XP installation "error 7"

[nikko]

<DIV>I'm trying to do a reinstall of WinXP Pro. Not a repair, just trying to wipe the slate clean and do a reinstall. I've done it before, but this time before I get very far, I get an error message that says "I386/ntkrnlmp.exe could not be loaded. Error 7. Set-up can not continue" Then it reboots the machine. Any idea on what might be going on?</DIV>

 

[Panther505]

how many CDROMS/DVD-ROMs in the system? IF you have 2 then my suggestion is to disconnect the slave one. Next what have you changed since the last install? Are you installing to an IDE RAID array (0, 1 or 0+1)? Is so are you loading the drivers...

 

[ItsPat]

I'm getting the same error with a brand new system. I've tried to install XP, it gives the error code 7 then reboots. It only has 1 CD drive. I've tried changing different Hard Drives to see if that was the problem. Didn't help, any ideas? It's a BioStar M7VKQ motherboard, with an XP 2000.

 

[NogginBoink]

Probably bad CD media. See if you can copy that file off the CD on another machine to test whether or not the CD is good.

Less likely, a bad CD ROM drive.

Even less likely, bad RAM. (Unless it happens on different files each time, in which case bad RAM is more likely.)

C:\Documents and Settings\Nogginboink>net helpmsg 7

The storage control blocks were destroyed.


C:\Documents and Settings\Nogginboink>

 

[ItsPat]

I've tried it with different versions of windows, and another copy of XP that I know works. I also tried to install Linux just to see what would happen, gave a crc error.

 

[digitalman]

i had a problem where while trying to do the install it was pulling up errors that it could copy files from the cd. it ended up being a problem with the motherboard. you may want to check into that.

 

[ItsPat]

Thanks, thats what I figured it was probably a motherboard problem. Tried to change out HD's, and different CD roms. Didn't help. Going to RMA the motherboard hopefully that fix's the problem.

 

[digitalman]

best to rma it while you still can. once i did that it worked. i remember that while it was happening i almost kicked the machine out of frustration. but i didn't feel like throwing the $ down the drain to replace it.

 

[pitupepito2000]

This is what I would do:
1. try to install your OS with the minimal amount of hardware required
2. test ram and hard drive with utilities that can be found online
3. look in forums that are specific to your motherboard (usually found in the motherboard manufacturer's website).

I hope this helps,
pitupepito

 

[ItsPat]

Fixed the problem, thanks for all that helped. Was acctually a RAM problem. Took out one of the SIMM's and worked perfect.