Boot Error!

[sconroy1]

I went to boot my computer this morning and I have this boot error pop up. It identifies the problem as:

STOP: 0x0000007B (0XBA4C3524, 0XC0000034, 0X00000000, 0X00000000)

I've tried booting in safe mode to no avail. I've ran a number of diagnostic tests on the boot partition however I pass all the tests.

I'm thinking that my next step should be to run a bootdisk and perform chkdsk however I'd rather the advice from an expert as opposed to playing around with something like this.

Any help would be greatly apprediated.

Thanks in advance,

Steve

[AdvancedSetup]

Please review here: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324103

[sconroy1]

Thanks, but frankly I'm not sure if I'm infected with a virus or I have an issue with a device driver.

Additionally, before I go about partitioning my drive, I would like to attempt to back up any files on the HDD as well as upgrade from XP to Windows 7.

I realize this is a bit of a complex problem with many variables, but any assistance that can be provided would be appreciated.

Thanks once again.

[AdvancedSetup]

Do you have the Recovery Console already installed?

Have you tried to boot to Safe Mode?

Have you tried Last Known Good?

Do you have a bootable Windows XP CD?

Do you have a disk like Ultimate Boot CD for Windows?

You need something to attempt to get onto the system and attempt maybe a CHKDSK or a FIXMBR or something like that. If you don't have a way to do that then you'd be forced to remove the drive and slave it to another working computer to see if you can fix it, or trying a Linux CD but a Linux CD typically won't have tools to easily fix it unless you really know what you're doing with Linux.

[sconroy1]

Thanks for the prompt response.

To my knowledge I do not have the recovery console installed. Would it typically come installed in a Dell bought computer?

I am not able to boot in safe mode or in last known good.

Unfortunately, I do not have a bootable XP cd nor do I have Ultimate Boot.

I do have a second computer however; one that can burn a CD or DVD. Is there a link that I could download a boot CD onto and thus burn it onto a CD and insert it into the non working computer?

My knowledge of Linux is extremely limited and I would advise against myself getting involved with it.

[AdvancedSetup]

There is no legal means that I'm aware of that has the required tools to fix this. I would suggest that you contact Dell and apprise them of the issue and order a Recovery CD or Re-install CD from them.

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/glo...nt?docid=181316

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/glo...mp;docid=300058

Request Backup Disks

https://support.dell.com/support/topics/glo...n/backupcd_form

[sconroy1]

What about Ultimate Boot as you've mentioned earlier? Is it possible for me to download then burn this onto a CD and proceed with my task?

[AdvancedSetup]

It requires a Windows CD as well to create the disk.

Do you maybe have a friend or relative that you could borrow one from, or possibly from work? We're not installing anything from it and we don't need their key for the software, we just need the CD to boot and do a repair.

[sconroy1]

Yes, I will be able to have an XP CD by the morning. It's 9:31PM here.

[Firefox]

You mentioned that you have a Dell, if so you can run diagnostics on that computer by hitting the F12 key when you first turn it on. Test the memory, hard drive and motherboard and fans, let us know if you get errors.

Especially if the hard drive fails, it would be moot to try and install on this drive.

[sconroy1]

I ran a full battery of tests overnight with Dell's included software after hitting F12. I passed all tests with no errors.

What is my course of action now with an XP CD?

[AdvancedSetup]

Please review the following KB article and start the Recovery Console and first try doing a CHKDSK on the drive.

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

[sconroy1]

I ran chkdsk with the bootable XP CD which found no errors.

I then ran chkdsk /p which did find one of more errors on the volume.

Next I ran chkdsk /r in hopes of repairing the disc, however when I go to start my computer I'm still receiving the same error at startup.

[AdvancedSetup]

You may want to try FIXBOOT then and see if that works, if not then try the FIXMBR

[sconroy1]

Performed both FIXBOOT AND FIXMBR without success. Still can't even log onto Safe Mode.

Original error message is still present.

[AdvancedSetup]

Try disconnecting ALL external peripherals from the computer such as USB drives, Printers, Cameras, etc.

Then try to run or or more of the following scanners. Beyond this I would say to slave the drive and backup any data on it then FDISK, FORMAT and re-install Windows on it.

LiveCD for Malware and Virus Removal

Here are links to Antivirus vendors that offer free LiveCD or Rescue CD files that are used to boot from for repair if needed.

All of them except Avira are in the ISO image file format. Avira uses an EXE that has built-in CD burning capability.

