STOP 0x0000007B message in Windows XP install

[budsdad]

I'll start with a bit of background, so please bear with me...

Some while ago I realised my IEEE 1394 (Firewire) port was no longer working. In Device Manager it reported Error 12 - but I couldn't find any conflicts. I did notice that there also appeared to be a lot of problems under "IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers" - there were 44 instances of "Primary IDE Channel" and 44 instances of "Secondary IDE Channel" all reporting "Error Code 12". In addition there were 140 instances of "Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller", 96 of which were reporting "Error Code 12". About this time I noticed that my CD Drive and separate DVD Drive were no longer showing up in Windows.

I decided to re-install my Windows XP from the CD (it's a proper OEM Microsoft Disk provided by the shop that built the PC). The CD/DVD Drives worked fine to Boot from the CD and loaded various files but then I got the STOP message - 0x0000007B (0xF7802524, 0xC0000034, 0x00000000, 0x00000000).

Meanwhile apart from the things mentioned above Windows appeared to be working OK - so I lived with it for a while.

However, I need to use the Firewire for my Video Camera and it's a bit awkward not having a CD Drive, so I decided to try again.

My Motherboard is supported by XP and the documentation that came with it specifically says that I do NOT need to install additional drivers (F6 at Set Up) unless I'm using RAID (which I'm not and this is definately set correctly in the BIOS - i.e SATA MODE = Non-RAID). The other main suggestion seems to be a Virus in the Boot record, so I decided to re-format the Hard Drive. Bearing in mind that I couldn't do this with the XP CD as it never gets that far, I got a copy of GPARTED and deleted the partitions and then formatted it as NTFS - same STOP message when I tried to install XP.

So is it a hardware problem? If so, how can I identify what? Any suggestions anyone may have would be appreciated.

Board = ALiveNF6G-VSTA
Processor = 2.35 gig AMD Athlon 64 X2 Dual Core
Hard Drive = Maxtor 6V200EO (200GB)
Windows XP CD = OEM Home Edition Version 2002 Service Pack 2

[Transfusion]

An error with an OS Install usually points to a hardware problem...
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/findbyerrormessage/a/stop0x0000007b.htm

Cause of STOP 0x0000007B Errors

STOP 0x0000007B errors are caused by device driver issues (especially those related to hard drive and other storage controllers), viruses, data corruption, and sometimes even hardware failures.

It certainly looks like there is something wrong with your DVD drive/CD Drive/Motherboard IDE Controller.

[budsdad]

Thanks for taking the time to have a look. I've already looked at the site that you gave me a link to and reading through it, it looks like he's saying that it is probably a Driver issue (the second parameter of the STOP message being 0xC0000034), but like I say, documentation says I shouldn't need a third party driver. Is there anything else I can try regarding Drivers?

If it is hardware, I don't think it's the CD/DVD Drives because they work fine outside of Windows (i.e when the PC's booting up). Likewise the Hard Drive is read and written to OK by GPARTED, so I think that's OK. So does that just leave the IDE Controller onthe Motherboard. Any suggestion how I could test that out without replacing the Motherboard first?

[Transfusion]

Make sure your CD and DVD drives are jumpered properly-one should be Master and the other should be Slave.


You can test with an addon PCI/PCI-E IDE controller card:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&N=-1&isNodeId=1&Description=PCI+IDE+card&x=0&y=0

[budsdad]

Many thanks again - I appreciate your time.

As far as CD/DVD goes, they were working fine for a few years and I've not had them out to change the jumpers, so it can't be that.

However, before I buy a PCI card, would you be able to explain how GPARTED is able to access the Hard Drive - I know it's Linux based rather than Windows but I guess it's still got to use the Motherboard's Controller.

I just can't get my head round the fact that everything seems to be OK before Windows tries to start.

I think I've detailed all the relevant events but I hope I'm not missing something important that I should have told you.

[Transfusion]

However, before I buy a PCI card, would you be able to explain how GPARTED is able to access the Hard Drive - I know it's Linux based rather than Windows but I guess it's still got to use the Motherboard's Controller.

I just can't get my head round the fact that everything seems to be OK before Windows tries to start.

No you are not missing anything you need to tell us.
The answer is simple. Your hard drive uses a SATA connector and therefore SATA motherboard controller, which is separate from the IDE controller, which we presume is malfunctioning.

[budsdad]

OK - I think I was mis-understanding - I had it in my head that it was the Hard Drive and the problem with the CDs was a symptom BUT I guess it makes more sense for it to be the IDE Controller that's the problem.

However, I suppose the same question still applies - how come I can get so far reading from the CD - Gparted happily runs from the DVD Drive as does the Windows Set Up CD, which loads up all the required files and doesn't STOP until it tries to Start Windows. I presume that both of these things need to use the IDE Controller on the Motherboard to make the DVD Drive work.

Sorry if I'm being a bit dense but I'd really like to understand the problem rather than just resolve it (although that would be nice). 

[budsdad]

Before going to the expense of buying a new PCI IDE Card - I tried loading an old copy of Windows 98, which worked - up to a point. I didn't have all the required drivers  BUT then I tried removing the Firewire Card and Hey Presto Windows XP installed without a problem. So I'm guessing that there is a problem with the Firewire Card.

Now waiting for a replacement Firewire Card but in the meantime everything else seems to be working OK.

Many thanks to Transfusion for taking the time to try and help me.

[Transfusion]

No problem
In the meantime, try resetting your BIOS settings to default:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdp_L5IxaNI