Cannot Boot From Windows XP CD

[Peggy A]

I have a PC that suddenly started getting the BSOD with an stop code of
0x00000024. I booted into the utilities partition (this is a Dell Dimension
E520 desktop) and ran the utility set associated with blue screen problems.
This checked memory and hard drive but found no errors. I wanted to try
running chkdsk to try to find and fix any hard drive issues (as recommended
in the BSOD error message), so, I tried booting with the Windows XP CD. It
loads files and then gives the message "starting windows", but then
immediately gets another BSOD, this time with a stop code of 0x0000007B.

Any thoughts? If I can't even get it to boot from the CD, it's going to make
it much more challenging to do anything to fix this problem.

Thanks.

 

[David B.]

You likely need to provide drivers via floppy disk for the hard drive
controller using the F6 option displayed at the bottom of the screen during
the initial boot from the XP installation media. Have you tried running the
hard drive mfg's diagnostic utility?

 

[Terry R.]

The date and time was Friday, July 17, 2009 10:24:01 AM , and on a whim,
Peggy A pounded out on the keyboard:

I have a PC that suddenly started getting the BSOD with an stop code of
0x00000024. I booted into the utilities partition (this is a Dell Dimension
E520 desktop) and ran the utility set associated with blue screen problems.
This checked memory and hard drive but found no errors. I wanted to try
running chkdsk to try to find and fix any hard drive issues (as recommended
in the BSOD error message), so, I tried booting with the Windows XP CD. It
loads files and then gives the message "starting windows", but then
immediately gets another BSOD, this time with a stop code of 0x0000007B.

Any thoughts? If I can't even get it to boot from the CD, it's going to make
it much more challenging to do anything to fix this problem.

Thanks.

Hi Peggy,

Have you tried booting into Safe Mode? Reboot, and repeatedly press the
F8 key until you get a menu. Select Safe Mode. It may take a bit to
get to a Desktop. If you can, try running chkdsk from there.

Report back,


Terry R.

 

[smlunatick]

I have a PC that suddenly started getting the BSOD with an stop code of
0x00000024. I booted into the utilities partition (this is a Dell Dimension
E520 desktop) and ran the utility set associated with blue screen problems.
This checked memory and hard drive but found no errors. I wanted to try
running chkdsk to try to find and fix any hard drive issues (as recommended
in the BSOD error message), so, I  tried booting with the Windows XP CD.. It
loads files and then gives the message "starting windows", but then
immediately gets another BSOD, this time with a stop code of 0x0000007B.

Any thoughts? If I can't even get it to boot from the CD, it's going to make
it much more challenging to do anything to fix this problem.

Thanks.

It may seem it is starting from the CD but what you are describing, it
boots from the hard drive. Access the BIOS setup screens and check to
make sure that the CD is listed before the hard drive in the boot
device sequences.

 

[Gerry]

Peggy

Please post a copy of the Stop Error report?

Disable automatic restart on system failure. This should help by
allowing time to write down the STOP code properly. Keep pressing the F8
key during Start-Up and select option - Disable automatic restart on
system failure. Do not re-enable automatic restart on system failure.

Try Last Known Good Configuration?
A description of the Safe Mode Boot options in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315222/en-us

Background information on Stop Error message
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms793935.aspx

0x00000024: NTFS_FILE_SYSTEM
A problem occurred within NTFS.SYS, the driver file that allows the
system to read and write to NTFS file system drives. There may be a
physical problem with the disk, or an Interrupt Request Packet (IRP) may
be corrupted. Other common causes include heavy hard drive
fragmentation, heavy file I/O, problems with some types of
drive-mirroring software, or some antivirus software. I suggest running
ChkDsk or ScanDisk as a first step; then disable all file system filters
such as virus scanners, firewall software, or backup utilities. Check
the file properties of NTFS.SYS to ensure it matches the current OS or
SP version. Update all disk, tape backup, CD-ROM, or removable device
drivers to the most current versions.
Source: http://aumha.org/a/stop.htm

Background information on Stop Error message
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/ms795508.aspx

0x0000007B: INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE
(Click to consult the online MSDN article.)
Windows lost access to the system partition or boot volume during the
startup process. Typical causes: Installing incorrect device drivers
when installing or upgrading storage adapter hardware, or a virus.
Source: http://aumha.org/a/stop.htm

Advanced troubleshooting for "Stop 0x0000007B" errors in Windows XP
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324103/en-us

You may be able to access and recover the data on the drive by placing
the drive in an external cradle and connecting to a working computer.

