Posted on 05/06/2007 3:13:06 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
I need help on installing a Windows XP upgrade to a Windows ME machine. The computer is a Micron Systems IBM-compatible machine with 640.0 mb RAM and a 667 MHz CPU clock. I'm getting the following error after the Windows XP setup restarts the computer:
A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer
If this is the first time you've seen this Stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:
Check for viruses on your computer. Remove any newly-installed hard drives or hard drive controllers. Check your hard drive to make sure it is properly configured and terminated. Run CHKDSK /F to check for hard drive corruption, and then restart your computer.
Technical information:
*** STOP: 0x0000007B (0xF8FF9524,0xC0000034,0x00000000,0x00000000)
That part's straightforward.
"If this is the first time you've seen this Stop error screen, restart your computer."
Already tried that.
"Check for viruses on your computer."
Did that with Norton Antivirus. Found no viruses. I am aware that it may take other antivirus software to flush out any viruses, so would it be easier to download or just purchase it if need be?
"Remove any newly-installed hard drives or hard drive controllers."
I don't think that's a problem, but I did recently install a 512-mb RAM card (PC 100/133) as well as a Dynex DX-E101 PCI Fast Ethernet Adapter (rev.F1) to adapt the computer to a Comcast cable modem for internet service. I wonder if these items have anything to do with my problems?
"Check your hard drive to make sure it is properly configured and terminated."
How in the world do I do that one?
"Run CHKDSK /F to check for hard drive corruption, and then restart your computer."
I tried to run CHKDSK /F, but that apparently isn't on this computer, so I ended up running SCANDISK instead on the C: drive. No problems were found, so needless to say, restarting the computer was irrelevant.
"STOP: 0x0000007B (0xF8FF9524,0xC0000034,0x00000000,0x00000000)"
If anyone can interpret this compu-gibberish, I would be grateful.
I am also aware that I may need an SCSI driver, so I suspect I will be purchasing one soon. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Are you sure you have enough ram and cpu processor power for XP?
Did you check this out first?
The computer was originally 128 mb RAM. I upgraded it to 640 mb (XP home edition upgrade, which I purchased, apparently needs about 256 mb).
I posted this under Chat, since posting it under News would probably count as abuse. I’m not getting replies, though. Would this thing do better under Bloggers/Personal?
bump
Actually I have 3 memory DIMMs: 2 64-mb and 1 512-mb. I suppose I could get another 512 and throw out the 2 64s.
As for erasing the hard drive, there’s a lot more stuff on that thing than Windows ME files. I would hope there’s a way to clean up things without erasing everything.
You need to reformat the hard drive before installing XP. I suspect you still have some of ME in place.
Check out this site. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/324103 Mentions a boot sector virus. If thats the case your hard drive is a paperweight.
Lastly running XP with a 667mhz processor will be an exercise in frustration. The amount of memory you have is OK. XP will run minimally on 512mb, better on 1 gig, and optimally on 2 gigs of memory. ( Which I have)
Though that may be because I have been working with this stuff since Intel came out with the first 8008, and can scan over the results from a search pretty quickly.
So ... I ran a search on some of the key words and numbers in your messages, and came up with the following pages that look worth your time:
“As for erasing the hard drive, there’s a lot more stuff on that thing than Windows ME files. I would hope there’s a way to clean up things without erasing everything.”
Theres your problem. No can do. Burn the stuff you want to keep on a CD-r or DVD-r and reformat.
Buy a new drive, they are cheap, use the original C drive as the second drive to save your files, do a clean install on the new drive. If you already have two drives take out the C drive and install a new drive in it’s place ... move files back and forth until you have them all recovered.
Yep, it’s a huge pain, but the road you are on smells like doom.
I am doing this now ... Windows XP sucks ... but I must use it for other reasons.
And to think I bought the Windows XP upgrade to save some money. It specified it was for users of 98, 98 2E, and ME. Perhaps I’ll just kick back and watch “Kill Bill (Gates), Volume I” instead.
I thought XP was fine, apart from some bug issues with IE 6. It was VISTA I wanted to avoid installing; I heard it was really buggy. I guess, judging from the comments so far, that I’ll buy a regular XP package, some CD-r’s (the computer has a CD writer, thank G*d), and another 512-mb RAM card to replace the 2 64s. Then I’ll reformat the hard (C:) drive and hope that the computer will restart so that I can install XP from scratch.
I’m still willing to accept other comments that would lead me to some way I could do things WITHOUT starting all over, so to speak.
