stop code 0x00000050 during installation

[Dave Eberly]

I receive a blue screen on an attempt to install Windows XP (from a CD-ROM
that
contains Service Pack 2). The information on the screen says that the
offending
file is ntfs.sys with PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA. The stop code
and parameters are

*** STOP: 0x00000050 (0xE0538D00, 0x00000000, 0xF73E5D46, 0x00000000)
*** Ntfs.sys - Address 0xF73E5D46 base at F73C100, DateStamp 41107eea

I had gotten the machine up and running a few weeks ago, but it would
sometimes reboot itself, especially when trying to do a full scan with NAV.
Then the machine just stopped working, unable to boot from the hard drive.
I put in a new drive and tried to install Windows XP, but got the messages
above. Perhaps a sign of other hardware problems?

Motherboard: ASUS A8V Deluxe
Processor: AMD Athlon64 3500+
Memory: Two 512MB DDR PC3200 (400Mhz)

I have the onboard network and sound enabled. Both hard drives are
IDE 7200rpm.

A search of the knowledge base did not turn up any items that
appeared to be relevant to this problem.

Any clues on what might be the culprit will be helpful, thanks.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Remove one of the memory modules and try again. If you get the stop again,
switch the modules and try again. If that works then replace the memory
module that is causing the error. For purposes of the installation,
disconnect all external devices except the keyboard, mouse, and monitor.

 

[Dave Eberly]

Remove one of the memory modules and try again. If you get the stop
again, switch the modules and try again. If that works then replace the
memory module that is causing the error.

Indeed this appeared to be the problem. With one of the memory
modules in place and the old drive hooked up, the machine booted
just fine (other than now claiming it needs re-activation, which is
strange since the only difference in configuration is one less memory
chip).

Thank you for your help.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

Great news.

If either one of the modules works by itself but the two do not work
together then I would guess that your power supply is very near its maximum
rating with two hard drives and two memory modules and all of the other
components and it would take a higher rated power supply to support the
additional memory. I have had this issue myself. Check this out before you
replace one of the modules. Of course if it doesn't work with one
particular module, replacement is probably in order.

As for activation, actually memory is handled in banks of 64mb in the
hardware hash used for activation, so removing 512mb is removing several
banks (although I have always assumed that removing memory counts for one
change; perhaps that is not true). Removing a hard drive only counts if it
is the primary hard drive. Perhaps you have made a number of changes and
this was enough to accumulate the score that triggered reactivation. It
actually takes quite a few, with changing out an NIC having the weightiest
effect of any one component. If you want to read up on how activation
works, see: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;302878

 

[Dave Eberly]

If either one of the modules works by itself but the two do not work
together then I would guess that your power supply is very near its
maximum rating with two hard drives and two memory modules and all of the
other components and it would take a higher rated power supply to support
the additional memory. I have had this issue myself. Check this out
before you replace one of the modules. Of course if it doesn't work with
one particular module, replacement is probably in order.

I had not thought of the power consumption issue. In addition to
the hard drives and memory modules, I also had connected the
graphics card, a floppy disk drive, and a zip drive. Everything else
is part of the motherboard. Thanks for the tip.

As for activation, actually memory is handled in banks of 64mb in the
hardware hash used for activation, so removing 512mb is removing several
banks (although I have always assumed that removing memory counts for one
change; perhaps that is not true). Removing a hard drive only counts if
it is the primary hard drive. Perhaps you have made a number of changes
and this was enough to accumulate the score that triggered reactivation.
It actually takes quite a few, with changing out an NIC having the
weightiest effect of any one component. If you want to read up on how
activation works, see:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;302878

The only change other than the module removal was that I disconnected
the secondary hard drive. At any rate, I'll call MS and get this
straightened
out. Thanks for the link.

 

[Colin Barnhorst]

You're welcome.