PC can't read 'cabinet files'

[AKMild]

I've got an old PC game on DVD that until last week worked fine. However, I accidentally uninstalled it (instead of a similar-sounding program) and I have tried to reinstall it. However, I get error messages, the gist of which are that it can't read the 'cabinet files' on the DVD, and it won't run.

Does anyone know what this means and how it might be fixed? I'm running Windows 7 if that's of any relevance.

[rojash]

A cabinet file is simply a compressed file which is used to contain the various bits of the program and data that would otherwise make the installer very large.

At a guess, if it can't read the cabinet files, the problem lies with the DVD itself (i.e. it's having trouble reading the the actual media). This could be caused by faulty media, or a faulty DVD drive.

Another possible cause is if the DVD had a different drive letter when you originally installed the game, and that was stored in the registry. The installer would now be looking in the wrong place for the cabinet files.

This is not a definitive answer - merely a a suggestion.

Can you post the error message in its entirety?

[AKMild]

Thansk Rojash - it was a faulty CD-ROM, which I've replaced and now it works fine.