Absolutely I have ME left over. The XP setup did not complete, so I still can go to ME, which I am in right now.
Windows Vista is just fine. Don’t listen to the nay-sayers on FR who are disgruntled about just about everything.
But quite frankly, if you have a computer that’s over 4 years old, you’ve got a dinosaur on your hands. You’ll miss the advantages that a modern system and operating system would bring like digital photography and music and such. (Don’t say you don’t need it ‘til you’ve tried it!)
You can get 1GB systems with 250GB HD and a flat screen monitor for less that $700 and Vista pre-installed.
There are cheaper systems but I’d rather you spent more time on other FR threads than griping about your computer!
I don’t think you will need to buy the full version of XP.
Save your stuff on CD-R’s then get your computer to boot from the CD drive with the windows CD in it. You can do this by going into the setup program. (BIOs) Usually you have to hit a key when the computer is just starting up. ( Mine is the delete key) Set your CD drive to boot first in the Bios. Booting from the CD will offer you a chance to format the drive and start with a clean install of Windows.
I don’t know how you are with computers but I can walk you through this on the phone. Freepmail me.
HA! Same bloated crap. MS Techies have been at our company pounding Vista merits for the last few weeks. They've walked away empty handed. Too slow, too big, too expensive is the pronouncement. The $$$ in upgrade brings in a negative ROI (Return on Investment). Move to Vista cannot be justified. And as XP is on its last legs, our company is doing the unthinkable -- considering Linux.
Windows XP is hardly on it’s last legs.
Windows Vista will make sense for your company if not today, then soon. Plus Office 2007 rocks!
“Windows XP is hardly on it’s last legs.”
Not now but it will be. I would not be surprised if MS stopped updates to push Vista very soon.
One thing I recently discovered about Vista. I just recently installed the 64bit version of WinxP Pro and could not find a driver for my printer. Just for the hell of it I installed the 64bit Vista driver and what do you know... It works perfectly. Other x64 Vista drivers work as well which leads to only one conclusion. Its the same operating system underneath with some eye candy added.
A negative ROI is still a negative ROI no matter how you slice it.
Same security bugs, too!
1) You said the CPU was 667MHz; does that mean it's a Pentium-3? (Not that this is likely to make any difference - but it's nice to be sure).
2) Have you tried checking the support info at Micron's site?
3) What is the model name of your machine? (For example, the machine on which I am composing this response is a Dell Inspiron 2650 laptop).
FWIW, my guess at this point is that the motherboard (btw, what is its model identifier?) chipset or the BIOS (and which company made the BIOS?) is failing to handle XP correctly. I had the identical problem with an orphaned PC (350MHz Pentium-2 with 384MB memory) when I tried to make it useful again by installing WindowsXP Home edition on it. Eventually, I gave up and returned the PC to the trash where I had found it.
Oh, yes....which variety of XP are you trying to install? And have you thought of adding a hard drive and installing Linux on that? You could then use Linux - I recommend SUSE, but almost any major distro would be good - to back up the data on your C: drive before doing the wipe-and-install recommended by other FReepers. Of course, if my guess is correct (and I hope it isn't), none of what any of us are suggesting is going to do you any good: There may be a BIOS upgrade that you could apply (but there probably isn't), but you may well wind up getting a new PC, anyway.
I have been through this scenario myself. If you are using a WinXP upgrade disk to upgrade ME to XP, that can be problematic.
The italics above present the best option (in my estimation) and is my standard operating procedure when upgrading anyone's machine to XP. Install XP to a new drive ( a biggun') and use the old drive as a slave unit...moving documents and data at your leisure then using your old Program Files directory as a guide to what needs to be installed on the new drive.
Heck, you can even create a new folder on your new drive called "Old C:drive" and copy all the old drive's contents there then toss the old drive and get a new big one as a slave drive for snapshots for backups using Norton Ghost (the ONLY Symantec product worth using).
Unfortunately, it would entail purchasing a new copy of XP since the Upgrade disk will not install clean without the presence of a pre-existing Microsoft OS.
But, there is hope. If you can get your hands on a copy of Windows 98, install THAT first on the new drive, then upgrade to XP with your Upgrade disk. That should work....just use your ME disk and do a clean install of that first, etc, etc.
Bon Chance mes ami!
If your Micron is a PIII you should have no problems running XP.
Restart the computer and boot from the WinXP cd. Install XP on an empty partition of your c: drive. DO NOT DO AN UPGRADE FROM ME! This way after it installs and reboots it will ask you each time which operating system you want to boot with. If you have problems with XP, you can still boot with ME and try to fix it.
