Windows XP SP2 hangs on install. Why?

I know this is stupid and also impossible, but just throwing things out there - have you tried an external USB keyboard at that prompt to see if it accepts input? Just thinking out loud here.

I've been having a related issue with my new computer, though not nearly as serious. It doesn't like my normal USB keyboard when booting, so if I want to use GRUB to boot into anything except the default I have to plugin a PS2 keyboard to select it. Anyway, what kbanas said: seems like the setup doesn't understand the built-in keyboard on the macbook.

Forgot to add that setup does understand the keyboard: I can press whatever key it is to select a special SCSI driver. It just locks up and hangs when I get to the aforementioned screen.

Other things that occur to me. 1. Have you updated your MBP to the latest firmware from Apple? These EFI firmware updates seem to specifically address issues with BootCamp stability. Look at http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macbookproefifirmwareupdate12.html - but, of course, make sure you get a revision that is specific to your MacBook Pro. 2. Do you have an external optical drive on hand? That could eliminate the CD drive as a culprit. Do you have access to any XP /w SP3 media? You could try that.. or, using your available media, you could try to create one by slipstreaming the SP3 update onto it. 3. I think there's some sort of Apple Hardware Diagnostic on one of the installation discs that came with your Mac. This might expose a possible memory problem. We use a great utility called MemTest for our x86 machines, but I don't know if you can boot a MBP using it.

1. Firmware is up-to-date. 2. I'll try SP3. I think I can find a copy somewhere... 3. I was unaware of AHT. Unfortunately, the CDs that came with my Mac are somewhere else right now, possibly several miles away. I'll be going there later today and will check for them there.

If it's not a keyboard issue, as others have suggested (I never ran into that issue when installing it on my MBP), why not try waiting half an hour to see if it's just hanging? That's probably not it, but the Windows installer hangs so much and offers so little feedback, I wouldn't put it past it. Definitely check for EFI updates, as others suggested. Other than that, how about slipstreaming Service Pack 3 and see if that helps? Or maybe download or find an older version of XP? Memtest x86 is included on most linux discs, and you can run it if you download/get a disc. If you live near a university, there's probably a Unix/Linux club more than eager to give you an Ubuntu disc, if you don't have a CD-R to spare. Just look for the option in the menu that pops up when the computer first loads the disc. In my experience, if there is a serious problem with memory, Memtest tends to pick up on it in the first 45 minutes, but I'd run it overnight just to be safe. Also, if none of this works, try Crossovers Games to play TF2. The shading is pretty awful (DirectX 8.1 quality), but it's definitely playable.

http://www.howtohaven.com/system/slipstream-xp-service-pack-3.shtml how to slipstream manually. http://www.nliteos.com/ is nLite, which makes slipstreaming a bit more user friendly, and has other options, including making a stripped down version which uses less disc space and resources if you just want to play games. I'm not saying I'm 100% sure slipstreaming is the answer, but I'm throwing out the option. Plus, it saves time and space since you're going to probably install SP3 anyway. Looks like you'd need a Windows machine or at least a VM to do that, though. If you don't have that set up, I don't blame you if you decide to make slipstreaming your last effort, although you can easily set up a VM with a trial key, and it's worth the money/time even if you only run a few basic Windows apps regularly.

The mouse thing was the problem. I can't believe I didn't see that when I was running earlier Google searches.

Just a note for anyone else who happens on this thread: A slipstreamed SP3 CD won't necessarily work correctly for the install. Read through http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=7639180, the single most useful tip sheet I found while installing XP SP2 on Boot Camp a few weeks ago, for more details. Also, not even all slipstreamed SP2 CDs are created equal. I created one, and it definitely didn't work correctly. (Unfortunately, I didn't have an extra, empty PC on hand to test it out on before attempting to use it with Boot Camp.) I ultimately had to use BitTorrent to get an SP2 .iso that would work right. (With which I used my rightfully purchased original license key, tyvm.)