--


Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Peggy A]

Thanks for all the responses.

I did run the Dell diagnostic utilities which checked everything from memory
to cache to hard disk. It ran for about 6 hours and every test passed.

It will not boot into safe mode or any of the safe mode variants, such as
safe mode with command prompt, or safe mode with networking. It will not boot
using the last known good configuration. EVERY attempt to boot into windows,
including using the XP CD fails.

I know that I am booting from the CD because I changed the boot sequence and
it asks me to hit any key to boot from the CD. It then displays the scrolling
list of all the files it is loading. Once that is done, it gives the messsage
"starting windows", then immediately gets the BSOD.

When trying to boot windows from the hard drive, I get the following stop
error:

0x00000024(0x0019023,0x8AFD2480,0xC0000102,0x00000000)
There is no following explanatory error code. The first and second parameter
in the () changes some depending on whether I try booting normally or into
safe mode, etc. The third and fourth parameters remain the same.

When I try to boot from the CD I get the following stop error:
sx0000007B(0xF78DA63C,0xC0000034,0x00000000, 0x00000000)
Again, there is no additional error message to go along with the stop error
code.

It does not automatically restart when it encounters a BSOD.

I would love to be able to get to a DOS prompt so I could run chkdsk, but so
far, no luck.

I do have the hardware to pull the drive and attach it to another PC to
backup the files. Would it be possible to run chkdsk on that drive while it
is connected as an additional drive on another PC?

Any further suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Gerry]

Peggy

The solution would deem to be to run chkdsk c: /r

This link seems to be a similar scenario to your own:
http://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-2650681.php

Another way to access the drive
http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/
also
http://www.ubcd4win.com/

You can run chkdsk on a second or slave drive. Remember that when you
move a hard drive to a second computer the drive letter will change from
C as the drive letter C has already been allocated.

--


Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Alan]

Hi Peggy,

If you DO have the available hardware to pull the drive and attach it to
another PC to backup your personal files, do that.

Then, you might want to run chkdsk on the hard drive using that second
machine.

If everything checks out, try putting the hard drive back in the original
machine -- the Dell E520 -- and try to reinstall the O/S from the hidden
partition that Dell put on the E520, by pressing CTRL F11 at startup. (I
know that the E520 has this hidden partition because I also have a Dell
E520.)

Alan

 

[Peter Foldes]

Peggy

Do you have a USB CD-ROM by any chance installed ?? Also did you by any chance use
any Registry Cleaning tools lately.

A possible fix is available depending on your answer to the above 2 questions

 

[Jose]

Thanks for all the responses.

I did run the Dell diagnostic utilities which checked everything from memory
to cache to hard disk. It ran for about 6 hours and every test passed.

It will not boot into safe mode or any of the safe mode variants, such as
safe mode with command prompt, or safe mode with networking. It will not boot
using the last known good configuration. EVERY attempt to boot into windows,
including using the XP CD fails.

I know that I am booting from the CD because I changed the boot sequence and
it asks me to hit any key to boot from the CD. It then displays the scrolling
list of all the files it is loading. Once that is done, it gives the messsage
"starting windows", then immediately gets the BSOD.

When trying to boot windows from the hard drive, I get the following stop
error:

0x00000024(0x0019023,0x8AFD2480,0xC0000102,0x00000000)
There is no following explanatory error code. The first and second parameter
in the () changes some depending on whether I try booting normally or into
safe mode, etc. The third and fourth parameters remain the same.

When I try to boot from the CD I get the following stop error:
sx0000007B(0xF78DA63C,0xC0000034,0x00000000, 0x00000000)
Again, there is no additional error message to go along with the stop error
code.

It does not automatically restart when it encounters a BSOD.

I would love to be able to get to a DOS prompt so I could run chkdsk, butso
far, no luck.

