Blue Screen of Death

[Guest]

Hi, I have a Dell 8300 system with WindowsXp Professional which started
acting sluggish so I started my system in Safe Mode, reinstalled WindowsXp
Pro and now have a BLUE SCREEN of Death and can access my system.
The installation process appeared to proceed OK except when it got to
Installing (after Checking Information / Dynamic Update / Preparing
Installation and before Finalizing Installation). During the Installing
sequence, I was advised that File a3d.dll Creative SB could not be located
and my mouse locked. I pressed ESC and the error message box disappeared and
the mouse was released and the installation continued. But I noticed that the
screen turned blank for a second or two then the Windows Install screen
reappeared and the installation continued, this happened about a ½ dozen
times, which I thought was very unusual since I have not experienced this
before previously when installing (numerous versions of) Windows. Anyway,
the installation continued, the system restarted and I was advised:

Windows is Staring Up
Welcome
(and then came the BLUE SCREEN) A Problem has been detected and Windows Must
shut down

I tried to start my system in SAFE MODE but was advised

Windows must be activated before you can continue. Restart in Windows mode.

Since I HAD a good (activated) version of WindowsXp Pro before I tried to
repair / reinstall WindowsXp Pro, I thought that I might be in trouble and
whenstart my system in Normal Mode, I get the Blue Screen of Death so I KNOW
that I am in trouble and in desperate need of H-E-L-P!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks, Bob

 

[da_test]

Hi, I have a Dell 8300 system with WindowsXp Professional which started
acting sluggish so I started my system in Safe Mode, reinstalled WindowsXp
Pro and now have a BLUE SCREEN of Death and can access my system.
The installation process appeared to proceed OK except when it got to
Installing (after Checking Information / Dynamic Update / Preparing
Installation and before Finalizing Installation). During the Installing
sequence, I was advised that File a3d.dll Creative SB could not be located
and my mouse locked. I pressed ESC and the error message box disappeared and
the mouse was released and the installation continued. But I noticed that the
screen turned blank for a second or two then the Windows Install screen
reappeared and the installation continued, this happened about a ½ dozen
times, which I thought was very unusual since I have not experienced this
before previously when installing (numerous versions of) Windows. Anyway,
the installation continued, the system restarted and I was advised:

Windows is Staring Up
Welcome
(and then came the BLUE SCREEN) A Problem has been detected and Windows Must
shut down

I tried to start my system in SAFE MODE but was advised

Windows must be activated before you can continue. Restart in Windows mode.

Since I HAD a good (activated) version of WindowsXp Pro before I tried to
repair / reinstall WindowsXp Pro, I thought that I might be in trouble and
whenstart my system in Normal Mode, I get the Blue Screen of Death so I KNOW
that I am in trouble and in desperate need of H-E-L-P!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thanks, Bob

Did you actually do a repair? The proper way to do it is to actually
boot from the XP CD; not safe mode.
Can you boot into safemode now? If so LOGON and uninstall the audio
and display adaptors. Reboot normally and let XP redetect.
It's possible you may need to do a proper repair to try and fix.
Boot from the CD rom.
Dave

 

[Guest]

Thanks Dave, to answer your questions:

Did you actually do a repair?

NO, the repair did NOT complete but it wiped out my (good) version of
Windows i.e. I get a Blue Screen of Death and I am unable to go to Safe Mode
since it advises me that I needd to activate Windows and start the system
inNormal Mode (which I can't). So when I start in Safe Mode, I am advised
that I need to boot in Normal Mode to activate Windows and when I boot in
Noormal Mode, I get a Blue Scrren of Death

The proper way to do it is to actually boot from the XP CD; not safe mode.
I tried to boot from the CD but for some reason it never recognized the
Windows installation CD in the CD-ROM Drive

Can you boot into safemode now?
No, I am advised that I need to activate Windows and that can only be done
in NormalMode but when I boot in Normal Mode, I get the Blue Screen (BTW,
Windows WAS activated BEFORE I tried this reinstal)

If so LOGON and uninstall the audio and display adaptors.
I can't get to Control Panel (either from Safe Mode or Normal Mode)

It's possible you may need to do a proper repair to try and fix.
Boot from the CD r
Right now my main concern is getting a "workable" screen. Some how I need
to install Windows which doesn't start from the CD, does start from Safe Mode
and brings up the Blue Screen in Normal Mode.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks, Bob

 

[Kelly]

Hi Bob,

Having a sluggish system wouldn't entail a reinstall. That said, one does
not reinstall XP in safe mode. Added info here and good luck:
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=a3d.dll+Creative+SB+could+not+be+located+&btnG=Google+Search

--
In memory of our dear friend, MVP Alex Nichol: http://www.dts-l.org/

All the Best,
Kelly (MS-MVP)

Troubleshooting Windows XP
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com

 

[da_test]

Thanks Dave, to answer your questions:

Did you actually do a repair?

