The error "INF file txtsetup.sif is corrupted or missing" is mainly encountered only by users who try to install the Windows XP version from a removable USB device (flash drive). However, this problem is typical only for those cases when UltraISO was used to write the installation distribution to the media. Further it will be shown how to get around this failure in several simple ways. But first, it’s worth understanding the essence of the matter.
The txtsetup.sif .inf file is corrupt or missing (state 18): what is the problem?
As it turns out, the whole trick consists precisely in the program used to transfer the distribution kit from the original disk or its copy stored on the hard disk to an external USB-drive.
The UltraISO application, although this is not advertised, has a number of limitations in this regard. Either the program itself considers the XP modification obsolete or irrelevant, or something else. But the most interesting thing is that the images of Windows 7 and higher systems recorded using this utility do not cause problems, and the error “INF file txtsetup.sif is corrupted or missing” never appears. To fix the situation, you can offer some simple techniques.
The txtsetup.sif .inf file is corrupt or missing: what to do in the simplest case?
As already clear, the first thing that comes to mind is to refuse to use the UltraISO program to create the image.
But if the user, for some reason, has no other utility, you can use it, however, you will have to dig a bit into the installation distribution itself (if you want everything to work).
Actions with installation folders
First of all, you should copy the original txtsetup.sif object from the i386 directory of the main distribution directory to the root of the USB drive. Naturally, the source should use the original DVD or an image of the system downloaded from the official resource. In no case is it recommended to perform such actions in terms of images or distributions, in the general case called Re-Pack. The effect may not be achieved (sometimes you can even get the opposite effect, when the installation becomes impossible at all).
After that, in order to avoid the failure “The txtsetup.sif .inf file is corrupted or missing”, you need to rename the directory you want, giving it the name $ WIN_NT $. ~ BT, and then repeat the installation. True, many consider this technique to be too primitive and do not give the desired effect.
What to do if the USB drive is not detected?
Sometimes the problem with the error “INF file txtsetup.sif corrupted or missing” may also be due to the fact that the USB drive in the system seems to be there, but it fails at the initial stage of loading.
In the case of installing the system from a USB flash drive, even the presence of installed drivers does not guarantee that it will be possible to boot from it, although in normal mode the device is detected without problems.
The media must be inserted into the appropriate port before turning on the desktop computer or laptop, and only then in the BIOS settings, set boot priorities (usually this is the Boot section). If this does not help, you will have to completely reinstall the device drivers, even if the system recognizes this device during normal boot.
Creating bootable media: some nuances
However, since the problem lies in UltraISO, due to which the error "INF file txtsetup.sif is corrupted or missing" appears, you should use programs like Win SetupFromUsb or WinToFlash.
Both programs are quite simple, but it is better to use the second utility after all. The fact is that it does not require the use of an image, but is able to add files and folders directly during recording. To do this, just start the "Transfer Wizard" and follow its instructions. In the process of creating a boot distribution, you will only need to specify the path to the full directory with the installation files and wait for the end of the process of writing to the media.
During installation, the system will display a window with several lines, but at the first start you need to select item 1 with the active line 1-st text mode setup (Debug boot rDisk 1 with an indication of partition 2). If in the future an error is raised regarding the HAL.dll library, you need to repeat the installation, but select the fourth item from the menu (rDisk2 partitioned by partition 1).
When the XP installation is complete, you will need to open the boot.ini file in any text editor and add it to the line containing the "partition (1) = \ Windows" parameters with the current version, through the right slash (/) with the noexecute command and then, as shown in the image above.
By the way, the appearance of errors associated with the HAL component is also possible in the working system. Eliminating them is quite a difficult matter, although you can figure it out if you wish. True, in this case, it is this library that is relevant to the main issue, so to speak, insofar as, however, it is not worth discounting the appearance of such situations.
As practice shows, this method works almost always. But this applies only to official distributions. If the user has at his disposal some kind of re-pack created by unknown people and from what, such actions, with all the desire, may not give an effect. In addition, when downloading them, no one is safe from viruses or malicious codes penetrating the system (they can work even during installation, having infiltrated into RAM or starting along with startup processes). The cleaning process can be quite complicated, and in some cases you will even have to use specific utilities like Rescue Disk, which are loaded from removable media before the system starts and identify threats that the average user does not even suspect.
conclusions
This is the nature of the error, “txtsetup.sif .inf file is corrupt or missing.” How to fix the situation, I think, is already clear. The technique of creating bootable media based on a program other than UltraISO, of course, looks somewhat complicated. Nevertheless, it is possible to solve the problem in this way in 99 percent of 100 cases. As for the UltraISO utility, its use is only advisable when creating images of other systems. Windows 10, for example, can be installed from a flash drive without problems. And the very nature of the question is, apparently, not only in the above utility, but also in the Windows XP distribution itself, which can not always be used for installation in modern computer systems based on the latest configurations, which, by the way, also apply to this software to put it mildly, with complete disregard. If you try to install XP in its normal form, it is better to install the minimum package downloaded from the official Microsoft website, and then install additional service packs, including SP3, one at a time and enable automatic updating in the system itself. At the very least, this will save the user from the constant installation of a security update (and these products are designed just for that). But in general, and this is far from the fact that the system will be installed in normal mode. In general, although it is believed that XP seems to be one of the simplest and least resource-demanding systems, alas, you can find so many bugs and shortcomings in it that you are simply amazed. Therefore, it remains to advise users of any level not to use such a modification (all the more so since the official termination of support for XP and Vista has recently been announced). So think for yourself.