Windows 2000 Software loader 3 error

Take the drive out of the unit save all the data then wipe and reload it once it has been reinstalled in the computer.

If you want to run some hardware diagnostics first you can download the Ultimate Boot CD from

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/download.html burn the file to a CD and make the CD/DVD Rom the first Boot option and then run the various diagnostics to see if you have a hardware problem.

You could also download the HDD makers Test Utility and run this to test the HDD as well just to make sure that it is still working properly. This is a starting point only and if you get an error message remove it and fit it to a known good M'Board HDD Data Cable and test again as the M'Board HDD controller or Data Lead could be faulty and produce a faulty HDD message.

Col

I have run into this a few times and have had mixed results. The first thing is like Hal 9000 said go to http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/download.html burn the file to a CD and make the CD/DVD Rom. Now before you do anything backup all the users data. Now with the drive in the desktop / laptop boot off the cd. Once your in delete all the junk in the temp folders then run chkdsk and defrag on the drive. After doing that run the registry editor and see if it finds any errors and repair them. I have a BartsPE disk I use at work for just this types of issues. With BartsPE you can build the disk with the apps you need.

This error appears when the SYSTEM Hive file gets too large; specifically, over 10.3MB.

This is what I did to fix it:

1. Backup the users data.
2. Boot from the Windows 2000 CD to the repair console. In the console run type ?fixboot?. Without the quotes.
3. Reboot the computer. Windows will load but you haven't fixed the problem yet.
4. Download the Veritas VxScrub Utility. http://seer.entsupport.symantec.com/docs/277301.htm
5. Extract the files and from the command prompt run "Vxscrub ?forcepurge".

This will delete unused and bad entries in the registry and should shrink your SYSTEM Hive down. I also recommend running check disk and defrag. The system should now boot normally every time.