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5.8

Stop Error C000021A-how can I fix this mess?

Asked by elk060 in Windows XP Operating System, Windows Installer

Tags: c000021a, error, stop

Greetings-I've been getting lovely BSODs for the past week, along with the following error:

STOP C000021A (Fatal System Error)
The session manager initialization system process terminated unexpectedly with a status of 0xC000026C (0x00000000, 0x00000000). The system has been shut down.

System in a nutshell: Windows XP Pro, 1 Gig of RAM, 2-120Gig hard drives run as a RAID 0 setup (one drive mirroring the other), Pentium 4 2.8 GHz processor

First, some background: I tried updating XP with several critical updates and the installation never completed due to some MS software installer problem. Since that time, my system has been really messed up. I tried doing a system restore, but that seemed to make matters worse.

First I lost my sound, and after that problem was solved, I started getting these fatal system errors.

Here is what happens. The system tries to boot and gets past all the screens that tell you what is loading, etc. Then when it gets to the part where the Windows logo comes up, it goes black for a moment and then the Fatal System error screen comes up. It then reboots and goes back through the same loop. On the second pass, instead of showing me the various system user names, some of the following things happen:

Sometimes it boots, gets the fatal system error, reboots, and then runs chkdsk. Then it goes to the user profiles and lets me log in normally. However, on these occasions, the graphics are really messed up. When you scroll down a page, the screen flickers every time like the graphics card is not keeping up.

On another occasion, it booted, I got the fatal system error, it rebooted, and on the second pass, it demanded that I do a product activation for XP. I had no choice but to do this last night.

Also, at one point, Zone Alarm Pro was asking for permission to let stuff through that was already set up. So it would ask if Opera could ask as a server when in fact Opera always had permission. Then it stopped working entirely for a time.

I also got this weird error message when I tried to restart that other people were logged on at the same time (not true) and I might lose data.

Once the product was activated, it logged in normally and everything seemed to run fine. So I shut the system down last night.

This morning, things are worse than ever. Now it starts to boot, does the stop error, reboots and then when it gets to login time, demands that I enter a password. All my profiles except mine have disappeared. I never set up a password for this system, so I bypass this by leaving the password field blank and it lets me in. Also, before it offers up the login box, the screen flickers wildly.

Once I got in, everything seemed hosed. My antivirus software stopped working for a time (now it's back), and every time I tried to launch an application, it crashed. My active desktop also crashed. I also experienced severe crashes when the screensaver kicked in and I came back to the computer. It hung in limbo for a time as it tried to come back to normal operation and ended up rebooting. I've tried to disable the screensaver but when I get to that tab, I get an error that says "Run a DLL as an APP has encountered a problem and needs to close. So I cannot disable the screensaver and I keep experiencing these crashes.

Bottom line: my OS is messed up. I doubt it's a hardware problem, because all the trouble seemed to start when I attempted to patch my system with a critical update.

I've done a lot of reading here about this error message, but I could still use some guidance.

I am not running GoBack on this system.

I doubt my RAM has gone bad or that my system is overheating (I have three case fans).

I've seen the KB article about the registry and loading hives, but that seems to apply to NT and not XP.

I'm wondering if I can do a reinstallation of XP in place. If so, how do I do this? I do not really know how to boot from a CD so maybe some of you can help me there.

If I reinstall in place, does that mean my drivers are intact or do I need to reinstall everything, including all my applications? For obvious reasons, this is a real hassle and will take a lot of time to accomplish. Also, since I am running a RAID system, will that have any impact on how I install the OS?

Right now, OS is installed on C: and all my data files are on D:. If I try to do the registry fix, it wants me to do a parallel installation of XP. I would assume that means it would go on D:.

I hope this provides enough background to give people an idea of what might be going on. At this point, I am ready to ship it back to the shop where I got it for repair, but I would rather not do that if I can fix this myself.

Any help is appreciated.

E. Klisiewicz

View the Solution FREE for 30 Days

[+][-]12/14/03 09:30 AM, ID: 9937772Accepted Solution

Your question has an Asker Certified™ answer! elk060 verified that this solution worked for them--which means it will likely work for you, too. Click to view the solution free for 30-days now.

About this solution

Zones: Windows XP Operating System, Windows Installer

Tags: c000021a, error, stop

Solution Provided By: stevenlewis

Participating Experts: 7

Solution Grade: A