Memory problem or a rootkit from 0x0000007B?
Stop code 0x0000007B is INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE. "The Microsoft Windows operating system has lost access to the system partition during startup."
"Cause:
The INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE bug check frequently occurs because of a boot device failure. During I/O system initialization, the boot device driver might have failed to initialize the boot device (typically a hard disk). File system initialization might have failed because it did not recognize the data on the boot device. Also, repartitioning the system partition or installing a new SCSI adapter or disk controller might induce this error.
This error can also occur because of incompatible disk hardware. If the error occurred at the initial setup of the system, the system might have been installed on an unsupported disk or SCSI controller. Some controllers are supported only by drivers that are in the Windows Driver Library (WDL). (These drivers require the user to do a custom installation.)"
Since the problem started after you "thought I would do a non destructive re-install", it seems likely that the problem is related.
Unless you previously had reason to suspect a rootkit, I would not be so quick to point the finger at one. Nor would it seem that the memory would be an issue.
