Fatal Error Installing XP Pro SP2

Im an engineering student and just bought a new MacBook Pro and an trying to install XP Pro SP2 OEM on my computer and I keep running into a Fatal Error that says install cant proceed because it cant find the file Ei386\asms : inpage error. any ideas on how to fix this?

Thanks

First please confirm that you have the right kind of OEM version - only the "System Builder's OEM" or a full retail version of XP SP2 will work in boot camp (I assume you are referring to a boot camp installation although you didn't specify). If you are using the OEM disk from a computer vendor, such as Dell, HP, Gateway, Sony, etc., or a volume-licensed version of XP, those will not work and will produce errors.

If that's what you have, you'll need to purchase a System Builder's OEM version or full retail version. The only difference between the two is the licensing terms; the SBOEM version can only be used on one computer, ever. the full retail version can be used on multiple computers but only one at a time.

Cheers

sorry about that. it is indeed a system builder OEM that i bought brand new in shrink wrap and it is boot camp installation

Hmm. That is odd, then. Have you verified/checked your disk and permissions lately? You may also want to see if your disk is fragmented, perhaps a defrag would help. I'm afraid I don't have much else for you. Sorry.

disk is fine...not sure what you mean by permissions? the particition is freshly formatted so probably not a frag issue

Run Disk Utility and from there, do verify/repair permissions and verify/repair disk (if necessary). Won't hurt and will tell you if there are issues.

cheers