Hellow Daniweb !!
I have a Dell Inspiron 5150 laptop that has given me fits when it comes to trying to install a Windows XP Home Edition on a new hard drive. I have the original installation disc that came with the computer. I have a new hard drive which is a Hitachi TravelStar , 60GB, 7,200 RPM. I tried AGAIN to install an installation on the hard drive and this time, during setup, it says :
The file diskcopy.dll was not copied correctly. Other times it would say that other " FILES WERN'T COPIED CORRECTLY". It is different everytime. One time , I got the hard drive to take an installation but it didn't last long and it just started BLUE SCREENING. I wiped the hard drive clean with a program called Dariks Boot and Nuke, just to make sure that the hard drive was clean and now it just says " The file diskcopy.dll was not copied correctly". I tried a different cd/dvd player and that hasn't made any difference either.
The reason I am using a new hard drive is to upgrade the laptop to a faster hard drive.
I'm lost. I've never in 5 years of working on computers had this many problems with an installation.

It almost sounds like that new drive has problems.

I will try another drive. Could there be a problem with the disc, sitting soo long ?

Whats the proper/best way to wash a disc ?

I don't think so since they are sealed. But if I had to guess I'd say the hard disk is to culprit. A blue screen generally means a bad device driver but if your hardware is malfunctioning it will cause the device driver to error thus the blue screen.

Please let the group know if you get this resolved.

Windows XP has a feature that lets you format....that is all you need. I generally (right or wrong) remove the partition and set it back and then format. Just the way i do it...I'm sure there are other opinions.

i'll assume you mean your windows cd and say i use warm[not hot ] soapy[dish soap] water

And rubbing with your fingertip with toothpaste is a great way to remove those minor scratches on the cd surface. True.
So, pits washed with warm soapy water, and cleaned with toothpaste, it's all ready to go for a drive an get loaded.

I have put Windows XP on many other "non-Dell" hard drives before. This one is just REALLY giving me a hard time. I have tried 2 different cd/dvd drives and other XP installation disc's. I get the same basic results. But, sometimes it stops on other .dll files, such as dhcpmon.dll. I have cleaned the original installation disc, and used other installation disc's, only to end up with the same results. I'm really puzzled here. It formats the drive fine but it just won't complete "setup".
Any more help ?

Could it be a motherboard issue ?