Avira AntiVir Rescue System

BitDefender LiveCD

Dr Web LiveCD

F-Secure Rescue CD

Kaspersky RescueDisk

For those users that need a FREE utility to properly burn the ISO image

ImgBurn

How to write an image file to a disc with ImgBurn

[sconroy1]

Tried with Avira. Found a tutorial on their website and followed the directions. It found and renamed a few files but I'm still getting the same error message when I attempt to boot. Same result when trying to run in safe mode.

I guess the next step is to reformat and install windows. Before I do that, an explanation of how I could slave the drive and backup any files I would want off of the drive would be much appreciated.

Also, would I directly be able to install a copy of Windows 7 if I'm going to go through the trouble of reformatting my drive, or should I get XP on there and deal with Windows 7 another time?

Thanks for all your help!

[AdvancedSetup]

Well there is no official upgrade path that I'm aware of for Windows XP (you can use upgrade media though) in the traditional sense. To install Windows 7 requires that you format the drive and install Windows 7.

Whether you upgrade to Windows 7 is up to you. Some love it and others love XP. You will have more support from Microsoft and more frequent updates with Windows 7 than you will with XP as Microsoft really wants to stop supporting it but hasn't because too many people do still use it including very large Corporate customers.

Here is a site that explains how to slave a drive for data recovery. We do not endorse the software they're selling so you can ignore that and just review the tutorial.

http://www.dtidata.com/resourcecenter/2007...ave-hard-drive/

This link from Microsoft will then show you how to install Windows 7 if you decide to go that route.

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows...xp-to-windows-7

You can purchase a copy of Windows 7 upgrade from many retailers such as Frys, BestBuy, etc. or online (make sure any purchases are made from a reputable site and the computer used is known to be clean and safe).

[PedroHin]

The fastest, easiest way I know of to get files from a system with minimal screwdriver use is to download TRK (Trinity Rescue Kit) on ISO

Burn it to a CD, and boot the affected system from it. If you are on a trusted network, choose the 'file share all drives as guest, no security' startup option.

Make note of the IP address (you can type 'ifconfig' to find out what it is if you didn't make note of it during boot up)

Go to another working system on the same network and 'start' 'run' \\192.*.*.* (whatever the IP of rescued system is)

You can now browse the entire filesystem and start dragging files or folders to another location

[Firefox]

there are a lot of ways to slave a drive, or get information from a drive to another computer. One method is like the one AdvancedSetup recommended.

I for one use a handy little tool, and it is not too expensive. You can find it at most computer stores. I got my from Altex.

The Product I am talking about is an SATA-IDE-USB-Adapter

[sconroy1]

Pedro,

Your method sounds excellent. It's certainly the most efficient method, except for one problem; I'm not on a local network. The problem computer was hard wired to the internet, and there's not a router I could configure to the internet using the problem computer at this point I suspect.

Firefox,

If I cannot get AdvancedSetup's method to work then I will certainly go out and buy the handy looking piece of hardware. This isn't the first time I wished such a product was made and I guess wishes do come true as I had no clue this product existed.

Advanced,

It seems like I'm going to be doing a little operation with my computer in the next day or two. Just some clarifying questions as I like to think I'm pretty intelligent when it comes to this stuff, but nonetheless I have little experience gutting open hardware and I'd like to know exactly what I'm doing before I screw something up.

First off, before I decide to pull the HDD out of the socket and find another computer to slave it to, do you think that running a program such as SpinRite would have any chance of remedying my probem?

Secondly, I have an external USB HDD that had been hooked up to the failing computer. Is there a way to switch the external into a primary drive and then make the problem HDD the slave as demonstrated in the above tutorial? If so that would make my life a lot easier!

Thanks for all of your help once again!

[AdvancedSetup]

You could use a Linux Live CD to boot from and connect the external USB drive to it to copy the data you want to keep.

I'm sure you could make the external work as the primary but it would not be as fast as the internal drive and overall I think you'd be quite disappointed with the speed.

If you have a digital camera take some pictures of stuff before you remove it so that you can reference them when putting it back together.

As far as SpinRite well I personally have no faith in it. Have used it a few times many years ago and basically after days of running pretty much wasted my time.

The issue though may not even be that it's a bad hard drive it could be you just need to run SFC as well which we've not explored. I would at least try that if you have the Windows XP CD.

[sconroy1]

I am away for the weekend and will resume work on the computer on Sunday or Monday. Thanks for all of the support thus far.

[sconroy1]

Good news! I was able to slave my problem HDD and transfer all of my important files to another location.

I'm going to reformat the HDD and install Windows 7 on the blank HDD and hope that nothing from here goes wrong.

[AdvancedSetup]

Okay sounds good, don't forget to remove the partition as well as there are infections that can hide in the other sectors and boot sectors as well that can survive a format only if this was indeed caused by Malware.