"An Unexpected Error Has Occurred (536821760)" Error Message When You Try to Install Windows XP (316400)

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Microsoft Windows XP Professional

This article was previously published under Q316400

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to install Windows XP, the installation process may not complete successfully. Setup may stop at the beginning of the process or immediately after the first required restart, and then you receive an error message similar to the following:

An unexpected error has occurred. (536821760) occurred at line 1768 in D:\xpclient\base\boot\setup\arcdisp.c

CAUSE

This behavior can occur because of damaged random access memory (RAM) modules or a damaged RAM slot.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, use one or more of the following methods, as necessary:

Remove one or more of the RAM modules in your computer, leaving at least the minimum amount of RAM required for Windows XP installation. If this resolves the issue, either replace these modules with new RAM modules or reinsert them after Setup is completed.

NOTE: Verify that your computer's performance is not affected when you reinsert the old RAM modules.

-or-
Install the RAM modules into different (unused) RAM slots in your computer.

-or-
If you still experience problems before or after Setup, replace all of your computer's RAM modules with new RAM modules.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

314865 System Requirements for Windows XP Operating Systems

310064 HOW TO: Troubleshoot Windows XP Setup Problems When You Upgrade from Windows 98 or Windows Me

For additional information about how to activate Windows XP, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

307890 HOW TO: Activate Windows XP

Modification Type:	Major	Last Reviewed:	3/18/2002
Keywords:	kberrmsg kbprb ocsso KB316400