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Assitance please...
Windows XP Pro just died on me this morning. When I try to boot it gets to the startup screen, goes black for 15 seconds or so, flashes a BSoD-like screen with something on it (I can't read it; it displays the screen for about a millisecond. THANKS MICROSOFT!), then reboots itself. When I try "Last configuration that worked" or whatever, it does the same thing. When I try any kind of safe mode, it loads driivers OK until it hits AGP440.SYS, at which point it again hangs then reboots itself.
I searched for AGP440.SYS-type errors on some pages, and it seems a whole lot of people have this problem, and there is no solution other than reinstalling stupid Windows. Which I don't mind doing, but I need to backup my files first, since the installation will probably wipe out my "My Documents" folder. (THANKS MICROSOFT!) I don't have a boot floppy either. That's my real problem. I need a boot image so I can just go in and copy my files from "My Documents" to a safe backup folder on the same drive. I've tried the stupid XP Recovery Console that runs off the CD, but of course it doesn't give me access to anything other than the Windows directory. (...THANKS MICROSOFT!) I just need to find a boot floppy for anything that supports NTFS so I can access my HD, then I can reinstall Windows over itself and pray it works.
If anyone knows of anywhere to get a boot floppy image for WinXP, that'd be good. Or if anyone knows how to solve this problem another way, that'd be better. If not for Linux I would be without a computer right now. At least Linux tells me what's wrong when it crashes. It could be anything messing up stupid Windows.
EDIT: Another acceptable solution would be to burn a CD backup of the files I need. I can access my NTFS hard drive from Linux (which is on a different drive), but only for read-only. I don't even know how to burn a CD in Linux, let alone burn one that will be readable in Windows after I'm done. I'm afraid to waste 10 CDs trying to do it.
EDIT AGAIN: I think the problem might be a corrupt registry. I have no idea how to restore a registry backup in stupid Windows XP. This problem also started after I accidentally cut the power to my computer while attempting to enter hibernation mode. Maybe that did it. Blarg.
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I don't know much, but it's either these reasons:
- Is your XP illegal?
Like is it from warez or something. Because it practically f's your computer if you dont send them your registry key.
- CD
The cd might be f'ed. Try getting another one, then do a clean install.
Or you can do my stuff if you trust me. Reinstall your USB stuff, bios and all that crap.
There might be some sh*t here: http://www.lostcircuits.com/advice/bios2/12.shtml
It's really a Win2000 problem. I'm just guessing to uninstall your cards and see which one is the problem, and maybe replace the AGP file.
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It's legal, we get it free from college. The XP installation has worked perfectly since last year sometime before Christmas. Never even crashed, that I can remember. I haven't changed anything on the stupid computer except add a new USB keyboard two weeks ago, and it still worked fine after that. Linux still works just fine too. If it was a hardware problem I would've thought Linux would've died too. It has to be a stupid Windows XP problem.
I've searched through tons of MBs through Google now, and lots and lots of people have this agp440 problem. I haven't found any solution either. All I want is to get my files off of that accursed hard drive and save them so I can somehow restore them later. Darn it. Windows stupid XP can't read my Linux drive, or else I'd just copy them onto that drive and copy them back to the Windows drive after I formatted the thing and did a clean install. Windows is a piece of crap.
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www.bootdisk.com
There you can boot DOS with NTFS support from a bootdisk (you can download the bootdata from the site) and copy files.
As for the sudden restart after a BSOD screen, you can disable it within Windows. Go to System Properties, then Advanced, then Startup and Recovery Settings. From there untick "Automatically Restart"
Next time it happens, you can provide me with the STOP error (or reason at the top of the screen, such as IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL, or anything else. In this case it means drivers/hardware are conflicting each other) that it gives to you.
Nonetheless, it's useless at the moment, since you can't get into XP. So, just boot from DOS using a floppy with the downloaded bootdata from www.bootdisk.com and backup data. Then reinstall XP.
Edit:
Oh... And you might want to try this:
Since it's an AGP error, it's probably something to do with your graphics card. If you have a PCI graphics card, use that, remove the AGP card and boot into XP. It'll boot fine, because there's no AGP, so it has no reason to lock up again. From there disable the "Automatically Restart" option and then download the latest drivers for your card. If you have nVIDIA, go here: http://www.nvidia.com/view.asp?PAGE=windows2000 and download the Detonator drivers, but don't install them yet. Remove the AGP device (thus the graphics card) from Device Manager and reboot. However, don't do a normal reboot. Instead, do a manual shutdown. Switch the graphics card from PCI to AGP and boot again. It'll detect the card again and install the drivers for it. Then install the Detonator drivers (or other drivers if you have another card than nVIDIA, just make sure they're made for XP and are WHQL certified. WHQL isn't necessary, but it should be preferable). Then reboot again and see if it's fine now.
Otherwise tell me what you get if you have managed to disable the "Automatically Restart" option. I'll look around at Microsoft's site and an site dedicated to XP.
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I could use a tutorial for CD burning under Linux, too. I've NEVER been able to get X-CD-Roast to work.
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I tried bootdisk.com , but it seems that most of the programs there are meant to run under Windows. I couldn't get Linux to create a boot disk using those programs.
Ah well. I did manage to fix it. I reinstalled Windows, but I installed it into a directory with a different name. Then, very surprisingly, Windows did what I actually would've hoped it'd do. It added the new Windows to the boot menu and kept the old one. Plus it renamed all my old folders for my documents and settings and whatnot to some sort of backup name so it actually kept them all. Windows boots fine now.
Not sure what the problem was. According to what I read somewhere, the agp440.sys file probably wasn't even the problem. Windows doesn't show all the drivers it loads as it loads them, it only shows some. agp440.sys was the last in the list, but probably not what was destroying my computer. In any case I've gone and disabled the stupid auto-restart option. Everything seems to work OK now. I'm going to let stupid Windows decide what graphics driver it likes from its own Windows Update collection and keep that one. Maybe that'll spare me.
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Never use Windows Update to download drivers for your hardware. :p
Go to your hardware manufacturer's site and download the XP drivers. ;) That's the best thing you can do. XP will like you for that. :p It did, in my case. :D
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I have a Voodoo3 video card though. 3DFX went out of business before XP came out, I'm pretty sure. So the only driver availible is a 3rd-party unofficial one. I was actually using that one last time. I wouldn't be surprised at all if that's what caused Windows to commit suicide. I think I might prefer to use the Windows display driver from now on. I will get all the drivers for my other hardware if I can find them though.
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Well I think auto update has messed up my computer as well. I turned on auto update, and not my CD RW doesn't do anything at all. I'll try reinstalling windows., as the computer is so new, I have very little on it. Auto update... I knew it was no good.
