Hello everyone

Trying to install WindowsXP on my Dell Optiplex GX520. Midway through the installation process at get a blue screen with the following text:


STOP: c000021a {Fatal System Error}

The Session manager Initialization system process terminated unexpectedly with a status of 0xc000026c (0x0000000 0x00000000)
The system has been shut down.

Then I tried to boot from disc and repair windows again, mid way through that, same thing happens and get a blue screen with the following text:

A problem has been dtected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer
If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps. Check to be sure you have adequate disk space. If a driver is identified in the stop message, disable the driver or check with the manufacturer for driver updates. Try changing video adapters.

Check with your hardware vendor for any BIOS updates. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. If you need to use safe mode to remove or disable components, restart your computer press F8 to select Advanced Startup options and then Safe mode.

Technical Information

STOP: 0x0000008E (0x00000005, 0xBF8100BB, 0xF77EBCA8, 0x00000000)

wink32k.sys - address BF8100BB base at BF800000,

Begin dump of physical memory
Physical dump complete

I don't know this has anything to do with the hard drive or something else hardware related. Anyone have any ideas maybe?

Hello Mordimier,

Just to clarify:

1) Why the need to reinstall in the first place?

2) The 21a terminated the reinstall?

3) You then say you were "repairing" when you got the 8E?

Do you mean you were trying again to reinstall or were you doing something different?


Almost all Windows install BSODs are hardware related.

The easiest and first things to check are your RAM and hard drive.

Try MemTest as well as your hard drive manufacturers diagnostic tool.


If you are reinstalling from a Dell disk you can also boot into their diagnostic program however MemTest and the drive manufacturers dignostic would be preferable.

Often Dell uses Seagate drives.

MemTest

SeaTools for DOS

I had to reinstall the operating system due to a corrupt file, or at least that was the assumption based on the blue screen. Originally i tried with windowsxp home edition. The disc was too outdated and ended up installing software components that were too old for what was in the PC hardware wise. When I said repair, when you are at the windows installation screen once you start up the computer and it boots to CD, you have the option to hit R for repair so i tried that. I can't even log in to windows. Before when I would start up the computer, it would just start where it left off when i first tried to reinstall everything. It starts up at the windows configuration screen after you've partitioned the hard drive and then it would just freeze, so I can't get in to windows at all. Thought this would have been the fix since I have a disc that is up to date, but then I started dealing with this problem now. If i can't even get into windows I don't know what else I can do. I was thinking it might have been hard drive related, and i would just switch out the hard drive i have in there with another one, but I have no idea at this point.

I have no idea what the 21a is by the way.

Again just to try and clarify:

Your original Dell XP CD appears to have issues with your current hardware?

Have you updated your hardware since the original?

Or are you not using the original CD?


A Repair Install compared to a Clean Install is understood but if you tried a Clean prior to a Repair there is probably no approach for a Repair.

Freezing during this process again indicates a hardware failure.

It could be heat; could be the motherboard; could be the CPU.

As mentioned the first easiest tests are RAM and the hard drive.


If you are using the original Dell CD there is a Boot Option into Diagnostics which is a seperate partition on your hard drive created by Dell. They have both a RAM and HDD test but as I mentioned a third party test would be more telling.

If you find it easier to replace the HDD than test it that is certainly another approach.


From Google searches the 21a might very well be a memory error although again this could be anywhere the said memory was being addressed.


If you have an issue after the first reboot of Setup it is likely a deeper issue than RAM or HDD.

In other words if your BIOS and Windows Setup work ok (DOS) then the system freezes upon initiating a GUI something is being compromised in the motherboard.


You might also see if you can run a Live CD such as Ubuntu.

http://www.ubuntu.com/

If this also fails to initialize the board itself or the CPU become more suspect.