XP Error Codes

Every so often my pc crashes during startup. XP provides an error code when it crashes. Is there any where I can find out what the error code means?

 

Yes: http://aumha.org/win5/kbestop.php

This is a list of error codes that may help.

Another easy method is a quick google search. But, typically, just using google to look for a fix for a particular error, can cause headaches.

 

Error Code -

0x0000009C (0x00000004, 0x80545FF0, 0xB2000000, 0x00070F0F)

I posted all the specifics once before and tried all the suggestions. No help. I will write up everything again and post it later today. The crash happens on what seems to be a random basis. It will crash two or three times and then boot normally for ten or eleven times.

Thanks for the link to the code explanations.

 

Drilling down into a google search I found this link

http://www.faqfarm.com/Q/What_do_you_do_if_your_PC_keeps_crashing_and_a_blue_screen_comes_up_saying_stop:_0x0000009c_0x00000004_0x80545ff0_0xb2000000_0x00070f0f

It may help. Also do a google search for the error code (alone, nothing else) to get the page that I drilled down from.

Bazza

 

0x9c errors are unrecoverable hardware failures reported by the CPU. The CPU is what throws the 0x9c when it encounters an error it cannot overcome.

Overclocking, perchance?

 

Here are the specifics. This is the first PC I put together. It has been running for about 18 months and this random crashing at start-up is the only issue it has.

The config is as follows: AMD Athlon 64 3400+, ASUS K8n-E Deluxe, ULTRA 1.5 GRAM (3 X 512) PC3200 DDR 400MHz, 4 Maxtor 160 Gig HD (RAID 10), XFX GeFORCE FX5500 video card, HP dvd420i DVD drive, one LG CD-RW CD-ROM Drive, one 3.5" floppy, 600 watt PSU, running XP Pro SP 2 with the latest updates. No overclocking.

The PC boots and goes through all the start-up and enters the XP logo screen then after about two to three seconds the loading bar freezes and the PC crashes into the Blue Screen and the error code. This happened the very first time I booted the machine. I tried to boot a second and then third time. Each time the same result - crash! The fourth time it booted successfully. So the problem started before I loaded any application or drivers other that the RAID driver. I thought the RAID driver might be the problem so I updated that and have built another PC using the same RAID driver. The second PC runs fine with the same motherboard and hard drives.

I have replaced the video card with other types of video cards from PCs without problems. I have swapped RAM using a different brand recommended by ASUS. No help.

I am hoping the error code can point me to something. For now I just leave the PC on 24/7 but I am very curious what is causing the problem.

 

I just followed bigbazza's link that suggests reloading the OS. I am new at building PC's. Is there a way to reload the OS without loosing all the other data on the drive? I don't need a step-by-step explaination. I am sure I can figure it out if some one can point me in the right direction.

 

Yes, you can do what is called a "Repair install":
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/helpandsupport/learnmore/tips/doug92.mspx

All your programs will be uninstalled, but your data will be intact. Of course, you should still have proper backups, yadda, yadda, yadda.

 

If you open Event Viewer, you can find the error's properties Dialog which will list the Stop Error, the fault description, and a link through the Help and Support Center that will assist you. You should also paste the Stop error code in a search of the MSKB.