Windows "0x0000007B" error on startup-what do?
Hey all,
I got a new hard drive for my IBM PC from a thrift store recently. It's a Western Digital Cavailler 24300 4300 RPM HDD with 4.3 GB of storage (luckily this one had a jumper with it!). I wanted to test if it had any OS on it, moreover if it even worked. I hooked it up and turned it on. It works! But, will it boot? Yes it did! But, with an error. Every time I start it up, it's at the "Sorry for the inconvenience, but Windows has encountered an error" screen with the choice for me to start it in Safe Mode, Safe Mode with networking capabilities, Safe Mode with Command Prompt, and Start Normally. I tried all four options, and I can't get farther when I get a BSOD with the error code "0x0000007B".
More info on the crash screen:
STOP: 0x0000007B (0xF894E640, 0xC00000034, 0x00000000, 0x00000000)
BIOS version and type: P/N/36L3687 IBM (C) 2000 REV 3A
BIOS date: 2002
and that's it. No "UNACESSABLE_BOOT_DEVICE" error in there at all.
Any help / suggestions are greatly appreciated!
Thanks for reading.
EDIT This PC can't boot from USBs or CD/DVDs. All I have is the 3 1/2 inch floppy diskettes (of which I have noone of) so I guess if the only solution is to wipe the HDD, I could try getting a CD-ROM for my PC, but that's a hassle so if worst comes to worst, a wipe is fine.
Comments
So this is the OS that was already on the drive when you bought it? Which version of Windows is it and have you had that running on this computer previously? Does it meet the system requirements?
Yeah the OS was on the HDD when I bought it. I think this is Windows XP, if not then it's W2K/ME. The computer has an Intel Pentium III @ 1000 MHz (1 GHz) with an ATi 9600 PRO graphics card.
I had this problem before, I keep getting a BSOD on windows xp computer so I pushed
F10 on the boot screen to run HP-recovery mode that came with the system, after 1 hour I was able to fix my computer and not data was loss. I recommend you using recovery mode. BTW don't unplug your PC for 5 year in a warped box. It need to be charged to retain data.
Can you access the BIOS and see if the HDD is being detected, and if so, are the settings correct? You may also want to reset the CMOS completely by taking out the mobo battery and popping it back in (if it is removable).
So this is just some random drive that happened to have an OS on it? Might as well wipe it and start over. Who knows what machine it's from. You'll never configure your way to a working OS, with all the driver differences and everything. Even if by some miracle you get it working, the OS will be very cranky and just won't perform well. It's just not worth the effort.
Yeah I can access BIOS by pressing F2. I assume settings are OK, and the HDD is detected. I'll try to reset CMOS (luckily it's removable).
This PC is ancient, sadly there's no IBM/Windows recovery screen to enter into (as far as I know).