It's the uncompressed files that Windows setup is looking for.

Mr. Smartepants wondered why the restore media didn't already have all it needed (it SHOULD), so I wonder if you're using an incorrect restore disk.

And what about a factory restore? Most systems support restoration from a hidden partition on the hard drive, accessed at boot-time with a special keystroke like Alt-F10 (yours will differ - check the user manual or HP website for specifics).

It's almost always preferred to do this kind of restore from the hidden partition, but if you have deleted it, then you're gonna have to take the longer path.

Uncompress any needed files to USB flashdrive, restart your install process and try again. Better to have a single, straight-thru successful install run than to try to re-do a botched/unsuccessful effort.

That's my story, and I'm stickin' to it.

Best of luck from the sweltering South.

MARK STRELECKI
Atlanta, GA. USA
Bare Metal Clean Install Man

What is the model number of your laptop? I'll try and help you out, sir.

So you're saying that the factory restore disc for your notebook doesn't work on the notebook it came with?
Make sure you have all external devices disconnected from the notebook prior to the install.
If you still have the error, then that's a hardware problem.  Especially with the blue screens and crashes you were having previously.  You should contact HP for possible warranty work.  If it's covered under warranty, the repair will be free.

When do you get the error?  Is it before or after you select the drive on which to install Vista?

The .exe drivers you downloaded are meant to be executed from within the Vista desktop, AFTER a successful installation.  They can be extracted and integrated into the CD itself, but that is NOT a noob-friendly procedure.

This is my first post, and it comes in a time of desparation, as my computer has crashed, and I do not have the money to get it fixed by a professional.

My basic problem started when i got the blue screen of death after my computer kept freezing. Luckily I had saved everything onto a external drive prior to this happening.

I couldn't figure out what was wrong with it, and since everything had been saved, I decided I would just wipe the hard drive and reinstall windows vista. The problem is, when I go to install windows vista off of the cd that I have, after I click Install, I get an error message that says something like

"A required CD/DVD drive device driver is missing. If you have a floppy disk, CD, DVD, or USB flash Drive, please insert it now."

I've tried downloading (what I believe to be) the relevant drivers off of hp's website for my model (HP Pavillion dv5-1000us notebook, 64bit) from my desktop PC and transferring the files via usb, but I'm not sure how to install them onto my laptop, as nothing shows up when I browse for them during the vista installation process. When I downloaded them, they were .exe files (sp#####.exe), and I tried transferring this over. The laptop didn't read it as a driver. I tried installing the .exe files onto the flash drive (i.e., double clicking the .exe file and outputting all the files installed over to the USB). The laptop still didn't read it.

In short, I think it may be because I don't know what files I need to put on the USB for the laptop to read them as drivers, and, more importantly, I do not know which drivers I need to install.

Forgive me if I seem completely ignorant in the ways of computers, I'm trying my best to fix my PC, but I need some help, and being that my problem at this point seems to have to do with missing drivers, I figured that this would be the place to come for help.

Thanks in advance!