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alexsim2004

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Windows XP Boot Problem

When I boot up Windows XP, the logo screen loads, then before it gets to the 'user select screen' a blue screen appears and says something like 'physical memory dump' and then the system restarts. - I cannot type the full error message as it appears and disappears very quickly.

Any help will be appreciated

Alex
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and235100
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Can you boot into safe mode? (press F8 as Windows begins to load)

Try F8, then Last Known Configuration.

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alexsim2004

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I have tried safe mode and last good configuration, the same error appears.
But with safe mode there is no blue screen, it just goes black and restarts
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During the boot process, before the Windows XP logo appears, start pressing & releasing the F8 key.  You should get a text-based menu which gives you the option of Safe Mode (and a number of other options).  Choose the Safe Mode option (not either of the Safe Mode With ... options) and see if your windows boots that way.

If it does boot fully in safe mode, go to your Start->Control Panel option and choose System from the list of options (Switch to Classic View if you don't see it straight away).  In the System Properties window, click the Advanced tab and click the Startup And Recovery section's Settings button.  In the new window, uncheck the Automatically Restart button in the System Failure section.  Click OK, OK & then shutdown & reboot.  On reboot, write down the message on the blue screen & post back.
Hehe, turns out I'm a bit slow on whether safe mode can be accessed. :D
So, it restarts in Safe Mode too...  Have you tried unplugging all the unnecessary devices (USB especially) & booting that way?
If it helps - when safe mode is loading and that big list comes up - it says ''Press Esc to cancel loading SPTD.sys'' - then the screen goes black and restarts - I wil try unplugging all unneccasary devices
I have now tried it with just the keyboard and monitor plugged in and i have tried in safe mode, last good cinfiguration and normally but the same error appears.
If you cannot get into regular Safe mode, then try Safe Mode with Command Prompt.  If this works, then you can use the REG command to turn off the auto reboot on error.

At the Safe Mode Command Prompt log on as administrator. Type the following at the command prompt:
REG /QUERY HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Crashcontrol /v Autoreboot

You should get a value of either 1 or 0. 1=true; 0=false, therefore if it is 1 then do the following:
REG /DELETE HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\Crashcontrol /v AutoReboot
REG /ADD HKLM\System\CurrentControlSet\Control\CrashContron /v AutoReboot /t REG_DWORD /d 0

This will turn off the automatic restart on error option, so that you will be able to see the error message when you get the BSOD (Blue Screen of Death).
When I choose safe mode with command prompt the big list shows up but then it stops and says: ''Press Esc to cancel loading SPTD.sys'' then the screen goes black and restarts. Could it be anything to do with the memory settings in BIOS?
By the BIOS thing I was refering to the blue screen error not the safe mode error
If you can possibly get Windows (one way or another), look at the second section:

Have you tried pressing escape just as the message alerting you to the fact the system is attempting to load SPTD.sys?

Have you by chance got daemon tools installed?

More info to follow if this is the case...
Here is a page about your new error message in safe mode (have you tried the pressing of the ESC key?):

http://www2.daemon-tools.cc/dtcc/t6828-my-system-wont-boot-after-installation-of-v4-or-problems-with-sptdsys.html
Actually yes I have got daemon tools installed, yes I have tried pressing escape but it just goes black and restarts
Yes LeeTutor - I had just found this, but I didn't mention it as there was only a slim chance of daemon tools being installed...

Well donw for searching google....
I will follow the instructions on the link
I have followed instructions on the link and have renamed sptd.sys but when I choose safe mode it stops at ''Mud.sys'' and restarts. - So I still cant get into safe mode
Sorry - thats ''Mup.sys''
I will try and do the registry thing that LeeTutor suggested in the recovery console
Stops at Mup.sys and restarts...  Is there an error message?
No there is no error message
alex can you goto the safe mode start menu and click the disable automatic reboot on error and then provide us with what the blue screen says in normal mode this will help greatly with solving your issue.  You are having more than one issue Mup.sys is another one where its going to tell you to rename the service to get it to go but you really need to find the root of the problem its possible you are having a problem with your drive going to recovery console and typing chkdsk would fix this but I really need to know the blue screen message to get you back up and going.
alex you cant do anything with the registry in safemode if you have to rename that file back to its original to get the error message back
by the way its not the mup.sys file that is sticking now its the file after it this issue could be caused by a number of things usb and other hardware stuff but the fact that you having so many various errors there is something else.
I have renamed the SPTD.sys file - but i still cannot access safe mode, I still get the error message when I try to boot in normal mode
It is not usb because i have all usb things unplugged but I think it is Daemon tools that is causing the problem with safe mode
would i be able to run daemons 'uninstall' from the recovery console?
Oh sorry if i wasnt clear by safe mode start menu i meant the menu where it offers safe mode safe mode with networking ect before it boots there will be an option to disable automatic reboot on system error or something to that effect.
ok - but i still cannot access any of the safe modes to disable this automatic reboot
no alex you would be able to turn off the service that daemon tools is using but thats about it.last time i had an error with daemon tools it was because the system also had another cd emulator loaded on it I personally did a repair install and then reinstalled the updates if you could just get that blue screen error message we could possible provide a solution other than that.
you dont have to access a safemode you have to get to the place where its asking you which safe mode to load to you know the boot menu where you choose safe mode or safe mode with networking or safe mode with command prompt near the bottom there is an option to disable automatic reboot on error thats what i need you to click on instead of going into any of the safe modes.
How would I turn it off?
when I press F8, in the windows logo screen, it doesnt show up.
well use the listsvc command to find the name of the service and then issue a disable (service name) so say if you were going to disable a service called daemon the commands would be
listsvc       This will give you a list of all the services once you find the name of the one you need you type:
disable daemon
I don't remember any such option in the Advanced Options Menu.  There is a picture of that menu at this site:

http://www.theeldergeek.com/repairing_windows_xp.htm
alex you have to press f8 before the windows logon screen hit it during the post it will show up.
no it still doesnt show up
lol well lee so your telling me only my computers and my customers computers have this option and ive had some here on EE even get it done here is a link.  
https://www.experts-exchange.com/questions/21874170/Can't-read-BSOD.html
i can provide more if you need it
That's because it isn't there.  The only other ways I know of turning off the auto reboot on error is:  a) mount the drive as secondary in another working XP machine and then use offline registry editing to turn CrashControl to zero; or b) use a free product such as this to do it:

http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

What is BartPE and PE Builder?

Bart's PE Builder helps you build a "BartPE" (Bart Preinstalled Environment) bootable Windows CD-Rom or DVD from the original Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 installation/setup CD, very suitable for PC maintenance tasks.

It will give you a complete Win32 environment with network support, a graphical user interface (800x600) and FAT/NTFS/CDFS filesystem support. Very handy for burn-in testing systems with no OS, rescuing files to a network share, virus scan and so on.
This will replace any Dos bootdisk in no time!

Here's a website by one of our top XPerts, Fatal_Exception, which will give you more info on BartPE:

http://65.24.134.81/KipSolutions/BootableCDrom/BartsPE.htm

Make sure one of the plugins is the RegeditPE:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/regeditpe/

Registry Editor PE is a plugin for Bart's PE Builder which allows for easy editing of remote registry hives and user profiles. A user booting from a Bart's PE CD can easily make changes to the Windows registry without having to boot into Windows.
so you cant get back to the boot menu at all??
I will try the BartPE thing
surely you cant tell me that we all have special copies of xp safe mode that allows for us to do that lee the option is presented to you once you have an unsuccessful boot that bsod's into a loop you can click that and read the message just for future reference.
I have been running Windows Update on my laptop, and as it hasn't been done in several weeks, it took a lo-o-o-o-ong time.  It's finally done, and now I just rebooted and got to the Advanced Options Menu.  I see what you mean.  My menu looks just like the one at the eldergeek page, except below Debugging Mode there is an option for Disable automatic restart on system failure.  Maybe that option went in during SP2 and I just didn't notice it?  Anyway, thanks for the info.  Just as about every day here at E-E, I learned something new...
So why do you think I cant get to the advanced options menu?
I seem to remember one previous E-E question where one questioner's computer BIOS was set up to use F8 to get into it, and he had to do something special in order to get to the Advanced Options Menu.  You are pressing and releasing F8, and not just holding it down during bootup?  I will see if I can find that question...

Also seems to me that pressing and HOLDing  Ctrl key during bootup will bring up the Advanced Options Menu on some (all?) computers.  I know that worked in WinME.  Try that...
i am pressing and releasing the f8 button - i will try ctrl
alex try booting to normal let it error out and then it shold bring up the menu automatically if the blue screen still comes up if not then you have to change the name of that file back so it will
ctrl does not work either
Yeah Lee i know what you mean I learn lots working on this site also makes it worth more than just points!!
when i boot to normal the blue screen appears and then it restarts and says something like sorry for the inconvinience, windows encountered an error, this could be due to power failure e.t.c please choose an option below: Safe Mode , with networking, with command prompt, last good configuration, start windows normally.
Looks like you're going to have to use Bart's PE...
at the bottom of all that it says disable automatic reboot on failure alex do you see that its got debug mode and other stuff
have you had a power failure or what was the last action taken on the system before the problem started???
no i havent had a power failure, i just turned off normally, its just that sometimes it says that.
yeah I know i was just trying to find out what was done last to the system to cause the error or if it just appeared
but see that message doesnt always apear the power failure one sometimes it says a recent hardware or software change caused it or something.  It gives a best guess on why it couldnt load go into recovery console and run a chkdsk see if you can get in.
i have run chkdsk and it says that everything is fine
Are you up for doing a repiar install the only thing you would really have to reinstall after that is the updates that are not included on your xp disc?
I had a problem with alcohol120 just like that and ended up having to perfom a repair install to get it back up.  
tried a memtest from www.memtest86.com ?
Every XP install supports F8 to get text menu
perhaps you have a bad keyboard or it is USB or it is not understood by bios or it is one that has function mode that has to be on.  Or it is wireless.

continue trying to fugure out the keyboard F8 issue.
I hit mine continously after the beep.
how did you run checkdisk but you cannot boot?
recovery console carl
slap me
did you actually 'Press Esc to cancel loading SPTD.sys'' ??

This driver is probably defective.  Do what it says.
The loading ALWAYS fails a MUP.SYS, that is normal in safe mode.

In recovery console, remove the driver SPTD.SYS.  Now reboot in safe, does it work?

If not, do a repair install, boot from CD, go through as if you are going to reinstall, but when it finds the existing installation, press "R" to repair.  but if SPTD.SYS is a bad driver, you MUST remove it first. USE --

DISABLE SPTD.SYS

In recovery console

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/recovery_console_cmds.mspx?mfr=true

Hmm.. Why not go for a repair installation of your XP for a step by step approach to do this check
www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm
I have solved the problem myself by following the instructions on:

http://www.digitalwebcast.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=8658-0

I will ask experts-exchange to close the question.

Thank you everyone who gave their help it was greatly appreciated.

Alex
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