ReactOS won't install

[suesmart]

Hi all,
Wonder if anyone can help a complete newbie with no experience.
I am trying to install ReactOS on a PC. I put the CD in, press key to boot and it begins.
The problem is after formatting to FAT32 I get to where setup should start but everytime i get a red/white bar across the centre of the screen saying

Setup could not create the install directory.

I have no option but to reboot.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks
Sue

[FSX]

Hi all,
Wonder if anyone can help a complete newbie with no experience.
I am trying to install ReactOS on a PC. I put the CD in, press key to boot and it begins.
The problem is after formatting to FAT32 I get to where setup should start but everytime i get a red/white bar across the centre of the screen saying

Setup could not create the install directory.

I have no option but to reboot.

What am I doing wrong?

Thanks
Sue

ReactOS is alpha.

It's not your fault. ROS breaks for random reasons all the time.

[Mrkaras]

something like vmware usualy works better thatn real hardware, that would be a better way to try it initialy, then try on real hardware if you still want to

[Haos]

If it doesnt work on real hardware, you need another PC and to connect both of their serial ports with null modem cable. On that other PC, you should run some terminal software like Windows Hyperterminal, to record data from serial port.

On the first PC, then, run ReactOS debug bootcd. You will be now able to record the debug output, which is necessary for us to check what is going on with ROS and your hardware.

As you can see, this is quite complicated, time consuming and requiring some additional equipment (like a second PC). This is why for now we encourage using virtualisers, like Qemu or VMware, to test ROS. Not only everything runs on your home PC, without the need of installing ROS nor even quitting your daily-use operating system. It is also very easy to obtain a debug output from such virtual machine.

But if you are up to testing ROS on real hardware, we can ony applaud you and ask for the debug log.