Help Needed: Blue Screen of Death (Vanity)

1 Oct 2002 | tictoc

[dyed_in_the_wool]

Maybe my opponent somehow reached into my machine via the Java applet to crash it and damage it beyond repair.

Can't happen. Java works in a 'sandbox' giving other users or applets little power over files, much less low-level system stuff. The Virtual Machine (VM) only gives a basic type of access to the system where very little damage can be done. Of course, the MicroSoft implementation of the VM has been found to not only be buggy, but a security risk. (Which is why Sun sued them in the first place.)
MicroSoft software, on the other hand, allows plenty of buggy stuff through. Do you use Internet Explorer? Do you always make sure you've run the updates?
Oh, and look into Linux.

[Falcon4.0]

Thanks for that correction.

[Chemnitz]

More RAM is always a good idea. There could be a boot sector virus.

If you are on the Internet, the Internet can see you. If you have cable modem or DSL, you are always on the Net, as long as the computer is turned on.

A good firewall and frequent updates to the virus protection are necessary.

I also advocate using a battery back up.

[e_castillo]

I'd try unplugging all non-essential peripherals, and trying the installation again.
from "tacticalogic"

Thats a place to start. Also remove any cards in the systems such as sound cards so you don't have to search for drivers in the middle of an install. One other thing is to check the hard drive cable and see where it's pluged into. If the cable goes into the motherboard your set to install but if the cable is plugged into a card then you need to most likely install a third party drive controler driver BEFORE you start the installation. To do this get the driver first and then when Win2K boots press F6 and wait for the prompt.

[Falcon4.0]

Sorry I couldn't help. When you figure it out, could you drop me a note so I am aware of the problem for future refference.

[dyed_in_the_wool]

Star Office and am not willing to take the risk

You can get StarOffice for Windows or try OpenOffice for FREE. Both on Windows. Try OpenOffice and see how much you can convert.
It would make an OS switch that much less painful.

[tictoc]

Thanks for the pointer!

[tictoc]

How much hard disk space did you assign to your newly formatted partition?

3 gigabytes.

[tictoc]

This happened before I learned about the recent VM (Virtual Machine) exploit and before I had a chance to update my system (I believe I was current with other updates, esp. for Internet Explorer 6). Actually, Yahoo Chess may have been an Active X applet not Java.

[grunt03]

I just went though a similar install install on an Abit KT7A, with identical error messages. Took a few days to find the answer but in my case it was that Win2k was loading the wrong HAL at startup. Here was the cure.

Enter BIOS setup and disable any L2 cache and ROM shadowing. Select the CDROM as the first boot device.

Boot from the CD (this won't work with floppies).

When the first screen comes up saying 'Setup is checking your system' (or words to that effect) press F5 quickly. You won't see any prompts for F5, but this is where you have to hit the key. This will be at a black screen with white text before the blue screen where it says press F6 to load any third party storage drivers.

Setup will load some files then you will get a screen with a list of HAL types. Select "Standard PC" at the top of the the list and continue the install.

When Setup reboots your machine the first time go back into the BIOS setup and change the boot device back to whatever it was set to before so it's booting from the harddrive instead of the CD.

After setup is completed reboot and turn your L2 cache back on. Leave ROM Shadowing off as Win2k doesn't need it.

I tried installing 30-40 times over a 3 day period before I stumbled across the F5 trick, whch allowed a complete install the first time I tried it. Hope this works for you.

[ResistorSister]

That's more than enough space.

I am assuming that your hardware is compatible.

The only time that I had a problem installing 2000 was when one of my portable hard drives went bad, I did not get a turquoise screen...the installation just kept freezing up at the same point in the installation.

I replaced the hard drive and was able to install.

btw: I didn't even have any bad sectors on the partition that I was trying to install to, yet, it wouldn't install.

Good luck.

[general_re]

Instead of just sniping, I'll throw in my $0.02 here - since you've already wiped the disk, the posters telling you to strip the hardware down to the bare-bones are right on the money. Take out every non-essential thing and see if you get through the install that way. If you do, then add the peripherals back in, one at a time, until you pin down where the problem is - most likely, you'll find that an updated driver will solve this problem. If you can't get through the install even with a bare system, the problem is almost surely a bad memory module - have them tested, and replaced if necessary.

And the second useful piece of advice is, when you get it back up and running, you might be able to avoid nuking the system and starting from scratch by enabling and learning how to use Win2k's Recovery Console here and here. ;)

[tictoc]

Thanks, I use Zone Alarm Pro on a separate computer serving as gateway to the Internet (DSL link). Also anti-virus software, updated at least once every week. However, neither would have protected me against the under-reported VM exploit, if that's what it was.
I understand that battery backups are popular in the US because of frequent "brownouts" but here in Germany 220Hz power is extremely reliable so I've never wanted one.

[tictoc]

Not knowing an "alt" from an "Esc", I simply went out and bought a new computer each time. I now have a closet full of used computers and a maxed out credit card.

LOL, thanks for making me smile!

[al_c]

"Install Linux." "Buy a Mac." Everyone's so full of useful advice, aren't they? ;)

Uh .... you were the first one to say either of those things.

[w1andsodidwe]

I didn't say Fat32 was optimum, I was responding to a reply that said you could only use NTFS.

[general_re]

Uh .... you were the first one to say either of those things.

I was? How about #24? #48? #54? ;)

[tictoc]

the F5 trick

Thank you very much, I'll try that!

Unfortunately, even though "Boot from CD ROM" is "Enabled" in the BIOS, the machine actually recognizes the CD drive but won't boot directly from it, only from C: or A:.

Hopefully your method will work when I boot using the four Win2K setup floppies that I made using MAKEBOOT.EXE.

In my BIOS, CPU cache and "External" (i.e., L2) Cache are "Enabled" by default and cannot be switched off, but I have disabled ROM shadowing.

I'll try again and get back to you.

[tictoc]

Thanks GR, I'll check out the two links you posted.

Are you the General Reinsurance Corporation, which holds the deeds to half the solar system's planets?

[general_re]

Are you the General Reinsurance Corporation, which holds the deeds to half the solar system's planets?

I admit nothing, except to point out that we...they have divested themselves of the planets in favor of a hostile takeover of the Sun - distribution of sun-meters and billing for usage is expected to begin sometime next year...