What is Machine.inf's problem!?

[ovvn.you]

Hi everyone,
recently i was installing windows xp on my dad's desktop and i ran into a common problem - "34 minute hiccup". I went to http://techtracer.com/2007/03/12/xp-installation-the-34-minute-hiccup/ and followed the instructions there, my problem was with machine.inf so i deleted the file as the instructions told me... after the installation completed, windows would not load at all... my guess is that machine.inf has some necessity to it....
can anyone tell me what my problem might be with machine.inf and what machine.inf does?

 

[Nodsu]

"Straightaway delete the inf file". Some quality advice indeed!

That machine.inf file contains the identifiers and driver specifications for core chipset devices. If you look inside, you see some very essential stuff like DMA, RTC, PCI, PIC etc and you most certainly need those drivers!

Put that file back and try to find some other solution to your problem. Play around in the BIOS with ACPI settings, remove all PCI devices, etc.

 

[ovvn.you]

thank you very much