BSOD-win xp start up-big trouble

hi, hope you are well..



this morning i go to use my desktop, packard bell i media. during the windows logo loading screen the pc crashes to a bsod

stop 0x00000024 0x001902fe 0xba517278 0xbas16f74 0x8a6955df

i cannot run safe mode, i cannot get past any screens. i've tried resetting bios, tried a boot disk from bootdisk.com (i don't own a xp disk, i am unsure if i have downloaded/burnt this disk correctly) but if i try and boot from disk it says read failture alt ctl del to reset.

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the bsod suggests i run a chkdisk but i have no way of getting to command prompt. similarly? how will i be able to format if it comes to this?

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any ideas?

 

there are many things that could be wrong with the computer. The only thing you can do is process of elimination.

The first is to check RAM. This should be MEMTEST64+ V4.0
http://majorgeeks.com/MemTest_d350.html
It should give you an ISO to burn a disk.
If it doesn't start, that tells us something too. Make sure the computer is set up to boot from CD also.

From the results of that, we will see where to go from there.

 

hey, thanks for the hopeful and swift response.

i downloaded http://www.memtest.org/#downiso the test from here, the link you provided had only exe. maybe i missed something.

ran the test 70% so far, 0 errors? anything else to look for

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will re-report at 100%

 

That stop error seems to be a problem with the NTFS file system.

A checkdsk /r should try to repair it. The question is if the recovery console will load if there is a problem with ntfs.sys. I think it is worth a try if you have a blank CD or preferably two (one to use later for another software if necessary).

You can download a copy of recoveryconsole here. Use imgburn or similar burning software to burn the rc.iso file as an image to disc (burning as image makes it bootable).

You boot from the recovery console disc. You should be prompted to select a Windows installation. You probably only have one so enter 1. It will ask for an Administrator password, enter it if you have one set, or try leaving it blank if you never set one. Then try chkdsk /r at the prompt.

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If the recovery console gives you an error we may have to figure out how to make a bootable disc that avoids the ntfs.sys file as described towards the bottom of this article.

I'm just posting this link here as a possibility for use later so I don't lose it. It is old so not sure how relevant it is as far as the bootdisk.

 

hi, nice iso there.

ok so I pressed 1 then enter. the command prompt is E:\minint

is this correct place to do the chkdsk /r ???

 

seems to of worked, the windows loading screen has now gone to the normal chkdsk screen, i'll let this run. but it got further than it ever did!

 

aaarrrggghhh the windows checkdisk ran, but reset and the bsod has come back.

 

I'm sorry the command from recovery console would be chkdsk C: /r.
Try that just to make sure that chkdsk won't solve the problem.

 

here's a breakdown of whats happening


booted the r.....was given 1 windows install e:minint

typed tchkdsk /r into this, the dos chkdsk ran, resetted up came the windows chkdsk, ran. resetted. bsod!

turned off pc, ran pc and windows loaded!!! decided i'd do your check disk also, ran recovery again. this time two windows installs come up e:minint and c:windows.

i ran chkdsk c: /r and now the bsod is gone but up comes this message


"Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
<Windows root>\system32\hal.dll.

 

this article seems to cover the hal.dll problem well.

http://pcsupport.about.com/od/findbyerrormessage/a/missinghaldll.htm

I would test your hard drive first. The easiest way is to hook the hard drive up to another computer that has seatools installed and run a generic test on it.

 

As Senlis pointed out, Hal.dll is a troublesome error because it doesn't always mean the hal.dll file isn't there.

From recovery console try two things.
From C:\Windows> prompt type cd system32 <enter>then dir hal.dll <enter>
see if it finds a copy of the hal.dll file and note its size.

Then type cd..\.. <enter>
should take you to a C:> prompt and type in (include the word "type") type boot.ini check the partition number for the default line and the partition number under [Operating Systems] for the "Windows XP" line (exact wording may differ). Default and XP partition should be the same.

 

far as i can see the dll has gone will report back

 

i cannot believe this, now recovery console won't allow me access because of the admin password........:cry at no point did i edit this!!

 

It is probably just corrupted data that put a password on that account.

First off, does it only ask you for the account "administrator's" password. Can you log in with another user with admin access. I don't think that works in Vista, but give it a shot.

Here is an article I found with a few things to try to reset that password.
http://4sysops.com/archives/three-ways-to-reset-a-windows-vista-admin-password/
Keep in mind that Vista will naturally resist you resetting that password. Its a security thing.

 

What happens if you type either 1 or 2 to select e:minint?
Do you get an E:> prompt?
Can you then type C: <enter> and get a C:> prompt?

 

ok, well as i had this problem I made the corrupt hd a slave on here, i copied hal.dll over and it next told me pci.sys was missing. added that also, load up bsod different codes!

0x0000007b (0xf789e528, 0xc0000034

and

STOP: 0x0000007B (0xF789E528, 0xC0000034, 0x00000000, 0x000000

http://www.technologyquestions.com/...789e528-0xc0000034-0x00000000-0x00000000.html

http://www.techsupportforum.com/mic...ved-wth-0x0000007b-0xf789e528-0xc0000034.html

http://www.daniweb.com/forums/thread121989.html#

have given me some clues, i just cannot believe this!!

thanks i'll check it out.


i am on xp!!

