Blue Screen, Stop:0X0000008E message

Hi, all. On my older Toshiba laptop running XP3 I recently got this BSOD and error message STOP: 0X0000008E. I tried restarting several times with same result. I can't enter safe mode, either.

I realize this is an older OS and no longer supported but I'd like to use it for other projects if possible. Should I just chuck the machine or is there any way I can save it? Thanks....

 

Which Service Pack are you running? This error can refer to Memory or other hardware failure but can also mean you're missing an important service Pack.

>Source<

Most commonly, though, it's a memory failure issue.

>Source<

Also see the last link for other possible causes.

 

As far as support for XP, there was an NT Compatible article posted in MG's news on May 25th about getting support for XP until April 2019. It uses a Reg DWord that's supplied by the author of the article. It "changes" the XP you have installed to Embedded POS Ready.

I redid my XP drive and included the Reg DWord. When I went to Microsoft Update in IE, the Registry value was read by the Active X that MS Update installs and I was presented with 4 Security Updates for XP Embedded and 9 for XP including the Malicious Software Removal Tool for May 2014

 

Thanks for the assistance, all. I can't follow donetao's suggestions because I can't get past the blue screen at all. IOW, the computer is locked on that screen and there's no way out. BTW, I am running XP, service pack 3 and I'm fairly certain it has all the updates.

I'm more and more suspecting a hardware failure, perhaps memory as you suggested. Before all this happened my computer was taking a long time to turn off (a few minutes in most cases). Could that be a clue? Anyhow, if I can't get it running at least I backed up my documents.

I was also thinking, could I somehow install another operating system, like Linux on the hard drive after removing it and formatting? Maybe that's asking too much....

I'm glad I recently bought a new Toshiba laptop with Windows 8.1. I had a feeling my trusty old Toshiba was going to give up the ghost eventually.

 

Try swapping RAM modules as suggested — take the module out of slot "B" and try to boot. If unsuccessful, pull the module in slot "A" and put in the module that was in slot "B" originally and try again. If unsuccessful, do the same with slot "B". This will help you determine if one or both of the modules OR slots is defunct. If the slots are shot, you'll need to replace the system board. But if only one of the modules is bad, you can replace the bad module.

As far as Linux, it would depend on what you want/need to do with your computer. Puppy Linux is small and wouldn't require much resources. But Ubuntu is what is recommended most often.

 

Thanks again. You guys have been very helpful. I'll play around with the memory when I get a chance, thanks to your suggestions. Maybe someday I'll be a computer whiz! :-D

 

Got it working! On a whim I decided to use the recovery disc that came with the computer. I reinstalled the operating system to "out of the box" condition. Now I have a "new" computer to play with....