WinXp continuously restarts

[dclive]

Originally posted by: thuffner3
Well I can get into the system registry on the new installation of XP, Although there is not much I can do as far aas updating infomation, files, etc.
I can import registry files.
I can load hives.

But what should be the files or hives I load/import?

I'm sure I can delete the entries that would pertain to the device driver I installed that initially caused this whole mess.

Thanks
Neil

You want to load the 4 hives of your original installation, while you're booted into the new installation. Again, please see my .sig's URL for information on how to do this.

What OS were those pen drivers made for anyhow?

 

[thuffner3]

Good Morning dclive,

Ok I understand that I want the original hives, I'm looking at %systemroot%\system32\config
Should a sort as "modified or created" give me the necessary info on which files?

The pen drivers came from AIPTEK for an AIPTEK 4" x 5" pentablet. The site indicated that these drivers could be used for WinXP, back to Win98. The model # is AHP5000.

Thanks again
Neil

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: thuffner3
Good Morning dclive,

Ok I understand that I want the original hives, I'm looking at %systemroot%\system32\config
Should a sort as "modified or created" give me the necessary info on which files?

The pen drivers came from AIPTEK for an AIPTEK 4" x 5" pentablet. The site indicated that these drivers could be used for WinXP, back to Win98. The model # is AHP5000.

Thanks again
Neil

Really, you need to read my .sig's URL. Step 12 gives you a how-to guide.

 

[thuffner3]

I'm sorry dclive,
Your post does clearly indicate which hives I should be loading. Can I create a new registry entry to keep these completely seperate?

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: thuffner3
I'm sorry dclive,
Your post does clearly indicate which hives I should be loading. Can I create a new registry entry to keep these completely seperate?

When you open each hive, you'll be prompted to give them each a name. Keep the name unique, and you're all set.

 

[thuffner3]

Considering I'm going to edit the newly loaded hives, upon unloading these hives, will they remain edited?

Thanks
Neil

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: thuffner3
Considering I'm going to edit the newly loaded hives, upon unloading these hives, will they remain edited?

Thanks
Neil

I don't suggest you edit or change anything, just load them. But if you were to edit and change something, it would remain edited; that's how registry editing works. This is the normal way to load a registry hive for an OS you aren't booted into.

 

[thuffner3]

Well being the wannabee comphead. I loaded the hives
SAM
SECURITY
SOFTWARE
SYSTEM

I gave all these a prefix name of backup.
I was browsing though each of these. no problems until I ckick on the "BACKUPSYSTEM"
entry. the system immediately shut down and restarted, when I looged back on a window indicating a serious error had occured and did I want to send a report.
Unfortunely I cannot send or receive anything on that computer at the moment.

I guess I leary of inporting the hives, without editing the bad info ultimately leading to the same problem on the new drive. Thus being locked out of both.

Neil

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: thuffner3
Well being the wannabee comphead. I loaded the hives
SAM
SECURITY
SOFTWARE
SYSTEM

I gave all these a prefix name of backup.
I was browsing though each of these. no problems until I ckick on the "BACKUPSYSTEM"
entry. the system immediately shut down and restarted, when I looged back on a window indicating a serious error had occured and did I want to send a report.
Unfortunely I cannot send or receive anything on that computer at the moment.

I guess I leary of inporting the hives, without editing the bad info ultimately leading to the same problem on the new drive. Thus being locked out of both.

Neil

I don't suggest you import anything. The only purpose of this was to see if you could load the old hives and if they were corrupt when you did so.

OK, so now you know there's a problem with the SYSTEM hive of the old registry. So, you can try replacing the bad System hive (make a backup first!) with the one found in the (bad-drive):windows\repair folder, and see if that will let you boot. At this point, though, we've determined your registry has a problem, and it's so significant that RegEdit can't even load it. You might try getting a third-party registry repair utility to see if it could do anything, and you might run chkreg on it, but I really doubt anything will fix that such that you can boot. Do you have a system-state backup? I believe system restore points are lost when you boot into the parallel install, but you could look for older copies of your System hive by going to "System volume information", changing permissions so you can open it, and then seeing if there are any System files in there that go with your original (not your parallel) install. Again, tho, I think the act of putting a parallel on there removes previous System Restore information in there.

 

[thuffner3]

Your right about the restore points, there is no way to access what might have been added from the first drive install. Knowing now that it is a problem with he system hive. I tried to open with notepad. At best I could very easily read this. But editing would only save it as a txt file so i think that is out. Could I conceivably install all my old harware drivers to the new WinXP install, then load the hive from the new to the old, thus allowing my old system to come back?

 

[Harvey]

SP2 has a known incompatiblity with Athlon 64 bit CPU's. See Forum member, Adul's article on the AT site

Microsoft has released a knowledge based article that covers an issue with SP2 and the Athlon 64. Some users are complaining of constant reboots after they have installed SP2. The cause of this issue is the mpegport.sys file which tries to write to the memory protected by the NX bit.

This issue occurs if all the following conditions are true:

• * You install the 32-bit version of Windows XP SP2 on a computer that has an AMD 64-bit processor.
  * You configure your computer to enforce data execution prevention (DEP). DEP is also known as no-execute protection.
  * You installed hardware that requires the Mpegport.sys driver.

