This error message is triggered when
you are upgrading your system from
Windows 98/Me to WinXP.
Translation: Hmmm . . . This one is not
very descriptive at all. IRQs (interrupt
request lines) are the communication channels
via which your hardware devices communicate
with your computer's CPU. When
a device needs the CPU's attention, it uses an
interrupt request to let the CPU know that it
has data that requires handling. So it's reasonable
to suspect this error message indicates
a problem with a hardware device or a
device driver.

Solution: According to Microsoft, the root
cause of this problem is an incompatible hardware
device or device driver. To resolve the
problem, restart your computer; if the Setup
program gives you the option to revert to your
previous OS, take it. When your old OS
(whether it's Win98 or WinMe) restarts, uninstall
any antivirus and boot manager software
and "clean boot" your computer. A clean boot
is a simplified boot sequence that prevents
device drivers, startup programs, and other
settings from loading at boot time.
To clean boot in WinMe, click Start and Run
and type msconfig in the Open textbox. Click
the General tab and then click the Selective
Startup checkbox. Under Selective Startup,
click the checkbox to the left of each item to
deselect the item. Then, click the Startup tab,
find the *StateMgr entry in the list, and click its
checkbox to select it. Click OK to accept your
changes and click Yes when prompted to
restart your computer.
To clean boot in Win98, the steps are fairly
similar. To launch the System Configuration
Utility in Win98, click Start, Programs,
Accessories, System Tools, and System
Information. Click Tools and then click System
Configuration Utility to launch the application.
Click the General tab and deselect every item
under Selective Startup by clicking each checkbox.
Click OK to accept your changes and then
click Yes when you are prompted to restart
your system.
After the computer clean boots, attempt the
WinXP installation again. If the error still
occurs, see the steps below.
If the WinXP Setup program did not give
you the option to revert to your previous OS,
Windows XP Installation Errors

Microsoft advises that you remove every unnecessary
piece of hardware from your system.
This includes any hardware device that you
absolutely don't need to run the computer, from
USB (Universal Serial Bus) devices to network
and sound cards. If the WinXP setup is still
unsuccessful, try flashing your BIOS (Basic
Input/Output System) to a new version.
Consult with your computer's manufacturer to
figure out how to do this.