Dirt or smudges on the ChemDraw CD-ROM, or dirt or dust in the CD-ROM drive itself can often cause this error.
 
To resolve this error, make sure that the ChemDraw CDROM has been cleaned.

To clean a CD-ROM use a soft, lint-free cloth and wipe the CDROM from the center in a straight line to the edge. For CD-ROMs that have excessive debris on them, consider using a gentle stream of warm water in combination with the soft cloth.

Note: For scratched CDROMs, please contact us for a replacement disc.

If the problem remains then perform a hard disk installation of ChemDraw:

1. Close all applications that are running, and then restart your computer.

2. Right-click the Microsoft® Windows® Start button, and then choose Explore.

3. Create a new folder at the root of your hard disk, and then name it Flatfile (for example, C:\Flatfile).

4. In the same Explorer window, browse to the drive that contains the ChemDraw CDROM.

5. Click the CD-ROM icon (or DVD-ROM icon) to view the contents of the CD.

6. From the Edit menu, choose Select All, and then choose Copy.

7. Locate the Flatfile folder you just created, select it, and then choose Paste from the Edit menu to copy all the files from the ChemDraw CD‑ROM.

Note: If any errors occur then there may be a problem with the ChemDraw CD, your CDROM drive, or your hard disk. If possible, try to install ChemDraw on another computer to determine whether the problem is with the CDROM or the original computer. (If the installation fails on another computer then please contact us for a replacement disk).

8. Restart your computer, and then install ChemDraw by double-clicking the setup.exe file in the C:\Flatfile folder located on your hard disk.

This error message can also occur under the following circumstances:

A. If you have an anti-virus application enabled during installation
B. If you are running Windows XP and have Norton Firewall on during the download and/or installation

The solution to (A) is to disable the anti-virus application during the installation of the program. That is, leave the anti-virus application on during the download of the LifeJournal demo, but disable the anti-virus program during the installation of the demo.

The solution to (B) is to disable the Norton Firewall during the download and the installation. Windows XP has a built-in Internet Connection Firewall that you can enable while the Norton Firewall is disabled. To enable the Windows XP Internet Connection Firewall:

A. Open Network Connections (click Start, click Control Panel, and then double-click Network Connections).
B. Click the Dial-up, LAN or High-Speed Internet connection that you want to protect, and then, under Network Tasks, click Change settings of this connection.
C. On the Advanced tab, under Internet Connection Firewall, select the Protect my computer and network by limiting or preventing access to this computer from the Internet check box.

Note: You must be logged on as an administrator or a member of the Administrators group in order to complete this procedure. If your computer is connected to a network, network policy settings may also prevent you from completing this procedure.