Re-Install data folder failure

I have been having troubles getting 8.3 running on Windows XP. My
last couple of attempts have been to install 8.3 in a folder off the
root rather than off of 'Program Files'. Since I ‘uninstalled’ it, I
have not been able to get a good installation. I have tried many
times. I use Control Panels Add&Remove to remove 8.3 and then I go
through the registry and remove any remaining entries tjat address
'postgres'. When I start a new install, it always points to c:
\program files\postg… which I change on the setup page to the new c:
\pghome. I have a leftover environmental variable pgdata which points
to c:\pghome\8.3\data. But this folder never gets built anymore.
That is, there is not data folder.

Any ideas on how I can get this built?

I am installing this from an administrator account and I have a
postgres account that is a power user. I have tried but can not
install from that account. The PostgreSQL notes say that it is no
longer necessary to operate from a non-administrator account so I
tried to do things from the admin account and when it doesn’t work, I
try it from the postgres power user account. So far, neither have
worked. But I am guessing that is due to the no ‘data’ folder.

Ray