Fatal System Error

[Aronathas]

I am having some trouble with another computer here. It is exactly like the one I am on now, same software and such..but of course, it is not this computer.

 

Windows XP Home Edition SP2

 

Since sometime around noon yesterday, whenever the computer is turned on/restarted, just before it gets to the logon screen, a blue screen comes up with the following error:

 

STOP: c000021a (Fatal System Error)

The Windows Logon Process System process terminated unexpectedly with a status of 0xc0000005 (0x0000000 0x00000000). The system has been shut down.

 

I have searched for quite some time now and found no information on this error on Windows XP. Somewhat interesting is the fact that Safe Mode works fine, and if I run CheckDisk on the harddrive, I can log in normally after the scan is complete. Of course, if the computer is restarted the error appears again.

 

Do any of you have any idea how to go about fixing this?

[Equuleus]

Do you have GoBack? (with Norton System Works)

[Aronathas]

Not to my knowledge. These computers are new, just a couple of months old, and they came with 3 month trial subscriptions to Norton Internet Security(which I have been having troubles with on this computer. CCAPP.EXE refuses to end 9 times out of 10 and then my computer locks up. restarting is impossible). I havent seen anything mentioning GoBack though.

[Equuleus]

Well this problem is usually associated with GoBack..all of your symptoms match the problem. This can't be uninstalled in safe mode, so follow this procedure:

Quote from Microsoft KB

1. Restart your computer.

2. During the startup process, press SPACE to access GoBack's menu options.

3. When prompted, enter the option for Disable GoBack, and then allow the computer to complete the startup process.

4. Click Start, and then click Control Panel.

5. In Control Panel, double-click Add or Remove Programs.

6. In the list of installed programs, click GoBack, and then click Remove.

7. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the uninstall process.

 

*Tell us how it goes!

[Aronathas]

Tried as ye suggested, but there was nothing involving GoBack mentioned anywhere. This is one of the reasons Im having such trouble, I can find no other reports of this problem. Programs and such that are usually associated with this error are not present on the computer, and it makes no sense. Thanks for trying though Any other possible ideas?

[Equuleus]

I have no other ideas, I've only heard of this problem with GoBack..

Have you tried system restore, this is a great tool.... Well, if you can't find a solution..would you consider just reformatting and installing a fresh copy of XP?

[Aronathas]

So far this seems to be the only fix, but the problem is the computer has 20-30 GB worth of files that need to be backed up, but at the moment the computers have no means of saving such large amounts of information to an external source. Much of it potentially is already backed up, so it could be simple enough to save the remaining files and/or make a list of them and where to find them for replacement later.

[Equuleus]

So far this seems to be the only fix, but the problem is the computer has 20-30 GB worth of files that need to be backed up, but at the moment the computers have no means of saving such large amounts of information to an external source. Much of it potentially is already backed up, so it could be simple enough to save the remaining files and/or make a list of them and where to find them for replacement later.

You could just install a fresh copy of XP on a new partition, then transfer the files to the good partition...

[5614]

You realise that you can reinstall winXP without doing a format? And without a new partition. You just reinstal it... all it involves doing is rewriting the current version of windows. The only thing you lose is the default Windows Themes (so save your theme before the reinstal and then just select it when the computer loads), its keep your user accounts, all information, data, everything except for corrupt system files which will replaced with the non-corrupt version (I think you will have to run Windows Update again also).

 

 

 

Also go here: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=823736 I know that the ctrl-alt-del thing is not what you described but that error message is identical to the one that you are being given. Maybe reading that page will help.

[The Thing]

Try this site to see if you can find the solution:

http://aumha.org/win5/kbestop.htm

Also, if you're sure it's not due to GoBack, try this article as well:

http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=318666&sd=RMVP

[5614]

He said he was using SP2 so the 2nd link doesn't apply to him.

[Aronathas]

I searched many results from google before deciding to post here, and found all of the ones mentioned above. It seems none of them apply here.

 

The problem with reinstalling the OS is that it came installed on the computers, and the restore cd gives only the option to completely restore.

[5614]

hmm, I'm not entirely sure what CD you have, but what you want to do to reinstal winXP without formatting is this, in this exact order:

 

Boot of the winXP CD.

Select to reinstal (or instal) winXP

At this point it will find your current copy, now you want to tell it to Repair this copy.

It will reinstal windows for you over the current one.

 

Do not select Repair from the main screen, it is different to selecting instal>repair.

 

The side effects are:

(1) Default Windows Theme is reset as the default theme.

(2) You will lose any Windows Updates you have downloaded.

[Klaynos]

hmm' date=' I'm not entirely sure what CD you have, but what you want to do to reinstal winXP without formatting is this, in this exact order:

 

Boot of the winXP CD.

Select to reinstal (or instal) winXP

At this point it will find your current copy, now you want to tell it to Repair this copy.

