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XP Repair stuck in BSOD loop

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by cjwellings

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Long time reader, first time poster!

My friend has a Dell Inspiron, WinXP SP2, which had a bizarre problem with IE7 not working (was due to a plugin, but running without plugins stops Win Update working). I uninstalled it, but Windows would not boot. I replaced the file that had been removed using Task Manager, then it booted fine. I then tried to re-install IE7, but got stuck during reboot with BSOD then restart.

I then booted from my WinXP Home SP3 CD, and repaired the install.

The machine is now stuck in a loop of booting, saying setup is restarting system, getting passed the Windows logo and showing a cursor, then BSOD and restart.

Loading the recovery console, I have run chkdsk, repaired all errors - same problem. I have access to an external HD from the recovery console, but COPY will not copy whole folders (how annoying is that?!?)

Any ideas how I can correct it?

Could it have been because I used an SP3 CD to repair an SP2 install?

2 replies

by oh smeg

Without knowing that we are just guessing and may prove more harm than good.

But regardless of that it sounds like a RAM Error. This can happen because of 2 reasons the first one is that a Stick of RAM ha gone BAD and needs replacing or that the RAM has had more added and they are not the same speed. This causes a Timing Issue that may not show up under Windows but causes the ability of a Repair Install or a New Install to be Nonexistent with BSOD and the inability to find various files on the Install Media.

You need to either replace the Faulty RAM or remove any added RAM till after the Repair is complete. After that you can refit the RAM and there shouldn't be any problems.

If you want to test the RAM MemTest works and is available here

http://hcidesign.com/memtest/download.html

Though if it is a Timing Issue the RAM may not show any problems. :)

Col

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