XP Boot Problem

[:FI:Grecian]

The story:-

Firstly I defraged my drive, after the defrag XP Home took about 10mins
to boot up, many progs wouldn't function Windows Explorer slow as a
snail, although Internet Explorer functioned ok.

Tried lots of options to no avail, so decided I would re-install from
CD or even re-format if necessary, couldn't do it from Desktop as it
said installed version was newer than the one on the Rom, booted from
CD get error message:-

STOP 0x0000008E etc
setup.dd.sys

Message indicates possible bad ram, started sodding around with Ram
sticks, now wont boot up at all not even safe mode, last known config
or normal, hit the button on these options and it just re-boots itself
back to the same screen again.

Any help before I lapse into insanity would be appreciated.

(Yes I do have a genuine Windows key)

 

[Ron Martell]

The story:-

Firstly I defraged my drive, after the defrag XP Home took about 10mins
to boot up, many progs wouldn't function Windows Explorer slow as a
snail, although Internet Explorer functioned ok.

Tried lots of options to no avail, so decided I would re-install from
CD or even re-format if necessary, couldn't do it from Desktop as it
said installed version was newer than the one on the Rom, booted from
CD get error message:-

STOP 0x0000008E etc
setup.dd.sys

The etc. part could have been quite informative if you had included
it, especially the first parameter.

Message indicates possible bad ram, started sodding around with Ram
sticks, now wont boot up at all not even safe mode, last known config
or normal, hit the button on these options and it just re-boots itself
back to the same screen again.

I can't find any authoritative sources that list bad RAM as a prime
suspect with this particular error *except* when it occurs during the
initial install of Windows XP.

MSDN lists incompatible hardware and faulty device drivers as the
prime suspects.

Any help before I lapse into insanity would be appreciated.

Your error message seems to have also included a file name, but the
format you have reported it in - setup.dd.sys - is not what would be
expected for a legitimate file.

There is a Windows file named setupdd.sys but this file is not one
that is normally used only during the initial install and setup of
Windows.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm