For the past several weeks, I have been trying to install SQL Server
2005 on a Win XP SP2 PC. When the installation gets to the Workstation
Components phase, the setup status displays "Removing Backup Files",
my PC appears to hang. All other phases of the installation have no
problem with completing the "Removing Backup Files" task.

For a period of time, there is a fair amount of HD activity which
gives me the impression that files are in fact being deleted, but then
there is no HD activity and the installation appears to hang. Finally
I give up and kill the setup process and reboot.

After reboot, it appears that the client tools have been installed
(the icons appear and I can open the Management Studio, but when I try
to connect to an existing instance of SQL, that hangs. This occurs for
either Windows or SQL authentication.

Has anyone experienced this behavior and determined the root cause?
What EXACTLY is happening during the "Removing Backup Files" phase of
the installation?

Thanks for any in advance,
Marc Mueller