I would still have to buy XP Home Edition (I have XP Home Edition Upgrade), would I not? Not that I’m going to get out of this without spending more money, apparently.
Just curious, why would memory DIMMs of different sizes hurt the computer?
Oh, I don't know about that. If you keep the number of processes loaded at startup to a reasonable minimum and you aren't doing gaming, video editing, or other processor-intensive tasks, XP can run fine on a 667mHz machine. In fact, I've got it running at home on a box that runs at 500mHz. It's marvelous for running MS Office, surfing the web, and playing solitaire. =]
See post #12. That is the correct solution to get out of the mess. Otherwise figure out a way to back up the files you want to keep then format the hard drive and install XP fresh.
I’m afraid you are setting yourself up for a life of pain if you try to run XP on a 667 mhz processor. If you have Win2K available it runs reasonably well on that class of processor and would be a better choice.
Actually you can install an upgrade to a clean drive. You just need to have the original CD for the old OS version available. At some point during setup XP will ask you to insert the disk for the upgrade qualifying product before continuing setup.
oh never mind. I misread you sorry.
Windows XP is fine, it just goes batty at times ... upgrades being one of the risk times. With the cost of disk drives these days, I usually buy 80 GB drives for $29 on sale, the best way is to have a few spares.
I run XP in 384 MB and on a 500 mhz PIII just for the pain, it’s quite slow. But 512 MB should be sufficient for minimum use. Nowadays I recommend a GB or more.
If you get XP make sure you get the OEM version without the craplettes — It makes it a bit more bearable on slow systems, and quite snappy on a better machine.
Good luck.
Went to kommando.com. Why is it in French?
The computer is a Micron Electronics Millennia with a Pentium III. I am installing the Windows XP Home Edition Upgrade with SP 2. I haven’t checked out Micron’s support yet.
You can uninstall the craplets, can't you? I'm sure I won't need most of them.
RAM is 640.0 mb. CPU is 667 MHz.
I like the sound of that. What this machine needs is a firewall. That's why I was interested in XP in the first place; so I could put up an up-to-date firewall program. But if this security/firewall program is compatible with ME, I just solved ALL my problems, for now, and I won't need to worry about the XP hangnail anymore. :-)
Typically it doesn't. It's different memory timings that become an issue like mixing a 4-4-4-12 timing chip with a 5-5-5-18 chip is bad. Another example, you put in a 133mhz chip to upgrade, your system detects this and your old 100mhz chip starts barfing and hanging the system. It's hit or miss in that fashion. Best to only use exact same make, model and size. Personally, for an upgrade, I'd pull the 64s out and just leave the 512 in.
I've also had BSOD installing XP from an upgrade version, even on a clean disk. I've probably installed XP several hundred times. I would try installing it from a full version but I have access to all that in piles here in my office. Once installed successfully on the full version you can change the CDkey over to the one on your license and be legit.
Yup. That was it. It's been a long time since I've done it but that has the ring of truth to it.
Well, I checked that out, and my 512 is a PC100/133, and the 64s are PC133s, so I think I’m OK on that front, anyhow.
Probably, but they may have different CAS Latency values which is why until you get a stable upgraded system, I'd yank 'em out. 512mb is plenty for XP specially if it's just during the installation.
I’m not throwing them out at this time. I have a total of 640.0 mb and the system seems to run fine at this point. When I do throw them out, I’ll just get another 512 PC100/133 to match.
Wasn’t suggesting you throw it out. I was saying take them out, see if your BSOD install problem goes away. When installing an OS, any OS, pare the system down to least amount of stuff. No extra cards, etc. Mixed memory, in general is one of the first things to look at on BSOD.
You may not have a problem with ME, as it’s entire max memory footprint falls inside of 512mb. Depending on how the chips are installed, 512mb could be entirely on the one chip, not spanning all 3. XP however will attempt to use up to 2gbs for the 32 bit home version, meaning the memory footprint will encompass ALL those chips. If there’s an issue with incompatibility between them, XP will barf out.
As a simple way to eliminate that as an issue, and believe me, I’ve been a tech since the 80s, it won’t be the first time it’s happened, you simply pull those out for now and try the install. If it installs, you’ve got the answer, if it fails, it’s something else. Either way, you don’t know until you know.
Sounds good to me. My apologies for the misunderstanding. Thanks. I think I’ll do that; this thing could be licked yet!
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