrowing a cd burner from a friend and I’ll see if it has any better luck finding this file.
For some reason regedt32.exe refuses to run from that shift+f10 command line… tried using regedit on a WinMe box but it can’t do the “Load Hive” thing and it can’t read the System.sav file as a regular registry file so I’m out of luck. The vendor I bought the CD from is replacing it, though I’m going to have to wait for it to arrive.. sigh. Ah well. Hopefully that M$ kb article above can help someone in the future.
Oh yeah, one more *weird* thing. From the Shift+F10 command line I was able to xcopy the whole D:i386 (cdrom) folder onto my C: drive. I rebooted and took the XP cd out. It asked me where the Asms folder was so I put in C:i386. Still got the same parse error on line 0 in Controls.man
I double checked and the Controls.man file on my C: drive is an exact copy of what is posted on this site (with no extra spaces/lines at the beginning or anything). So much for XML being flexible! Anyway a new CD should do the trick, I just hate having to go back to WinMe for a week or so.
Works wonderfully! Just upgraded from Millennium Edition (which is REALLY bad; even Win98 ran better…) using your Controls.man . I don’t understand how it’s possible that my original controls.man was empty, but it works perfectly now. Thanks!
I followed instruction to download the new CONTROLS.MAN from a tripod server, burn a new CD, now instead of getting error in LINE O, I gets error in LINE 4. Any Ladies and Gentlemen out there know why this is and how to go about to overcome it? Please help. Please help!
Worked for me. Thanks
Hi everybody! This web page is the first result from Google when searching for the term “windows xp Manifest Parse error”.
I am having this problem too. Admittedly, I am using pirated software — I have no problem saying that. I downloaded a pirated ISO and a keygen for Windows XP. I intend to use it for test purposes only as I use all Mac and Linux desktops and I need to test Samba Winbind compatibility.
I have no knowledge of this actually occurring on non-pirated Windows XP disks, but it is possible. I discovered the problem after booting the system for the first time after a CD install. It gave me the manifest parse error. I then searched for answers online and found this website.
I checked my written disk itself and the CONTROLS.MAN file in question was indeed corrupt on the CD. Next I turned to the original ISO image and raw read the CONTROLS.MAN file. The ISO image file was not corrupted. Therefore, something occurred during the authoring of the CD itself. The CD is bad but not the image. So, using the same media, same CD authoring program, I made minor changes, writing out the image at 1x speed instead of the 40x speed that my CDRW drive is capable of.
The result was that the problem did not occur and I had a fully functional Windows XP installation disk. It may be a clever copy protection method based off of the image pattern, but I do not [know] of it. It is impossible for a CDROM or DVD drive to write to a CD, so forget about that right now.
If you are unlucky enough to have a CD copy but no original ISO image, you can use a program that runs under windows called WinISO to modify the file in the image itself, thus the easiest route of correcting this problem. Make a new image from your bad disk, modify the image, and then write it again until you have a working copy. Things that might make a difference are media quality, CD authoring program, and CD writing speed.
If you think working with Windows is a pain, I really ask you to try out Red Hat Linux, or if you have the cash to buy a new box, make your next one a Mac and get OSX — it kicks åss, and it’s BSD based. Apple computers are quiet and still powerful, and the operating system is smooth and works. Listen to those Apple Switch commercials. If you are stuck on i386, Red Hat is very easy to install, you are in control of the operating system, and Red Hat offers REAL support for their users. If you are a more experienced user I highly recommend FreeBSD, OpenBSD, or Debian Linux. It is too bad that BeOS kicked it — it had serious potential too, but the common computer user is really a dumb person and too lazy to see what else is out there or learn new things.
I should know, I am qualified to say so.
Cool website Richard.
Jesse
MCSE, RHCE, CCNP, CCDP
Thanks! I just wish I had an answer as to why this sometimes happens with shrink-wrapped CDs. Limiting the write speed to 1x is a good idea. Nowadays I never write above 6x despite the higher rating of my drive. Using 8x and up always seems to corrupt the data, regardless of the installed drive or software. – RDL
I just used Richard’s control.man content to resolve my problem experiencing this Manifest Parse Error. Thanks a bunch RDL!
just a note:
images burned with nero will be fûçkëd (tho nero says succesfull)
burn with cdrwin
//pc is out
The following is the short version of the article from labmice.net. This article had been removed by pressure from Microsoft. http://www.labmice.net/windowsxp/articles/changeID.htm
If the product key used in your workstation installations [is a] leaked or invalid [key], you may need to change the key (re-enter a valid key) in order to install Windows XP service pack 1, and to make sure your environment is legal. You could completely re-install Windows XP Professional or you can try the method below. (Please backup your system before attempting this.) This workaround is only for the corporate editions of Windows XP Professional using a compromised or illegitimate key. Windows XP Home Edition and retail versions of XP Professional should not be affected by Service Pack 1. Although this procedure may work with other versions of XP, we have only tested it on the corporate edition (volume license version) of Windows XP Professional.
Backup your Registry/System State.
1. Backup your system state by clicking Start > Run > and typing ntbackup > Click the Advanced Mode button in the Backup Utility Wizard. >Click the Backup tab, then in Click to select the check box for any drive, folder, or file that you want to back up, select the System State.
2. As an alternative, you can backup just the Registry by clicking Start > Run > and type in Regedit From within the Regedit screen, right click My Computer, choose Export, name the file whatever you choose, and click Save.
To change the product ID.
1. Click Start > Run > and type in Regedit
2. Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftWindows NTCurrentVersionwpaevents
3. Double-click OOBETimer
4. Remove the ‘ca’ part from the value. (Changing or deleting any of the binary values will accomplish the same effect)
5. Click OK and close regedit
6. Click Start > Run and type in: “%systemroot%system32oobemsoobe.exe /a”
7. Choose the 2nd option (phone activation)
8. Click Change Product Key (at the bottom)
9. Enter your valid Corporate Product Key
10. Press Update and close the window
11. Restart your computer
Verify the change.
1. After the workstation restarts, click Start > Run
2. Type in: “%systemroot%system32oobemsoobe.exe /a”
3. Make sure the dialog box says ‘your copy of windows is already activated’
If you performed the above steps incorrectly, or used an invalid key, your system may not be able to boot. Use the F8 key to boot to the last known good configuration and retry with a valid key.
Thanks for the info. Sorry, but I removed the product key from your copy of the article because I really don’t need Microsoft on my åss. I’ve had enough people stalking me lately! – RDL