2 gives me c:\ but now as i mentioned after accessing it about 30 times it now says i have the wrong password!! :major

 

Ok, you have the corrupt drive slaved? Can you copy and paste the text of the boot.ini here? It should be in root/top folder of the corrupted drive. You may need to unhide system files to see it. In any Explorer window Tools>Folder Options>View tab Check the box for Show Hidden Files and also Uncheck the box for Hide Protected System Files.

What I'm looking for is some reference to miniNT in the boot.ini file.

 

[boot loader]
timeout=3
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Home Edition" /Fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Windows XP Home Edition"
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\MININT="Windows XP Home Edition"
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\MININT="Windows XP Home Edition"
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
C:\CMDCONS\BOOTSECT.DAT="Microsoft Windows Recovery Console" /cmdcons


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as you see i've got one too many here!

 

Copy and paste this into Notepad and save as bootnew.ini. Then rename the corrupted drive's boot.ini to boot.old. Then copy the bootnew.ini to the corrupted drive and rename boot.ini. It will give you a few boot options to try with the corrupted disk back in the original computer as master.

What is bothering me about your boot.ini is the fact that Windows is on partition 2 and MiniNT is on partition 1. Even if MiiNT was somehow installed by that recovery console disc it should not have changed/created any partitions?

The other thing is

when you did this are you saying that hal.dll and pci.sys were not in the System32 folder? If that is the case the boot.ini might not help but I still think it might give some info if you try each of the options. Particularly the two XP Home choices.

 

will do the notepad after work, thanks again!!


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yes the corrupt drive had had these files removed it seemed!!!!!!!


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also is there anyway of getting to know the admin password via the slave method. i tried one of the iso programs to reset the password blank but it didnt seem to work!! (in case i need recovery again)

 

close to calling it a day now, gutted really.

done your instructions, loading partition 1 xp and i get the hal.dll error, now the file is defiantly there.

 

Actually partition 1 may not have Windows installed. In your original boot.ini Windows was on Partition 2. I just wanted to see if that was possibly a mistake.

So when you choose partition 2 you are getting the 7B error?

I'm going to think about this but I know MiniNT was not installed by that rc.iso because there is no capability for that on that iso. I don't know about the resetting admin password.

When you did the chkdsk /r it went all the way through? I wonder if doing a chkdsk from the other PC with both options checked would do any good?

At any rate I''ll look into the 7B error.

 

chkdsk from the other computer seemed to run through last night, unfortunately i wasnt at the pc by the time it finished. it was 'recovering ophaned' files for quite some time 500k plus, and deleting files $130 was part of the line. i might run another one in a bit....


option 2 is now just pretty much freezing the pc. 1 is hal.dll.

yesterday before the chkdsk 2 was the bsod again

 

This is not looking good. Chkdsk taking that long and each time finding more problems makes it very unlikely that you will be able to run your current Windows installation again. The HD may be in very bad shape.

You have no recovery CDs. I think you are probably at the point where you are going to have to borrow an XP CD from someone or order recovery CD from Packard Bell to do a fresh install.

While you have the drive slaved you should try to get any personal files copied over to the other computer to salvage what you can.

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The minint partition is some kind of PackardBell utility. I don't know if it is a full recovery partition or something else. Give me your model number and maybe we can determine the recovery process. Does F11 immediately and repeatedly at the Packard Bell flash screen give you any recovery options?
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Also with the drive slaved you might want to do a Windows based HD manufacturer's diagnostic utility check on the HD health. Both Western Digital and Seagate/Maxtor have such a utility. Until you know if you have a recovery partition I would just do the short test to see the SMART (physical health of the drive) status. This will just read the drive and not make any changes.

 

If you have your drive slaved to another computer, you can run seatools http://majorgeeks.com/Seagate_SeaTools_for_Windows_d2858.html on it to test the hard drive's reliability. Run a long generic test (which will work on any brand hard drive) and it will give you a simple pass or fail result. A fail result meaning it is time to get another hard drive. Make sure you don't test your c: by accident (unless you want to know the reliability of your c: on that computer, then by all means go ahead).

After testing the reliability of your hard drive, you will probably have to re-install Windows like sach2 said.

 

I ran f11 and now windows is loading to the point "click on a user to log into windows"

problem is there is nothing to click lol!!! how can i get into safe mode perhaps? that way i can go on user account

f8 on this machine is boot options

 

so i am finally on windows, only problem is it see's me as a new user. so 'register your computer' 'norton' etc hog the desktop not what was once there. also games etc need re-installing.

cant believe f11 was the key all along. wonderful stuff. thanks guys :drool:major:cool

 

I'm glad you were able to recover to a Windows installation.

I'm still worried about the health of your HD. If I were you I would look through the Start Menu for Packard Bell utilities to find how to burn a set of Recovery CDs. If your HD is going you will need them as F11 won't be an option on a replacement HD. Seriously, do it as soon as possible while the recovery partition is still viable.