I do have the hardware to pull the drive and attach it to another PC to
backup the files. Would it be possible to run chkdsk on that drive while it
is connected as an additional drive on another PC?

Any further suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

When you boot from CD, does it ask you to boot the Recovery Console
and that also give you a BSOD?

Why not create a boot CD that just has the RC stuff on it (chkdsk is
included in RC) and see if you can boot from that?

Do you have access to a PC that has a CD burner? All the software is
fast and free and only takes a few minutes to create.

Would you like to try that?

 

[Peggy A]

That's pretty much what I am going to try. I wasn't aware of the hidden
partition that is installed. Is it different from the utilties partition? If
I do the install of the OS from this hidden partition, will I lose all the
data? Also, will I need the Windows XP CDs to complete this reinstall?

Thanks.

 

[Peggy A]

We don't have a USB CD drive and I'm pretty sure they hadn't recently run any
registry cleaning program (this is a friend's computer, so I can't say for
certain).

 

[Peggy A]

When I try to boot from the Win XP CD it never even gets to the point of
letting me choose the recovery console. It gets the BSOD before that.

It would be great to be able to boot from a CD with just the recovery stuff
on it. . I do have a PC with CD burner. I've seen some other notes about
creating a bootable CD, but haven't tried it so any guidance on that would be
appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[Gerry]

Peggy

Take care! Most restore partitions take you back to factory settings,
which is not what you want. They are also destructive.
See page 53 in this link:
http://snurl.com/nhmsd [209_85_229_132]


--


Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[Daave]

I have a PC that suddenly started getting the BSOD with an stop code
of 0x00000024. I booted into the utilities partition (this is a Dell
Dimension E520 desktop) and ran the utility set associated with blue
screen problems. This checked memory and hard drive but found no
errors. I wanted to try running chkdsk to try to find and fix any
hard drive issues (as recommended in the BSOD error message), so, I
tried booting with the Windows XP CD. It loads files and then gives
the message "starting windows", but then immediately gets another
BSOD, this time with a stop code of 0x0000007B.

Any thoughts? If I can't even get it to boot from the CD, it's going
to make it much more challenging to do anything to fix this problem.

It sounds like you're doing it wrong. With Dells, it helps to press F12
as soon as you see the Dell splash screen. Then select the option to
boot off the CD-ROM drive. Next you will see a message briefly to press
any key to boot off the CD. Be sure to do that!

Assuming you are able to boot off the CD successfully, what is your plan
of action? Recovery Console? Clean Install? Repair Install? Parallel
Install? Have you backed up all your data? (If not, that should be the
very first thing you do! Ask us and we will guide you.)

Also, do you have any ideas what may be causing this particular problem?
Have you done anything recently we should know about? (That would be
installing programs or updates or contracting viruses, etc.)

In the event you have a hardware problem, this page is helpful:

http://www.elephantboycomputers.com/page2.html

If all you need to do is perform a manual Windows System Restore (by
using the Recovery Console), this page is helpful:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545

 

[Alan]

Hi Peggy,

Yes, you will lose ALL your data. That's why I recommended that you back up
all your personal files before using this procedure.

When you use the CTRL F11 method to restore your system to "factory
settings" it does exactly that: Your Dell E520's Operating System will be
exactly the same as when you took it out of the box.

And, no, you will not need the XP installation disk at all, nor will you
need to worry about the F6 installation of Raid drivers.

Alan

 

[Jose]

I have a PC that suddenly started getting the BSOD with an stop code of
0x00000024. I booted into the utilities partition (this is a Dell Dimension
E520 desktop) and ran the utility set associated with blue screen problems.
This checked memory and hard drive but found no errors. I wanted to try
running chkdsk to try to find and fix any hard drive issues (as recommended
in the BSOD error message), so, I  tried booting with the Windows XP CD.. It
loads files and then gives the message "starting windows", but then
immediately gets another BSOD, this time with a stop code of 0x0000007B.

Any thoughts? If I can't even get it to boot from the CD, it's going to make
it much more challenging to do anything to fix this problem.

Thanks.

Download an XP Recover Console ISO disk image called xp_rec_con.iso
from here:

http://www.mediafire.com/?ueyyzfymmig

Even if you have software to burn a bootable CD, here is free and easy
to figure out software:

http://www.imgburn.com/

Here is the XP Recovery Console command reference:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058

You would be most interested in chkdsk with the /r option (chkdsk /r)
at this point.

