Desktop

Ask something
Question Locked

Windows won't boot up.

0 helpful
10 replies

by c_banasko

Closed to new repliesThis discussion is closed. It stays readable, but it takes no new replies.

I am experiencing a problem with my Windows XP. Originally my PC was looking for my ethernet controller. I then downloaded the driver that matched and installed it. I rebooted but to no avail. I then took the advice to use the system recovery and selected a date when my comp was running fine. Unfortunately when booting up the BSOD appeared with the following:

IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL

The technical info at the bottom reads:

0x0000000A (0x000000A0, 0x00000002, 0x00000000, 0x804DC9A7)

The computer fails to boot up in safe mode & last know good configuration.

Spec is:
K7V8363 KINETIZ 7B/E BIOS V3.7LCP
Main Processor: AMD Athlon XP 1600+

I have my Windows XP disk with me but nowt else. What do I do??? Thanks in advance.

10 replies

by rob miners

Double check that you have the right NIC drivers to install. The ones from your motherboard CD should suffice. If it is an onboard NIC try disabling it in BIOS and then try booting. If it is a card remove it and then try to reboot. If a reboot is successful try adding the NIC again and reinstall the original drivers. If that doesn't work do a Repair/Install of the Operating System.

To reinstall Windows XP by starting your computer from the Windows XP CD, follow these steps:

1. Insert the Windows XP CD into your computer's CD drive or DVD drive, and then restart your computer.

2. When the "Press any key to boot from CD" message appears on the screen, press a key to start your computer from the Windows XP CD.

Note Your computer must be configured to start from the CD drive or DVD drive. For more information about how to configure your computer to start from the CD drive or DVD drive, see your computer's documentation or contact your computer manufacturer.

3. You receive the following message on the Welcome to Setup screen that appears: This portion of the Setup program prepares Microsoft Windows XP to run on your computer:

To setup Windows XP now, press ENTER.

To repair a Windows XP installation by using Recovery Console, press R.

To quit Setup without installing Windows XP, press F3.

4. Press ENTER to set up Windows XP.

5. On the Windows XP Licensing Agreement screen, press F8 to agree to the license agreement.

6. Make sure that your current installation of Windows XP is selected in the box, and then press R to repair Windows XP.

Note If Windows XP was preinstalled on your computer, and you do not have the Repair option, contact your computer manufacturer to make sure that you have the installation CD for a repair install.

7. Follow the instructions that appear on the screen to reinstall Windows XP. After you repair Windows XP, you may have to reactivate your copy of Windows XP. You will have three days grace with a lot of Nags. ;)

Keep us informed as to your progress if you require further assistance.

If you think that any of the posts that have been made by all TR Members, have solved or contributed to solving the problem, please Mark them as Helpful so that others may benefit from the outcome. ;) :D

by captbilly1eye

I got interrupted while I was replying so you beat me to the punch. ...and you did it with great detail.

If it was up to me, I'd give ya a thumb regardless.
:)

by rob miners

Mate. It could all boil down to a faulty NIC. I have noticed that it is a lot easier if you are working on that PC. ;)

by c_banasko

Jacky Howe - your a lifesaver. Thank you so much! However there is one more problem that has come up since I have made the original amends - I cannot get online. At first there was a pop up that informed me that my Ethernet Controller was missing. I reinstalled the updated chipset drivers and the pop up has since gone. But, in my device manager there is an ugly yellow question mark under Other Devices > Ethernet Controller and an exclamation mark over one of the Communications Ports. If you know how to resolve this one I'd owe you big time! The PCI Card that I'm using is a 'Realtek RTL8139 Family PCI Fast Ethernet NIC'. Thanks Again!

by oh smeg

Open the Device Manager and right click on the Realtech NIC, from the drop down menu left click on Update Drivers and when prompted point the Update Wizard to the place where you have the NIC Driver.

Reboot the system and see if it now works. It could be that the NIC Drivers have not been initialized or whatever you are using to allocate IP Addresses needs resetting.

Depending on how you get onto the Internet you may be required to restart the Device used to access the Internet so if this is something like a ADSL or Cable Modem restart it. As I'm assuming here that you are using the Ethernet Port to access the Net it should be a relatively simple matter to get working again.

You may be required to run the network Setup Wizard if the Realtech NIC wasn't picked up with the original install and just set the unit to connect tot he Internet unless you need to share Files & or printers.

Col

by thumbsup2

The question mark and exclamation mark are normal. Windows doesn't recognize the manufacturer and specifics of that old card. Funny thing... that card is so old, the manufacturer doesn't even offer drivers for it any longer... but, I found one that proclaims it works for any RTL8139 card.

I presume, since you've posted here, you have Internet access some how, some where. If you're on another computer, you'll need a means of transporting the download listed on the page link below over to the computer with the NIC in it. Use a CD, floppy, thumb drive, whatever you have.

Once you've got the file over to the computer, unzip it to somewhere on the hard drive. Then, run the program included and then reboot after that.

Be sure to read all of the instructions at the bottom of the first web page. You've already got the device physically installed and it's waiting for drivers. Just run the program.

Here is the link:

http://www.softwarepatch.com/utilities/realteknic.html

Skip down the page to where it says 'Click Here to Download'. Don't click the links above it which are just Google Ads for other sites. There is a line below that 'Click Here' link that says to scan first before download, but ignore it. On the page that follows, your download will begin.

Hope this helps.

.

by rob miners

that my peers have provided and you should be OK. Don't forget to mark the answers as Helpful. ;)

by captbilly1eye

That kind of Stop error message is caused by a kernel-mode process that tried to access a portion of memory at an IRQ that was too high. This is typically caused by buggy device drivers or a Service that is loading at boot like a backup utility or virus scanner.

This article will probably be of some help:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314063

Can you get to a DOS prompt?
Do you know the guilty driver's name?
Have you tried temporarily disabling the NIC in BIOS?

.

This discussion is closed to new replies.