This can't be good...

Hi Happy,

Apologies for leaving you hanging - it was not intentional.

Since the Dell Diagnostics is located on the hard drive, and it loaded for you, it does mean at least that the hard drive has not completely failed. Let's use xPUD to search for the file named in the BSOD and try replacing it with a good copy, if found. It sure can't hurt to try at this point.

Boot to xPUD and open a Terminal window then type in the following command and hit Enter.

find /mnt|grep -ie /ntfs.sys

Jot down the locations and post that back to me.

Thanks Dave, I was starting to get a bit frantic…. Ok, quick question. When I put the zip drive in the USB port, it wants to boot the NTBR stuff we loaded the other day. What do I need to delete from that zip drive so that the xPUD stuff boots as it would have about a week or so ago?

Either press F12 (or F9) when you power on the machine to bring up the boot menu, then select the cd drive. Or, remove the flash drive, let it start booting to the cd then re-insert the flash drive. Once you see the xPUD language selection screen it's well enough into the boot sequence that you can plug the flash drive in. Edit: Oops - I'm now suspecting that you used the same flash drive for NTBR that was used for xPUD?? If so, you'll need to reformat the usb and write xPUD to it again.

Yes, you are right, I am using the same flash drive. I will reformat as instructed and reply as soon as possible.

Ok, here's what we got: /mnt/sda2/cmdcons/NTFS.SYS /mnt/sda2/i386/ntfs.sys /mnt/sda2/WINDOWS/system32/drivers/ntfs.sys /mnt/sda2/WINDOWS/erdnt/cache/ntfs.sys /mnt/sda2/WINDOWS/ServicePackFiles/i386/ntfs.sys /mnt/sda2/WINDOWS/$hf_mig$/KB930916/SP2QFE/nts.sys /mnt/sda2/WINDOWS/$NtUninstallKB930916$/ntfs.sys /mnt/sda2/WINDOWS/$NtServicePackUninstall$/ntfs.sys

Great! Replace /mnt/sda2/WINDOWS/system32/drivers/ntfs.sys with the /mnt/sda2/WINDOWS/ServicePackFiles/i386/ntfs.sys copy then reboot normally.

I'm sorry Dave, but I want to make sure I get this correct… Exactly how do I replace the one file for the other? Are you saying I should rename the system32/drivers/ntfs.sys, "blah,blah/ServicePackFiles/i386/ntfs.sys"? Or is it a cut and paste type thing? Sorry, but I really don't want to do my normal thing of taking a whack at it, and then messing the whole thing up.

Rename the system32/drivers/ntfs.sys to ntfs.sys.old then copy and paste the ServicePackFiles/i386/ntfs.sys into system32/drivers.

Sorry Dave, I executed the swap as you instructed. Upon trying to restart the machine normally, I got the Windows XP startup image, but then it blue-screened straigt-away. Technical Information: *** STOP: 0X00000024 (0X00190203, 0X97768CA0, 0XC0000102, 0X00000000)

Refer back to this post for running the Dell Diagnostics and run a Custom Test. I'm unfamiliar with the options there so I cannot give you specifics, but what we want to do is test the Hard Drive. If you are unsure about anything there, post back and I will try to assist.

Holy Krikies Dave!!! I'm receiving numerous, numerous messages during the Read Test, citing various Blocks and indicating Test Results: Fail "Uncorrectable data error or media is write protected" and "Address not found" The Device Self Test passed, and it looks like the Seek Test is going well. But, I'm guessing this supports your notion that my Hard Drive is shot. edit: Now when trying to run the diagnostic, during the DST Short Test it fails, giving error code 1000-0146, that is then followed by another failure message with error code: 1000-0141. I visited the Dell website for support, but I didn't find it terribly helpful.

Hi Happy, I had been waiting for a response with the final results and see now that you did come back and reply, though you edited instead of posting a new reply, so I got no notification that you had replied. Per your test results, my only recommendation at this point is to replace the hard drive.