Computer Possessed - Need Help (Or an Exorcist)

[Dave]

(I posted this message on hardware group also as I'm not sure if it's WinXP
or hardware related)



My computer suddenly began to crash and reboot on a regular basis. Then it
began to crash, reboot, begin windows boot process and re-boot - never
completing a windows bootup.



Attempted to reformat drive and reinstall WinXP Home directly from disk,
which only got me a PFN_LIST_CORRUPT error repeatedly. After a dozen or so
attempts, the partition is supposedly reformatted (full NTFS).



Next attempted to re-install WinXP, which brought a variety of different
error messages, as soon as WinXP setup started (and at different stages of
setup process):


SESSION3_INITIALIZATION_FAILED

STOP: 0x0000006f (0xc0000020, 0x00000000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)



PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

STOP: 0X00000050 (0x8001A91F, 0x00000000, 0x8001A91F, 0x00000000)



This one happens most often: PFN_LIST_CORRUPT

STOP: 0x0000004E (0x0000008f, 0x0000E8AB, Ox0000E8A3, 0x00000000)



I have disconnected everything except 1 W/D hard drive; 1 CD drive;
installed a different nVidia GeForce FX5200 video card, tried different DDR
memory (PC2700 & PC3200). Processor is 6 month old AMD XP 2.6 ghz. and the
M/B is 1 month old Albatron KX18D Pro II. Win XP SP2 was loaded from CD at
the same time new motherboard was setup. Tried resetting BIOS to Default
and Optimized - same error messages with each. Tried disabling BIOS cache.
CPU running at 60C. Standard setup with no over-clocking.



The only things not changed are the processor and motherboard. I know the
STOP numbers mean something and could possibly identify the fault- but what
they mean is the question.



Any help would be appreciated - as I'm about ready to call in an
exorcist!!!!!!!!



Thanks

Dave

 

[Daniel]

Hello Dave,

First, I would like to commend you on how thorough you were when diagnosing
the issue. As for the issue itself, from your description it looks as if
it may be hardware.

These are some of the articles which state this point:

291806 How to Troubleshoot a "STOP 0x0000004E PFN_LIST_CORRUPT" Error
Message http://support.microsoft.com/?id=291806

"problem damaged the input/output (I/O) driver structures"

153742 STOP 0x0000006F During System Initialization
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=153742

"A file critical to system initialization, such as Smss.exe, may be missing
or corrupted."

171003 "Stop 0x50" Error Message While Installing Windows
http://support.microsoft.com/?id=171003

"This error message may be caused by faulty memory (RAM) in your computer."

I am sorry to have to break the news, but from your description of the
troubleshooting that has already happened, it seems more and more like it
may be the motherboard or processor.

0x0000006F - signify corrupt files, but this is a clean file system, and
should not have any corruption.
0x0000004E - first troubleshooting step was to run a hardware diagnostic.
0x00000050 - during an installation says it is faulty RAM, but the RAM
communicates through the Motherboard.

The only troubleshooting steps that I would add to your agenda would be the
following:

1. Update the firmware on the BIOS.
2. Run several hardware diagnostic utilities, both third party and OEM
hardware vendor.
3. If the problem persists, engage your hardware vendor to help diagnose
the issue.

Thank you for your patience.

****************************************************************************
*
Daniel
Microsoft Server Setup Team

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NOTE: Please reply to the newsgroup and not directly to me. This allows
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****************************************************************************
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[Ron Martell]

(I posted this message on hardware group also as I'm not sure if it's WinXP
or hardware related)



My computer suddenly began to crash and reboot on a regular basis. Then it
began to crash, reboot, begin windows boot process and re-boot - never
completing a windows bootup.



Attempted to reformat drive and reinstall WinXP Home directly from disk,
which only got me a PFN_LIST_CORRUPT error repeatedly. After a dozen or so
attempts, the partition is supposedly reformatted (full NTFS).



Next attempted to re-install WinXP, which brought a variety of different
error messages, as soon as WinXP setup started (and at different stages of
setup process):


SESSION3_INITIALIZATION_FAILED

STOP: 0x0000006f (0xc0000020, 0x00000000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)



PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

STOP: 0X00000050 (0x8001A91F, 0x00000000, 0x8001A91F, 0x00000000)



This one happens most often: PFN_LIST_CORRUPT

STOP: 0x0000004E (0x0000008f, 0x0000E8AB, Ox0000E8A3, 0x00000000)



I have disconnected everything except 1 W/D hard drive; 1 CD drive;
installed a different nVidia GeForce FX5200 video card, tried different DDR
memory (PC2700 & PC3200). Processor is 6 month old AMD XP 2.6 ghz. and the
M/B is 1 month old Albatron KX18D Pro II. Win XP SP2 was loaded from CD at
the same time new motherboard was setup. Tried resetting BIOS to Default
and Optimized - same error messages with each. Tried disabling BIOS cache.
CPU running at 60C. Standard setup with no over-clocking.



The only things not changed are the processor and motherboard. I know the
STOP numbers mean something and could possibly identify the fault- but what
they mean is the question.



Any help would be appreciated - as I'm about ready to call in an
exorcist!!!!!!!!

Check out your STOP errors on MVP Jim Eshelman's web page at
http://www.aumha.org/win5/kbestop.htm


Good luck


Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"The reason computer chips are so small is computers don't eat much."