Startup problem...

[RJK]

XP Home ed. SP3+updates going around in cricles - will not boot normally or
into Safe Mode, and "Last known good configuration..." also does not work.

2 days ago, I left a problem free XP Home ed. SP3+all updates in a "new"
system box with my brother in Bournemouth, and the only change he's made to
it, as far as I can tell, is to install a twain driver for his Epson
Perfection 1260 flatbed scanner. It was working okay after this, and indeed
he used the scanner several times.

During a subsequent boot up, he's getting a fleeting glimpse of a blue
screen before it bombs out to the black and white selection screen where one
can choose boot Normally, Safe Mode, Command Mode etc.

From his description - it sounds like a "Fatal exception error" or "Invalid
Page Fault" screen, "...I can only see it for a fraction of a second and
there's lots of of zeros..." ...is more or less how he described it to me.

....we just had another go on the 'phone - disabled Automatic restart, and,
it's a
STOP: 0x0000000A (*.*.*.*) message,

....he is unable to even boot to the command prompt so that I could get him
to "listsvc" and maybe try to "disable"
suspect driver :-(

....ideas on how to "over the 'phone" help him to solve this one,

regards, Richard

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

XP Home ed. SP3+updates going around in cricles - will not boot normally
or
into Safe Mode, and "Last known good configuration..." also does not work.

2 days ago, I left a problem free XP Home ed. SP3+all updates in a "new"
system box with my brother in Bournemouth, and the only change he's made
to
it, as far as I can tell, is to install a twain driver for his Epson
Perfection 1260 flatbed scanner. It was working okay after this, and
indeed
he used the scanner several times.

During a subsequent boot up, he's getting a fleeting glimpse of a blue
screen before it bombs out to the black and white selection screen where
one
can choose boot Normally, Safe Mode, Command Mode etc.

From his description - it sounds like a "Fatal exception error" or
"Invalid
Page Fault" screen, "...I can only see it for a fraction of a second and
there's lots of of zeros..." ...is more or less how he described it to
me.

...we just had another go on the 'phone - disabled Automatic restart, and,
it's a
STOP: 0x0000000A (*.*.*.*) message,

...he is unable to even boot to the command prompt so that I could get him
to "listsvc" and maybe try to "disable"
suspect driver :-(

...ideas on how to "over the 'phone" help him to solve this one,

regards, Richard

Sounds like the driver he installed has a serious problem. You can probably
restore the system with a manual System Restore - see the link below. I
suggest you try it by yourself first, then step him through it while doing
it a second time on your own machine.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545

 

[RJK]

Many thanks,

I've been pondering on this one, ever since posting, ...and agree....
....looks like the only option is a "Repair install" with his XP Homed. SP2
cd, ...will take my external hd with SP3 etc ! ...or should that be a
:-( ?

regards, Richard

 

[RJK]

Many thanks,

I've been pondering on this one, ever since posting, ...and agree....
....looks like the only option is a "Repair install" with his XP Homed. SP2
cd, ...will take my external hd with SP3 etc ! ...or should that be a
:-( ?

regards, Richard

 

[RJK]

Many thanks,

I've been pondering on this one, ever since posting, ...and agree....
....looks like the only option is a "Repair install" with his XP Homed. SP2
cd, ...will take my external hd with SP3 etc ! ...or should that be a
:-( ?

regards, Richard

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

Many thanks,

I've been pondering on this one, ever since posting, ...and agree....
...looks like the only option is a "Repair install" with his XP Homed.
SP2 cd, ...will take my external hd with SP3 etc ! ...or should that
be a :-( ?

Not necessarily. By manually restoring the System hive from the System
Volume Information folder you can probably fix the machine in less than ten
minutes. The process is reversible if you follow the instructions.

 

[RJK]

....mmmm ! how'd that get posted 3 times ?!?

regards, Richard

 

[RJK]

XP Home ed. SP3+updates going around in cricles - will not boot normally
or
into Safe Mode, and "Last known good configuration..." also does not work.

Well, ...a quick word to summarize :-

It turns out that the damaged XP Home ed. registry was due to PC2-6400
memory going faulty, or at the very least, suddenly deciding that it would
no longer operate correctly at settings beyond JDEC standards. Very
annoying ! in that all the system box hardware was completely robust for
several weeks - and then decided to go "bang" after just 3 days with its'
owner / 70 miles away !

i.e. one / or both the 2x1gb OCZ2P800R22GK [email protected] corrupted the XP
registry ! I've seen this in the past several times - it's usually quick
and easy to spot faulty memory during Windows installation. i.e. quite a
range of, (sometimes misleading), errors occur whilst installing Windows if
memory is not functioning properly.

Interestingly, the SPD info. on these OCZ modules offered no timings beyond
266/333/400 @ 1.8volts, yet the little paper sticker on the modules states
[email protected]

(...whereas the 2 x 1gb Crucial Ballistix PC2-6400 SPD in my 2nd PC shows
all the JDEC settings at 1.8v, and a higher range at 2.0v )

....one lives and learns - even at my age !

....thanks to all who helped.

regards, Richard

 

[Pegasus [MVP]]

Well, ...a quick word to summarize :-

It turns out that the damaged XP Home ed. registry was due to PC2-6400
memory going faulty, or at the very least, suddenly deciding that it would
no longer operate correctly at settings beyond JDEC standards. Very
annoying ! in that all the system box hardware was completely robust for
several weeks - and then decided to go "bang" after just 3 days with its
owner / 70 miles away !

Thanks for the feedback.