HELP! Windows will not boot - LSASS.EXE An invalid parameter error

[Mike Bailey]

My computer has "crashed" - in a way. I had just used it at 11pm two
days ago Sunday night - sent an email, so I know it was working okay
then. Lastnight, when we got home, I went to use the PC and it was on
the Windows startup screen but the little "blue thing" that moves back
and forth while it's loading was stuck. Nothing would respond. I
powered off and back on. It when through some checkdisk for a long time,
would start loading, then reboot. I finally got it to start in Safe
Mode. It would get as far as starting to put icons on the desktop, then
reboot. Finally, in Safe Mode, I used System Restore to put it back to
Saturday. Now, it won't start up at all. After doing the restore and
rebooting, I got a message saying "Windows could not load the current
profile and that a temp one would be used." Then it came up and said
that "the Saturday Restore could not be done due to an improper
shutdown." NOW, when I reboot, and even try safe mode, all I get is a
message "LSASS.EXE An invalid parameter was passed to a service or
function" and then it reboots itself again.

I'm running XP with SP2.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[db.·.. >]

hello mike,

well, improper shut downs
usually require a chkdsk
to be run afterwards.

in this respect, it would be
a good idea to use a (any)
windows installation cd
and boot into the recovery
console with it.

at the disk system prompt
you can run the commands:

chkdsk
fixboot
bootcfg /rebuild

then exit and try
to boot normally
again.

here is more info on the
above:

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

there is a caveat to the
above and that is if the
improper shutdown has
the potential to crash your
registry as well, which is
something check disk is
not designed to reconcile.

in regards to the lsass issue,
here is a link to other q&a
for that issue:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/...-8EB7A22FC6A0&dglist=&ptlist=&exp=&sloc=en-us

 

[Mike Bailey]

Thanks for the reply. One question though - I found on a site
(http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm) some
instructions/advice on how to repair XP and he stress "DO NOT use Repair
console." Here are part of his instructions. Why the difference approach?

Mike Bailey

XP REPAIR INSTALL

1. Boot the computer using the XP CD. You may need to change the
boot order in the system BIOS. Check your system documentation
for steps to access the BIOS and change the boot order.

2. When you see the "Welcome To Setup" screen, you will see the
options below This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft
Windows XP to run on your computer:

To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.

To repair a Windows XP installation using Recovery Console, press R.

To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.

3. Press Enter to start the Windows Setup.
DO NOT choose "To repair a Windows XP installation using the
Recovery Console, press R", (you do not want to load Recovery
Console). I repeat, DO NOT choose "To repair a Windows XP
installation using the Recovery Console, press R".
4. Accept the License Agreement and Windows will search for existing
Windows installations.
5. Select the XP installation you want to repair from the list and
press R to start the repair. If Repair is not one of the options,
read Warning #2 below!!
6. Setup will copy the necessary files to the hard drive and reboot.
Do not press any key to boot from CD when the message appears.
Setup will continue as if it were doing a clean install, but your
applications and settings will remain intact.

=========================================================================

 

[db.·.. >]

well, the article could
use a bit more details.

however, i think the author
is simply stressing not to
inadvertently press R for
recovery console if your intent
is to perform a "repair installation".

if however, the R was pressed
and the user logged into the
recovery console, it would be
no big deal.

simply type exit and enter
then the system would reboot
with the cd.

then when the installation menu
popped up again, avoid pressing
the r for recovery console in order
to proceed with a repair installation.

a repair installation is helpful in
some cases because it is a process
in which the system files on the
disk are compared to the genuine
files on the cd.

if any files on the disk are missing
or corrupted, then the cd sends
the genuine down onto the
disk and restoring the functionality
of the operating system.

on the other hand, if the operating
system is not faulty or corrupted but
the system cannot launch it,
then it could be due to issues
involving the disk system.

with the recovery console you
can gain access to the disk system
and a prompt, where commands
can be executed a chkdsk or a fixboot.

because a dirty disk can inhibit the
loading of windows, then you
could run a chkdsk like the above
instead of "repairing" the entire
operating system.

here is more info:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058