OK... I finally got it!
Some guy named Talez from the macnn forum discovered that the problem is with a file named winnt.sif. Check your Windows XP install disk and see if this file is in the I386 folder. If it is - it will need removed.
Of course this isn't that straight forward, but this other guy, KRGA, from the same forum has a link to Paul Thurrott's site
Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows: Slipstreaming Windows XP with Service Pack 2 (SP2)
that has EXCELLENT directions. If you already have SP2 - skip his steps 2 & 3 (as they have to do with slipstreaming SP2 to earlier versions of XP). And don't forget to delete the winnt.sif from the I386 folder before you proceed with Step 4.
In a nutshell
- you copy your install disk to your hard drive (I used my old PC, hopefully for the last time!)
- Delete the troublesome file
- Download the free version of a shareware program named "ISOBuster" to make an image (of the hidden windows file that makes the disk bootable) to (my) C: Drive
- Burn a bootable CD
I had to burn two disks as the first one wouldn't boot. Bad disk I assume. I deleted my earlier partition (using Boot Camp Assistant) and started over (50 GB partition) using my newly created disk and everything
worked like a champ!
I'm not totally without computer skills, but they are closer to the bottom of the knowledge chart, so I was a bit worried - but this was really easy. I had no part in arriving at this fix so hopefully, I gave credit where it was due. Conversely, I want no part if anything goes wrong during your trials :-)
Thank You and Good Luck,
~ Rick