After creating the CD, try to boot it on a system that is not broken -
to make sure the CD works. Now you have known good media.

If your system will not boot on the HDD, will not boot on the XP
installation CD and will not boot on the CD that you just created and
you know works (because you tested it in another machine), then you
likely have a hardware problem. THat makes some sense, huh?

Hardware problems are often accompanied by a BSOD. If XP were just
plain not trying to load at all, you would not get as far as a BSOD,
so it is at least trying.

You did not say if you have a desktop, laptop - whatever, so with the
power unlugged, you will want to physically remove and reinstall easy
things like RAM, video card, reseat cables, power connections until
you have done everything you can. You may need to find some nice
person to help you (you know... a geek), but it is not very difficult
if you are careful and don't unhook so much stuff you can't remember
where it goes.

When you system boots, one short beep (a beep code) from the speaker
is generally good. What do your beep codes sound like? One short,
one short one long, two shorts? If anything except one short, the
message needs interpreting, so get a manual or tell us what kind of
motherboard you have and we'll find the manual for you.

Notice the BIOS information as the system tries to boot - make,
version, any errors, etc. You might have to try a couple times to
write everything down. We need that also.

After the hardware reset, try to boot again using the HDD first, then
the CDs and describe your results.

 

[Peggy A]

Well, here's the latest. I created the recovery console boot CD as suggested
in your post. Tried it out on my laptop and it worked fine. I then tried it
on the problem PC and got exactly the same blue screen I received when trying
to boot from a standard Windows XP Cd (the 7B stop code). It never even gets
to the point of letting me choose the recovery console.

So, I pulled the drive and hooked it up to my working PC using a Sabrent USB
to SATA/IDE adapter. My PC recognized the drive and assigned it a drive
letter. I first tried to just view the files on the bad drive using Windows
Explorer but received the message "K: is not accessible. The file or
directory is corrupted and unreadable.". So I next went into computer
management (right clicked My Computer and chose Manage). Again the drive is
listed there as basic, healthy (active), with 228.13 GB capacity and 228.13
GB free and no file system. So it sees it as just a raw hard drive. I also
opened the properties window of that drive while in Computer Management and
tried to run the check disk utility. However, when I click on Start it does
nothing. Guess that's because it doesn't see it as formatted.

I disconnected the drive from my PC and put it back in the problem PC, just
to make sure nothing happened to change things while it was connected to my
PC. It behaved exactly the same as before. If I tried to boot from the HDD it
got the stop code 24 blue screen. However, I can still boot into the Dell
Utilities partition. I also tried booting into the Drive Diagnostics option
(after hitting F12 during the boot sequence). This ran and reported the hard
drive as passing its tests.

So, at this point I am guessing that since the hard drive passed all the
Dell Diagnostics previously, is recognized as a physically functioning drive
when connected to my PC, and passed the boot Drive Diagnostics test, that the
physical hard drive is not the problem. I have to assume that there has been
some sort of data corruption that makes the OS unusable and causes Computer
Management to not recognize that it's been formatted at all.

I am confused by why it will boot into the Dell Diagnostics partition and
run those just fine when Computer Management sees the drive as unformatted. I
am also confused that this PC was working fine before the folks that own it
went on vacation, then started having the BSOD problem the first time they
fired it up when they returned a week later. Could a power surge cause this
sort of thing? They did leave it plugged in, though not on, while they were
gone and they did have to reboot their cable modem and wireless router to get
those to work when they came back.

Any recommendations on next steps? Would it be best to try to reinstall the
O/S from the hidden partition that Dell put on the E520 desktop, by pressing
CTRL F11 at startup, as Alan suggested or will I need to reformat the drive
and start from scratch?

Thanks.

 

[Peggy A]

I forgot to answer one of your questions. I do just get the single beep code
as normal. I haven't gotten the BIOS information yet and still need to try
reseating all the connections, though there doesn't seem to be any other
hardware issues.

Thanks.

 

[David B.]

Which XP CD are you using? The one provided by Dell or a different one?