XP SP3 Install turns to blue screen, data dump

How do I retrieve the dump?

This was a clean system. 100% clean system, I assembled it last night myself from parts I bought from Tiger.

I installed XP SP2 from a volume disc my professor gave me (legally - he's allowed to dispense licenses to students) and installed it on my new system. When I upgraded to SP3, it blue screen'd and dumped on me. Then it wouldn't boot, and just kept looping until I got into safe mode.

Attempted reinstall: I formatted the drive with the windows install utility. Reinstalled windows just fine. The very first thing I did was go to windows update to update to sp3, thinking I busted something last time. No such luck.

0x00000050 (0xc1488250,0x00000000,0x8050504F,0x00000000)

That's the code I got. Before I leave the blue screen, I'd like to know what I have to do to fix this and get it running properly. Since this is a new one on me... where do I start?

 

Okay. I'll check the RAM when I get home: 2x 2GB sticks, one in slot A1 and one in slot A2 (they're number A1, B1 and A2, B2 - paired off like that on the board), like the documentation recommends for only 2 sticks... Worrisome.

Now, when you suggest this SP3 download, am I understanding that your suggestion is that something is failing during download and causing these errors? So, perform a clean install, and then upgrade with the CD-ROM with SP3 on it?

 

Can this slipstream process be accomplished in, say, Ubuntu? Otherwise, I'll have to install XP just to slipstream, and then... install a slipstreamed XP? Seems like extra steps, and I was hoping to know if slipstreaming can be streamlined.

Also, I have only one machine at home, at the moment, which is the one I'm struggling with. I can get my live distro (heron) up and running just fine... But I don't have the XP disc at an XP machine to do this slipstreaming with.

I only ask because the examples all use Windows tools, and I'm still learning just how much Linux can replicate Windows behaviors, when needed.

 

Okay. I'll let you know results when I get back home after work and attempt this.

 

Slipstreaming failed. Every time I tried to download and run Nero, it told me the file was corrupted. And it takes like 30 minutes for that file to download. Loading SP3 from the file itself seems to have helped, but I'm waiting until all my driver installs off my motherboard CD prove good.

I'm making a backup image the instant I've got all my drivers on and verified.

 

New BSOD!! So. Much. Hate.

I'd gotten everything up and running, SP3 included. Comodo was doing its initial scan post-install and it just up and dumped on me.

BAD_POOL_HEADER

If this is. . . . . .select Safe Mode

STOP: 0x00000019 (0x00000020,0xE385B3E0,0xE385B418,0x0C070203

Windows isn't worth this. Convince me it's not. >_< How do I retrieve this dump of my physical memory and find out just what's doing on?

My BIOS gave me a boot failure notice after that, and told me to set my defaults, and try booting again. (The only thing I'd changed there was my initial boot priority.

...

And now Windows boots again? Wonder how long it'll last this time.

...

Linux has all the answers!! Ubuntu memory test reveals addressing errors! You were right, I'm sorry. The memory is shot. I'm taking it back first thing tomorrow, maybe during my lunch.

I bought Kingston, though. Who thought they could fail? I was always taught to buy Kingston or Corsair for my RAM. Just a crime to see that what should be quality product can come out faulty.

 

I did. For two reasons.

First, because I just recently compeleted my A+ classes (not my test, no local testing site - yet!) and we learned to compulsively wear them. Secondly, because I spent too much time and money on this machine to risk botching it. ^_^

 

I replaced the RAM, after getting a new pair of modules. Before I even tried to boot Windows again, I ran my Ubuntu Live CD, and selected the memory tester (Memtest86+, I think it's called), and proceeded to test each dimm in each slot alone.

Both dimms in all 4 slots came back with no errors. When I paired the dimms, however, in a1 and b1 (per documentation) the memtest program starts feeding me errors almost as soon as it starts, blazing through memory addresses that it failed on check.

I'm reluctant to start windows until I'm sure it won't BSOD on me again - because I can't get into the OS when it does that, without great difficulty (requires power cycling and resetting the BIOS defaults, as I described in a post above). I'd rather not lose what I have there, again.

My friend, who's a linux guru in his own right had me go to Terminal and type "free -m" which said I have 3161 total memory in my system - ubuntu can't see the extra gig. (As expected. Windows won't see the 4th gig either, right?)

His suggestion, as best he recalls, is to install with 2 gigs, get everything running, and then try the second dimm. Also, he suggests, at this point, just ringing ASUS with an e-mail and finding out what's up. Because he looked at all my test results, had me in terminal checking that, while he was re-reading all the documentation, even comparing model numbers of RAM (the only difference between mine and what's listed in documentation is latency, which shouldn't cause a problem).

By all estimates, he says this box should be working and not creating these kinds of errors.

After reading this, does anything think there's something we've overlooked? He says maybe we could try setting dual/single-channel mode settings in the bios, just to make sure they're right... But couldn't find them before giving up for the night.

 

Okay. I will try an intall with only 2 gigs and see how it runs, or more likely, how long it runs.

Now, I tested the slots with the memory tested, one stick at a time in each of the four slots. Since you say that won't tell me if I have a faulty slot - because I need to test execute cycles - what program or tester can I use to verify the integrity of the slots?

 

Took out a stick of RAM, leaving 2gb in the system. Then I grabbed my copy of DBAN. Three corrupted installs of Windows made me think it might be a prudent move.

DBAN reports back that it completed with non-fatal errors and wants to save to a floppy disk - which I don't have. It says that particular set of errors is often due to disks with bad sectors. Do I want to start considering my hard drive as a culprit in all this?

Oh... one more thing... <edit here --> I do not have access to a module tester. My profs have a lot of neat toys, but I've never seen him produce one of those.

 

Seagate utility returned more than 70 errors detected on the hard drive. I used the "long scan" option. It's status is "passed after repair. "

I'm going to run an acoustic test, and then another long test, to verify the results. DBAN after that, probably. (Although, there are a few erase features built into the seagate utility... Would the manufacturer be better, or DBAN's be better? Hrm.) If all's successful, I might not need to get a new hard drive.

Or would you return a hard drive that already returned errors once?

<edit>

I ran the DOS-based utility, if that makes any difference. I didn't see a point in getting the windows version when windows already has the potential to go pfft just from turning it on.