NO, the repair did NOT complete but it wiped out my (good) version of
Windows i.e. I get a Blue Screen of Death and I am unable to go to Safe Mode
since it advises me that I needd to activate Windows and start the system
inNormal Mode (which I can't). So when I start in Safe Mode, I am advised
that I need to boot in Normal Mode to activate Windows and when I boot in
Noormal Mode, I get a Blue Scrren of Death

The proper way to do it is to actually boot from the XP CD; not safe mode.
I tried to boot from the CD but for some reason it never recognized the
Windows installation CD in the CD-ROM Drive

Can you boot into safemode now?
No, I am advised that I need to activate Windows and that can only be done
in NormalMode but when I boot in Normal Mode, I get the Blue Screen (BTW,
Windows WAS activated BEFORE I tried this reinstal)

If so LOGON and uninstall the audio and display adaptors.
I can't get to Control Panel (either from Safe Mode or Normal Mode)

It's possible you may need to do a proper repair to try and fix.
Boot from the CD r
Right now my main concern is getting a "workable" screen. Some how I need
to install Windows which doesn't start from the CD, does start from Safe Mode
and brings up the Blue Screen in Normal Mode.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks, Bob

Bob,
your best bet at this point is to complete a new repair install and
see what is left. It's hard to tell from what you have said
exactly what the state of your files are now.
You MUST do this by booting from the XP media.
If you can't get the CDROM to boot ( to do this you normally
have to go into the computer BIOS and set the CDROM as the first boot
device)
Then download the XP boot floppies from Microsoft.
For XP floopy install:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/results.aspx?freetext=boot+floppy&productID=&DisplayLang=en

Pick the one that corresponds to your XP version/ service level.
Good luck -
Dave

 

[Guest]

Thanks for your help guys, to recap where I am, I can NOT boot from the Dell
provided Windows CD, when I try and boot in Safe Mode, I am advised that I
must activate Windows in Normal Mode before I can use Safe Mode and when I
try to
start the system in Normal Mode, I get a Blue Screen that says:

A problem has been detected and Windows has shut down to prevent damage
to your computer......... STOP: 0x00000008E(0xC0000005,
0x805298C9,0xb232D779,0x0000000

So as it stands, I am UNABLE to access my system either from the
Windows CD, Safe Mode or Normal Mode

Since it is obvious that I do NOT know what Iam doing and don't want to
screw thisup any further (assuming it is possible to get into bigger doo-doo
than I in), I have a few questions.
How do I complete a new repair?
How do I boot from XP Media?
Can I UnDo this last Windows install?
Can I uninstall the SB Driver (that appears to be causing problems) without
having access to Control Panel?
Any other helpful "hand holding" suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Bob

======================================
Having a sluggish system wouldn't entail a reinstall. That said, one does
not reinstall XP in safe mode. Added info here and good luck:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=a3d.dll+Creative+SB+could+not+be+located+&btnG=Google+Search

 

[Alias]

Try hitting F8 on boot up and choosing Last Known Good Configuration.

Alias

 

[Guest]

Try hitting F8 on boot up and choosing Last Known Good Configuration.

That would have been great but unfortunately it did not work and I got the
dreaded Blue Screen again. The system appears to have accepted a NEW Windows
install and wiped out my previous good (but sluggish) configuration.
Thanks, Bob

 

[Guest]

Hi guys, thank you again for your help.
I am able to get to a DOS screen so I think (hope), that I can get out of
this mess and since I got into this mess by doing things that I was not
familiar with, I do
NOT want to get into trouble again and would appreciate a little more help.

I located a RecoveryCD and believe that the first thing that I need to do is
place the Recovery / Resourse CD in the CD-ROM Drive, turn on my Dell
computer and select the Boot from CD option (NOT boot from Hard Drive).

That will bring uo the Dell ResourceCD Main Menu / Selection Page, where I
should choose the DOS Option.

When I am in DOS, I believe I need to type FORMAT C:\ and Press Enter (to
Reformat the "C" Drive)

After the "C" Drive is ReFormatted, I place the WindowsXp Professional SetUp
CD in the CD-ROM Drive, restart the system and hopefully, the WindowsXp Pro
Setup routine will begin (and I will have a USABLE system again)

I would appreciate if you would please advise / confirm that these ARE the
steps and that I need to take and if NOT (or I am have skipped / forgotten
something), what should I be doing to get my system Up 'n Running?

Thank you for your ALL your help
Bob