STOP c000021a (Fatal System Error)

[Bill M.]

I've been trying to install a newly purchased copy of
Windows XP Home Edition on my PC. After many unsiccessful
tries to overwrite Windows 98 it was suggested by this
Newsgroup to reformat the drive before installation. I
did. The installation seemed normal enough until it got to
copying files and couldn't find 19 of them. At the end,
when it tried to start I got a blue screen and this error
message:
STOP c000021a (Fatal System Error)
The session manager ...

Now I can't get it to do anything. If I reset the computer
the same message comes up. Over and over....

How can I tell it to reformat and start over?

I can't get a C prompt and it won't start in Safe Mode.

..

 

[Malke]

I've been trying to install a newly purchased copy of
Windows XP Home Edition on my PC. After many unsiccessful
tries to overwrite Windows 98 it was suggested by this
Newsgroup to reformat the drive before installation. I
did. The installation seemed normal enough until it got to
copying files and couldn't find 19 of them. At the end,
when it tried to start I got a blue screen and this error
message:
STOP c000021a (Fatal System Error)
The session manager ...

Now I can't get it to do anything. If I reset the computer
the same message comes up. Over and over....

How can I tell it to reformat and start over?

I can't get a C prompt and it won't start in Safe Mode.

.

This is usually indicative of failing hardware. Start by testing the RAM
with Memtest86 (www.memtest86.com). Allow the test to run for an
extended period of time, unless errors show up right away. If there are
any errors, replace the RAM. If the RAM is good, test the hard drive
with a diagnostic utility downloaded from the drive mftr.'s website. If
the test shows errors, replace the hard drive. I assume that you
removed all peripheral devices (printers, scanners, cameras, etc.) when
you tried to install.

Malke