HELP!! Anyone who knows a lot about computers??
I got a laptop today that I had ordered on ebay. It is a Dell Inspiron 3500 that was upgraded to windows xp and has a wireless internet card. It worked fine til all of a sudden the screen went blue and says:
Stop:c0000218 {Registry File Failure}
The registry cannot load the hive (file):
\SystemRoot\System32\config\software or its log or alternate.
It is corrupt, absent, or not writable.
Beginning dump of physical memory.
Physical memory dump complete.
Contact your system administrator or tech support group for further assistance.
In case you are wondering the only thing I have installed today was Yahoo Messenger, and the Wireless Internet drivers.
I don’t know much about computers but what I have tried is taking the battery out and waiting a minute before restarting. I also tried starting in safe mode.
Nothing is working, it will not start up at all, it goes straight to that blue screen. Please help me fix this so I can talk with my husband on Instant Messenger, he is in Iraq:(
Hello,
My name is Mike, I’m a Technical Analyst at Dell corporate headquarters in Round Rock, TX. I’m part of an internet outreach team developed to interact with the online community regarding technical questions and issues that customers face with Dell products.
A big part of what may be contributing to the problem is the hardware/ operating system setup you have with this notebook. When the notebook shipped it was only available with Windows 98. The max amount of RAM this system can support is 256MB, barely twice what the minimum requirement for running XP is, it has a max processor speed of 266MHz which is barely more than the minimum requirements for XP and the clock speed (300MHz) is the minimum requirement for XP.
This essentially means that the system is maxed out just running the operating system. This leaves little to no room to run other programs or hardware. You may have more luck installing Windows 98 on it, if that is an option, but you may still run into some problems there. By today’s standards this system lacks the necessary hardware to take advantage of a newer operating system and newer technologies.
Unfortunately this leaves only two legitimate options, downgrade the OS to Windows 98 or upgrade to a newer system(doesn’t have to be brand new, but something that can handle at least 512MB or more of memory with at least a P3 processor or better.)
Thanks,
Mike
Dell customer advocate
Fist off go in to the bios and see if the hard drive is showing up . If not the hard drive is fried and needs to be replaced. Next I would insert your os disk and try a repair with windows xp. either way you need to reinstall the os. If you aren’t too computer savy maybe just get a desktop.
References :
This problem may occur if either of the following conditions is true:
The hardware where you are trying to install Windows XP may not be compatible with Windows XP.
The hard disk where you are trying to install Windows XP may be damaged.
RESOLUTION
Step 1: Make sure that the hardware Is compatible with Windows XP
For the latest compatibility information, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://www.windowsmarketplace.com (http://www.windowsmarketplace.com)
For additional information, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
255036 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/255036/) Microsoft Support Policy on Hardware Not On Windows NT HCL
314062 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314062/) The Latest Windows XP Hardware Compatibility List
If the hardware is listed on the latest Windows XP hardware compatibility list, see step 2.
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Step 2: Use the recovery console to confirm that the hard disk or file system Is not damaged
Important We recommend that only advanced users or administrators use the Recovery Console.
Note Only the Administrator account can access the Recovery Console.1. Start your computer from the Windows XP CD drive. If prompted, select any options that you must select to start from the CD drive.
Note To start your computer from the Windows XP CD drive, your CD drive or DVD drive must be configured to do this. For information about how to configure your computer to start from the CD drive or DVD drive, see the documentation that is included with your computer or contact the computer manufacturer.
2. When you are prompted to select Repair or Recover, press R. This starts the Microsoft Recovery Console.
Note You may have to enter the number to specify the Windows XP installation in the hard disk.
3. When you are prompted, type the Administrator password. If the Administrator password is blank, just press ENTER.
4. Use the chkdsk command-line tool to examine the hard disks. At the command prompt, type chkdsk /r, and then press ENTER.
5. Read the results, and then take any steps that you must take to complete the process. For example, you may be prompted to run chkdsk /f to fix certain problems.
6. Restart the computer, and then try to run Setup again.
Back to the top
Step 3: Replace the hard disk
If the hard disk is damaged and cannot be repaired, you may have to replace it. Contact your computer manufacturer, the retailer where you bought your computer, or a qualified repair technician for information about how to replace the hard disk.
For more information about how to use the chkdsk command-line command to check and repair a damaged hard disk, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
307654 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307654/) How to install and use the recovery console in Windows XP
314058 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058/) Description of the Windows XP Recovery Console
313348 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/313348/) How to partition and format a hard disk in Windows XP
References :
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/830084
Hello,
My name is Mike, I’m a Technical Analyst at Dell corporate headquarters in Round Rock, TX. I’m part of an internet outreach team developed to interact with the online community regarding technical questions and issues that customers face with Dell products.
A big part of what may be contributing to the problem is the hardware/ operating system setup you have with this notebook. When the notebook shipped it was only available with Windows 98. The max amount of RAM this system can support is 256MB, barely twice what the minimum requirement for running XP is, it has a max processor speed of 266MHz which is barely more than the minimum requirements for XP and the clock speed (300MHz) is the minimum requirement for XP.
This essentially means that the system is maxed out just running the operating system. This leaves little to no room to run other programs or hardware. You may have more luck installing Windows 98 on it, if that is an option, but you may still run into some problems there. By today’s standards this system lacks the necessary hardware to take advantage of a newer operating system and newer technologies.
Unfortunately this leaves only two legitimate options, downgrade the OS to Windows 98 or upgrade to a newer system(doesn’t have to be brand new, but something that can handle at least 512MB or more of memory with at least a P3 processor or better.)
Thanks,
Mike
Dell customer advocate
References :