When you restart your computer after you install Windows XP SP2, the Mpegport.sys driver tries to write data to a memory location that is monitored by DEP. This behavior causes the computer to restart.

RESOLUTION

You may be able to resolve this issue if you configure a DEP exception. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, click Run, type Sysdm.cpl, and then click OK.
2. On the Advanced tab under Performance, click Settings.
3. On the Data Execution Prevention tab, click Hardware and software DEP enabled for all programs except.
4. Click Add, type the path of the Mpegport.sys file on your hard disk, and then click OK two times.

The other solution is to remove SP2 entirely. 😛

Microsoft Knowledgebase Arcticle 878474.

SYMPTOMS

After you install Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 2 (SP2), your computer repeatedly restarts. You do not receive an error message.

CAUSE

This problem occurs if all the following conditions are true:

• You installed the 32-bit version of Windows XP SP2 on a computer that supports hardware-enforced data execution prevention (DEP), such as a computer with an AMD 64-bit processor.
  
• You installed hardware that requires the Mpegport.sys driver.

When you restart your computer, the Mpegport.sys driver tries to run from a memory location that is monitored by DEP. You receive a Stop error that is similar to the following:

• 0x000000FC (ATTEMPTED_EXECUTE_OF_NOEXECUTE_MEMORY)

Your computer may restart immediately if it is configured to automatically restart when a system failure occurs.

RESOLUTION

Contact the driver vendor for an updated version of the driver without the incompatibility problem. If an updated version of the driver is available, the driver can be installed in Safe Mode.

For additional information about Safe Mode in Windows XP, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

• 315222 A description of the Safe Mode Boot options in Windows XP

WORKAROUND

To work around this problem, disable the Mpegport.sys driver in Device Manager by using Safe Mode. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Restart your computer.
2. Press the F8 key. On a computer that is configured to start multiple operating systems, press F8 when the Startup menu appears.
3. Use the arrow keys to select a Safe Mode option, and then press ENTER.
4. Click Start, click Run, type devmgmt.msc, and then click OK.
5. In the View menu, click Show hidden devices.
6. Expand Non-Plug and Play Drivers.
7. Right-click the Mpegport.sys driver, and then click Properties.
8. On the Driver tab, change the Startup Type to Disabled, and then click OK.
9. Restart your computer.

If you require the Mpegport.sys driver, you can also turn off DEP. To turn off DEP, follow these steps:

1. Restart your computer.
2. Press the F8 key. On a computer that is configured to start multiple operating systems, press F8 when the Startup menu appears.
3. Use the arrow keys to select a Safe Mode option, and then press ENTER.
4. Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
5. At the command prompt, type the following, and then press ENTER:
   
   bootcfg /raw ?/noexecute=alwaysoff /fastdetect? /id 1
   
   If you have multiple start entries or start options, you may have to manually modify the Boot.ini file for your computer. To disable DEP by modifying the Boot.ini file, change the /noexecute policy level to alwaysoff.
   
6. Restart your computer.

MORE INFORMATION

This issue is known to occur if the Sigma Designs Hollywood Plus DVD decoder is installed on your computer.

For more information about data execution prevention, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

• http://www.microsoft.com/techn...maintain/sp2mempr.mspx

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.

 

[bsobel]

While accurate, that doesn't appear to be related to the OP problem. He had installed an older device driver, somewhere in that process his registry got corupt.

Bill

 

[dclive]

Originally posted by: thuffner3
Your right about the restore points, there is no way to access what might have been added from the first drive install. Knowing now that it is a problem with he system hive. I tried to open with notepad. At best I could very easily read this. But editing would only save it as a txt file so i think that is out. Could I conceivably install all my old harware drivers to the new WinXP install, then load the hive from the new to the old, thus allowing my old system to come back?

Again,

So, you can try replacing the bad System hive (make a backup first!) with the one found in the (bad-drive):windows\repair folder, and see if that will let you boot.

You could try that, and see where you get. That would take you back to square one as far as services, devices, and drivers are concerned, and could lead to major issues in and of itself, but it's something to try. At this point you're pretty much out of options WRT the original install, IMHO. Without a system state backup to revert to, there's not much else I can think of to try aside from the system hive in the repair folder.

 

[thuffner3]

Good afternoon Dclive,
Ok I was able to successfully load the Repair folders\ SYSTEM hive.
Doesn't seem to be any problem. I will go ahead and copy that into the windows\system32\config
folder and perhaps ( I should get a successful reboot).

I nothing else. What files can I delete to do a complete install on my origianl drive?
It won't be necessary to delete the entire C:\windows directory will it?

Thanks again for all your help.

Neil

 

[dclive]

If that doesn't work, you could go back to your entire \repair registry, which would work, but at that point, what's the point? If you're still unable to get going, I'd do a full reinstall.

For the future, something to consider - hard drives are so cheap these days, it might be wise to devote a hard drive to your backups - just set NTBACKUP to run nightly and do a full backup + system state of your drive(s).