Fatal System Error

[Guest]

I posted this error message yesterday, apparently I can perform a Repair
Install to correct the error, my question is, my friends does not have his
Dell XP installion disks, he has XP home, can I use my disks, either XP home
or XP Pro to do the operation?

In short are there any drawbacks to this repair, i.e. loss of applications,
or damage to them. Lastly, is there a way to recover his personal files if I
have to completely reformat his machine?

Stop: c000021a {Fatal System Error}
The Windows Logon Process system process terminated unexpectedly with a status
f 0xc0000005 (0x00000000 0x00000000).
The system has been shut down.

 

[Bill Lathan]

I purchased a Dell laptop and noticed that no installation CDs came along. I
also hate this approach by the vendors.

But to address your problem, I suggest you use your XP Home CD and do NOT
choose the option to wipe the drive, but choose the repair or something
similar option. This should repair the operating system. Then your friend
should backup all his critical personal files and any other info he wants to
keep. Then he/she should use the special partition on the Dell system to
recreate the machine's configuration when it arrived and then restore any
files he needs. You didn't mention whether your friend's machine was a
laptop or desktop. If the former, your OS should work to do as I said above;
however, that doesn't get all the special Dell drivers. That's what the
recreation is for. See Dell's website or your friend's documentation to see
the instructions for that procedure using the special partition. [I trust
that partition is also on desktops.]

By the way, your friend should use a backup program to capture the special
partition on CD or DVD. If not and he loses his HD, his only recourse is to
go back to Dell.

Good luck,

Bill