Windows XP is still in demand. Many people love it and do not want to change to a newer version, especially on old hardware. So some little known methods of troubleshooting in this OS remain topical to this day. Here is one of them.

A typical problem: when installing Windows XP (especially over the existing one - Repair Installation), the process hangs after "34 minutes remaining" is being shown on the screen. There is one hack that is triggered in my practice over and over and solved the problem. The following actions need to be done.

When the installation hangs - restart your PC. After completing the hardware test POST (Power On Self Test) press F8 and go to the boot options menu - Advanced Startup Options. Choose Debugging Mode and press Enter. The OS installation process runs again. When it comes to the "34 minutes remaining", the screen can blink several times - this is normal. Typically, after a short while the process crosses over the critical point and goes further.

Let me note that the "failure of 34" occurs on the step of device drivers installation. Therefore, before you run the installer in debug mode, you may go to BIOS and disable AHCI and devices that are unnecessary during installation. After a long freezing of installation process you can also insert the disk with native motherboard drivers. You can even flash the BIOS. But I have described the method which often worked to me just by itself, without any additional fuss. So I recommend.