Vista Won't Load - Safe Mode Doesn't Work... Recovery Doesn't work

[JamesONeill]

Hello

I am trying to fix a colleagues home PC - it's on Vista (yuk!).

When you try to boot normally it just gets to the Microsoft Corp loading bar screen, then blue screens and memory dumps. It seems to complain about the ntdll.dll file.

I have tried Safe Mode and it blue screens with a STOP error. I have tried the Recovery Console and Recovery CDs and they blue screen on booting also.

I have made a Vista boot CD/WinPE 2.0 CD from the Windows AIK toolkit - this also blue screens.

I have changed BIOS to optimized settings, tried removing memory and various memory configurations (both missing, then trying each one individually etc).

I have also tried with removing the wireless network card but this also didn't help.

The latest BSoD is a "STOP c000021a (FATAL SYSTEM ERROR). The inital session process or system process terminated unexpectedly with status of 0x00000000 (0xc000221 0x0010037c). The System has been Shut down."

Does anyone know how i can boot this, just into command prompt so i can run chkdsk /r or a fixboot or fixmbr command?

The system is a Advent T9508.

Any help would be greatly appreciated! And this problem has just reaffirmed my decision to ensure Vista does not make its way into my organisation!! Amount of time wasted just trying to find and then make a Vista boot CD was insane.

Thanks
James

James O'Neill BSc (Hons) MBCS

 

[linney]

STOP c000021a (FATAL SYSTEM ERROR).

http://www.google.com/search?q="STOP+c000021a+(FATAL+SYSTEM+ERROR).+&rls=com.microsoft:

If no media will boot for you it seems to be unrelated to Vista and more of a hardware problem.

Have you tried the RAM checker built in to Vista, or the manufacturer's hard drive diagnostics freely available from their site as self bootable media?

I hope we are not heading down the faulty Motherboard or Processor path.

 

[firewolfrl]

Have to agree with Linney... This is not a Vista specific problem.

You are going to hate this part.

Remove the drive and copy all the data you want to save on it to another computer that has a good antivirus

then zero the drive and either reload windows or restore it from a recovery disk

that option above is going to let you know if the hardware has an issue and its a sure way to have a decent working computer again

OK in a nutshell you have a hive /security issue if per say your computer SYSTEM account gets locked out from the windows system files this error happens this can either be virus/adware related or it can happen if you have an error on the part of the drive that gives the security permissions to the files. you can try to restore the hive files from the last restore on the drive and that might make the computer boot
here is a great site for that procedure.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307545

your easiest route is just wipe and start new

unless the hive recovery works I do not see you getting the computer to boot with the existing setup


here is the official MS answer

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx/kb/156669/en-us

and I am posting a great explanation


This occurs when Windows switches into kernel mode and a user-mode
subsystem, such as Winlogon or the Client Server Runtime Subsystem
(CSRSS), is compromised. Security can no longer be guaranteed. Because
Win XP can't run without Winlogon or CSRSS, this is one of the few
situations where the failure of a user-mode service can cause the system
to stop responding. This Stop message also can occur as a result of
malware infestation or when the computer is restarted after a system
administrator has modified permissions so that the SYSTEM account no
longer has adequate permissions to access system files and folders.


good luck

 

[BadBigBen]

And here is another possible cause:

Internet Explorer Maintenance Policies May Cause an Access Violation in Winlogon

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/318666

Besides that I would suggest that you do as Firewolfrl pointed out...

Ben

"If it works don't fix it! If it doesn't use a sledgehammer..."

 

[JamesONeill]

Cheers all, I will try the suggestions above!

I did try to find a PC with a spare hard drive to see if the PC would boot off that instead, but ill see if i can find a PC to put the Vista hard drive into.

The strange thing is, if you keep attempting to "Start Windows Normally" after several blue screens it does one of three things. 1) Will blue screen again 2) Will bring up the Welcome to Vista screen or 3) Boots Vista and logs in, but has constant errors - Windows Explorer needs to shut down, Error Reporting needs to shut down, and a couple of others I can't remember now....

James O'Neill BSc (Hons) MBCS

 

[firewolfrl]

you should run memtest to see if the ram has gone bad.
your system seems very unstable

ram will cause your issue too. (screws everything up too)

 

[TLAJR]

Hey guys I have ben having the same problem with my dell for about a month. I have done all the thier lame tech support has asked, which is nothing more than wipe drive and re-install, and I am still getting the errors. I've done the memtest, repaired from the dvd, tried to install from the dell image, ran checkdsk everything to no avail. Is there any other suggestions you guys might have before I tell dell to come get this POS? Thanks for the suggestions.

 

[linney]

Most of the basics have been covered, it is time to invoke any warranty and get the problem solved via Dell.

You could have a look at the Dell forum in case there is anything relevant, especially to your make and model, mentioned there.

http://en.community.dell.com/?~ck=mn

 

[JamesONeill]

thanks for all your help - i think i tried everything i could - it seems the hard drive was FUBAR and i didnt have one which would fit it.

Since returned to user! )

James O'Neill BSc (Hons) MBCS