Symptom

When you click Add/Remove Windows Components button in the Add or Remove Programs applet in Windows XP, one of the following symptoms may occur:

  1. The Configuring Components screen appears for few seconds and then the wizard proceeds directly to the final screen, displaying the following message:

You have successfully completed the Windows Components Wizard

  1. The following error occurs:

Setup was unable to load the master information file

As a result, you may be unable to add or remove a Windows component using the Wizard.

Resolution

This happens if the sysoc.inf file is missing or the contents are incorrect. To fix the problem, you may use the utility SysOCFix which I wrote to address this specific problem.

  • Login as Administrator or equivalent
  • Download SysOC_Fix.zip and save to Desktop
  • Extract the files SysOCFix.exe and readme.txt to a folder (Example: C:\Utils)
  • Double-click SysOCFix.exe to run the it.

Sysoc.inf file is now repaired automatically. See if you're able to launch the Windows Components Wizard correctly this time. If the problem persists, you may need to create a new sysoc.inf file:

  • Click Start, Run and type cmd.exe and press ENTER
  • Type the following command, and press ENTER:

C:\Utils\SysOCFix.exe /createnew

  • Type EXIT to close the Command Prompt window.

Note: The location C:\Utils above is an example. If you've extracted the file to a different location, then alter the path accordingly.

The above command-line creates a new Sysoc.inf with the factory default contents. Alternately, you may expand a fresh copy of sysoc.inf from the Windows XP CD-ROM. More details are available in article Error: Setup was unable to load the master information file.