It will reinstal windows for you over the current one.

 

Do not select Repair from the main screen, it is different to selecting instal>repair.

 

The side effects are:

(1) Default Windows Theme is reset as the default theme.

(2) You will lose any Windows Updates you have downloaded.[/quote']

 

It has become common practices in recent years to not provide windows CD's with computers and just proved a striped down restore CD which is crippled...

[Aronathas]

Indeed. There are no options with these recent cds, you either run the cd and it formats the drive and then restores to factory defaults, or you don't run the cd. It is aggravating at best.

[Aronathas]

Well, as a last resort we can use the restore cd..but I'd really rather try to find a way to fix it without having to do that. One source suggested that windows security features were corrupted, but provided no insight into how one might correct this other than restore. Anyone able to shed some light on just how to do that?

[5614]

Safe Mode works fine, and if I run CheckDisk on the harddrive, I can log in normally after the scan is complete. Of course, if the computer is restarted the error appears again.

 

This is an interesting problem. Almost sounds like there's a corruption which keeps returning.

 

1) When you run checkdisk can't you see what files it fixes... try noting the directory & file name.

 

2) Maybe some sort of virus is continually corrupting something, if this is the case then boot up (using 'safe mode with networking', or maybe do a checkdisk first) and then download Avast anti-virus, then you can schedule a boot time scan, hopefully that will run even if the log on screen can't load because the boot time scan runs before you see the log on screen.

 

I suggest using that scan because if you do have a virus clearly when you turn your computer on it's active because it corrupts some file, a few active viruses can avoid virus scans. If it's a boot time scan than it won't be running yet.

 

Remember to updated the AV before the scan!

 

So I just thought that if it were a virus caused corruption then safe mode wouldn't work either, but this is wrong, because maybe the corruption is of a system file which is not required in safe mode but is normally required.

 

It has become common practices in recent years to not provide windows CD's with computers and just proved a striped down restore CD which is crippled...

Why the hell do they do that??? It's just stupid!

[Equuleus]

It has become common practices in recent years to not provide windows CD's with computers and just proved a striped down restore CD which is crippled...

It hasn't just been recent years..I bought a Compaq PC in the days of Windows 95 and it came with one of these lame restore CDs.

[Aronathas]

Well, this is very interesting.

 

First, the thing that made no sense about why CheckDisk made it work is that the scans NEVER reported fixing anything. The scan found no problems, and yet once it was finished, the computer loaded up.

 

However, it seems I have fixed the issue. With a useful little program I shut down a few programs on startup..so that they would not load on startup of course. Then I was just looking around for any small thing that could have been out of place. Considering these two computers are identical, that wasnt so difficult since I had this computer to compare with. When we first got these computers, I checked everything just to be sure they were the same, and they were. But last night, I noticed that a system variable was missing from the other computer that had been there before and that was present on this computer. I do not know the significance of this variable, and considering the fact that Safe Mode worked just fine, I am more inclined to believe that the problem was something in the startup list.

 

Whatever the problem may have been, it is cured. The computer has loaded up perfectly twice now.

[5614]

What do you mean by a system variable? What and where?

 

I assume your program you used to edit the startup list was msconfig, and if not then it was a program which will probably edit msconfig itself.

[Aronathas]

System Properties -> Advanced tab -> Environmental Variables. Under the System Variable section, the only thing missing that was there before was "tvdumpflags=8".

 

The program was Spybot: Search & Destroy, I already had it running so I just used it to make the changes.

[Douglas]

I have the same problem as Aronathas, except my error codes are: STOP: c000021a and STATUS OF: 0xc000026c. When I try what Equuleus suggested (hitting space key while booting), I don't get any options.

 

From snooping around in the knowledge base, I pretty much know what the problem is, but can't boot so I can fix it. Anyone know how I can boot-up?

 

I'm running XP-SP2

 

Thanks

[Equuleus]

I have the same problem as Aronathas' date=' except my error codes are: STOP: c000021a and STATUS OF: 0xc000026c. When I try what Equuleus suggested (hitting space key while booting), I don't get any options.

 

From snooping around in the knowledge base, I pretty much know what the problem is, but can't boot so I can fix it. Anyone know how I can boot-up?

 

I'm running XP-SP2

 

Thanks[/quote']

Did you try getting into "safe mode"?

[Douglas]

Did you try getting into "safe mode"?

I can't get into safe mode, when I try, I get the black screen with...disk..rdisk..partition..windows32......etc, it then shuts down with the same error message as before

[Equuleus]

I can't get into safe mode' date=' or I don't know how to get into safe mode. I have the blue screen with the error message and I'm stuck there.

 

Thanks for responding.....any suggestions?

 

edited to add...how do i get into safe mode?[/quote']

Right after the CMOS screen and before the Windows XP loading screen comes up, press F8. Then select "safe mode".