MBP Alu not reading Windows XP Professional disk

Question

Hi to all,
I just got the new mac book pro 15" (i recently had the old 12" g4). I loved the boot leg capabilities, so went ahead and found a copy on ebay of Windows XP Professional, version 2002. The disk says on it 'includes Service Pack2. I followed boot camp and partitioned my hard drive (32gb), however upon inserting my disk my installation processes stopped. I would put the disk in and instead of the typical buzzing sound of a cd spinning it sounded very metallic and weird, and after about 10 seconds my mac would spit the disk out. I tried it a few times with the same thing happening. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

The symptoms you describe can happen if the disc is dirty or scratched, So, take a close look at the reverse side of the disc and make sure it is clean and unmarked. If it's dirty or smudged, use a soft, damp cloth to clean the disc, wiping it from the center out along the radius (as if drawing a spoked wheel). If scratched, it may be possible to use a standard CD scratch kit. Most music and electronics outlets have scratch kits for between US$15 and $30.
If you have examined the disc and have found no smudges or marks, consider this: Certain production runs of the Windows XP SP2 CD have been reported as unreadable under specific circumstances. To date, the exact cause of the problem is unknown, yet it appears that only Macs have symptoms while using affected discs. The computer itself is not defective. If you have a defective disc, you can call Microsoft for a replacement as long as supplies are available.
Some have been able to copy affected discs to blank recordable discs using a PC and using the copy instead.
Nate