Thank you!  I used the add/remove from the control panel to remove Dell Resource CD from installed programs.  After I have rebooted several times and the annoying windows installer errors have disappeared.  Also, thanks for the advice concerning the C:\Dell|Drivers folder.  
Have a Dell XPS 400 running XP Media Center, sp3. On boot up a pop up indicates Windows Installer is attempting to configure the Dell Resource CD. It fails and produces an error message 1706. "No valid source could be found for product Dell Resource CD. The Windows Installer cannot continue"(this happens regardless whether the resource cd is in the drive or not). On examination of the event logs I find the following "information", "warning" and "error" involving MsiInstaller: "detection of product {FCD9CD52-7222-4672-94A0-A722BA702FD0} feature 'main app' component {ACC371A7-F7AA-403D-863E-8AE9BE1E2228}failed. The resource "c:\program files\dell\resource cd\ does not exist." The above product {FCD9CD . . . ect.} is found in the registry at HKey_Local Machine\Software\Installer\products and the info there indicates the product name is "Dell Resource CD." In the control panel Add/Remove directory there is an entry for Dell Resource CD. I have downloaded the Microsoft Windows Installer cleanup utility (but haven't run it yet). My system is running wonderfully except for the aforementioned nuisance. I realize the Resource CD contains the original drivers. Will the drivers be removed if I either (1) uninstall the Dell resource CD from add/remove; or (2) removing it with the Clean up tool? Should one of these options solve the error problem?   On a separate note, under C:\Dell\Drivers I have 21 files taking up 500MB of space. Can these be safely removed if I retain the Resource CD?  As a novice, I appreciate any feedback. Thanks!
windows installer error re: Dell Resource CD error code1706