Windows XP Asks for the CD: How to Set Where the Installation Files Are (SourcePath)

Sometimes Windows XP needs to restore system files — and then it asks you to insert the installation CD to take the originals from it.

For convenience and speed, you can copy the installation files to the hard drive once and tell the registry where they are. Then you won’t need the CD anymore.

When Windows XP asks for the CD

Most often it’s when you check system files with the command

sfc /scannow

sfc checks the integrity of all protected system files and replaces incorrect versions with correct ones. It takes the originals from its cache, and if a file isn’t there, from the Windows installation files. The same prompt appears when installing some Windows components.

1. Copy the installation CD

Copy the contents of the Windows XP CD to the hard drive — the one you installed the system from, or an identical one. Note: the Windows edition and service pack (SP2, SP3) on the CD must match the installed ones, otherwise the files won’t fit.

In our example the copy is on drive D in the folder D:\Data\WinXP, with the I386 folder inside it.

2. Set the path in the registry

Run the Registry Editor (regedit) and go to

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup

Enter the path to the copied CD in two string values — SourcePath and ServicePackSourcePath, as in the screenshot:

Important: the path points to the folder that contains I386, not to I386 itself — Windows appends \I386 to the path on its own. So it’s D:\Data\WinXP, not D:\Data\WinXP\I386.

You can do the same from the command line:

set K=HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup
reg add %K% /v SourcePath /t REG_SZ /d D:\Data\WinXP /f
reg add %K% /v ServicePackSourcePath /t REG_SZ /d D:\Data\WinXP /f

3. Run the check again

You may need to close the sfc window and run the check again so that Windows picks up the new path to the installation files. If that doesn’t help, check that the path is correct and reboot.

If the copy is on another computer on the network, use a network path like \\server\share\WinXP rather than a mapped network drive: Windows File Protection doesn’t see mapped drive letters.

P.S. I kept forgetting where in the registry this path goes — finally wrote it down. Hope it helps you too