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.
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 system32hal.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 åss (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.
Here’s a suggestion. Don’t burn the CD directly from the Image file, even if you’ve altered the necessary files. Either use winiso or winimage to unpack the files to the harddrive, or burn a CD from the ISO and copy the burned files to the harddrive. Now that you have a working directory of the XP install files, alter the corrupted files on the harddrive XP directory. I’m not sure how all of the burning software works as far as exact procedure, but I’m sure they all offer this option. Insert a blank CD, manually select ALL of the files on the XP install directory located on the harddrive to be burned directly to the new disk…ie: In Easy CD Creator, the option is make a data CD. Now burn the CD at any speed. This is the process I used and it worked fine the first time around. I’m not certain, but the error may be materializing during that extra step when the burning software converts the ISO file for burning.
It’s just a suggestion.
ZD
Oh yes, I forgot to mention this. Pay attention to what the volume name of the Windows XP install CD should be and make sure you manually name the new CD before you burn it.
ZD
Woohoo! I got it working after downloading the image off the internet then burning with Nero. Thanks everyone!
I have an error where it says something about driver.cab unable to copy. Thing is, it opens fine in WinZip, and I can extract any file I want. Why is this happening?
Just a big thanks to Richard and all with the help. Openened up controls.man on my laptop – content. Opened up controls.man on the PC I was trying to install XP on with DVD ROM – no content. Burned a CD with the directory structure and the controls.man only – booted into existing XP setup , with new CD , swapped to old CD when prompted and Roberts your fathers brother – XP installed no problems.
hi when installing xp prof on my laptop i get an error message that says my vcrtl.man has an error in line 4 or 16. Can anyone help??
Hi! Thanks Richard for your really informative guide. Have recently moved to Germany and wanted to install windows xp professional in german on my Dell Inspiron 8200, which comes bundled with the crappy Windows XP Home.
I have read all the comments on the website. And am ready to try it out. My question however is, would the contents of CONTROLS.MAN work for Windows XP Professional (German Edition) as well? Unfortunately I no longer have the original Windows XP Pro (which I so naively copied onto a blank CD and gave back to my benefactor) so I cant compare the contents as well…
Would appreciate any help in this regard!
Thanks
Tim
Burning image from MSDN Academic Alliance to CD with Prassi PrimoCD Plus 2.1 on an Acer 16/10/40 didn’t work. But with Roxio Easy CD Creator 5 on a TEAC CD-W216E it worked! Read and installed on Acer 16/10/40. I finally can study for my final exam later today and maybe get a little rest!
God bless! –Loren
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: *:i386asms”. this was from an iso burn from nero at 12x using a dvd rom to install. then used a cdrw for the next tries.
i tried changing the CONTROLS.MAN with yours above. burned it at 1x with nero checked it and still no luck. 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 then checked the CONTROLS.MAN and sure enough it was blank, 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.
my assumption about nero comes from creating a win2000 pro CD from the time-limited version to the time-unlimited version where you have to alter the SETUPREG.HIV file with REGEDIT32. i have the original installation cd but time-limited. did all the necessary applications to alter the SETUPREG.HIV file then burned to cd with nero at 12x and 1x and 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. im not giving up though. it might also be from dling it. so im dling 2 more iso’s from kazaa. if anyone can help me please do. THANKS
oh yea and the intial unsuccessful cds of xp were made in windows 98se. then the windows2k pro cds were made on installed time-limited version. created win2k pro cd and had missing installation files next time around ill try to list files unread. i know after the first reboot the TCPIP.SYS file couldnt be read and i think before the boot i dont recall but it would probably after the first boot too.. the browseui.sys i think couldnt be read too.. dont have time right now will list more later. thanks again
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: *:i386asms”. 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…