No boot after SP2 - Virtual Memory error

[AC]

Evening all

My hard drive recently crashed, so after purchasing a new drive I got XP up
and running again. First thing I did was to get the network back up and
running and start downloading updates.
After the third reboot for the updates, SP2 downloaded and installed. Ever
since it's reboot I cannot get back into windows at all.
What I have caught is that when the system boots, just before XP would open
up, there is an error message. "Not enough virtual memory or page file ....
" (That's all I can read before the system automatically reboots.
Nothing has worked for me. I tried to repair the installation by booting
from the CD, I tried safe mode, and just about every other option I can come
up with and nothing seems to work.

Does anyone out there have any ideas on what could be causing my problem??

Thx
J Pierce

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi,

Hit F8 at the initial bootup to get the menu. Choose Safe Mode with Command
Prompt. Logon, then from the prompt (C:\>), run
C:\Windows\System32\Restore\rstrui.exe to open the System Restore GUI. SP2
setup will have created a point as a safeguard that will allow you to revert
back to it in the event of a failed installation.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[AC]

Rick

The system won't even let me get into safe mode. And if I remember
correctly, if I boot from the CD to repair an installation and get to a C
prompt, I can't run any files when I am there...

AC

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi,

Not Safe mode, but Safe mode with command prompt. There is a difference as
the former uses a GUI and the latter does not, this can be the difference
between logging on and not logging on. The C prompt from booting the CD is
the Recovery Console, and this operation would not work from there, you need
the command prompt within Safe mode.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[cquirke (MVP Windows shell/user)]

My hard drive recently crashed, so after purchasing a new drive I got XP up
and running again. First thing I did was to get the network back up and
running and start downloading updates.

What SP level XP did you install?
How big was the new HD?

If "XP Gold" and "over 137G", there's a problem right there.

Did you turn on the firewall before getting the network back up and
running and downloading updates?

If "no", then you likely got malware'd before you got patched.

After the third reboot for the updates, SP2 downloaded and installed. Ever
since it's reboot I cannot get back into windows at all.

OK. Were you on SP2 before, on this particular motherboard and
processor combination? What prompted the original HD to "crash", i.e.
was it definively pinned down to physical failure of the HD?

What I have caught is that when the system boots, just before XP would open
up, there is an error message. "Not enough virtual memory or page file ....
" (That's all I can read before the system automatically reboots.

Thank MS's incredibly stupid duuhfault to "restart on system errors"
for that one. You have to kill that at birth, before doing anything
else, because as you can see, it really cripples troubleshooting when
the system has errors during the boot process.

Nothing has worked for me. I tried to repair the installation by booting
from the CD, I tried safe mode, and just about every other option I can come
up with and nothing seems to work.

Does anyone out there have any ideas on what could be causing my problem??

Safe Mode doesn't suppress everything. It's not this...

http://cquirke.mvps.org/sp2intel.htm

....but could well be a case of this...

http://cquirke.mvps.org/reinst.htm

....depending on whether the hardware was verified as OK before the
software rebuild. No point in attempting an install on bad hardware!

---------- ----- ---- --- -- - - - -

Don't pay malware vendors - boycott Sony