When Windows XP Professional detects an error from which it cannot recover, it reports error information in full screen, non-windowed, text mode. These Stop messages, which are also referred to as stop errors or blue screens, provide information that is specific to the problem detected by the Windows XP Professional kernel.
File system errors, viruses, hard disk corruption, or controller problems can cause the following Stop messages.
This Stop message, also known as Stop 0x24, indicates that a problem occurred within Ntfs.sys, which is the driver file that allows the system to read and write to NTFS volumes.
This Stop message, also known as Stop 0x50, occurs when requested data is not found in memory. The system generates a fault, which indicates that invalid system memory has been referenced. This fault can occur due to a variety of error conditions, such as bugs in antivirus software, a corrupted NTFS volume, or faulty hardware (typically related to defective RAM, be it main memory, L2 RAM cache, or video RAM).
This Stop message, also known as Stop 0x77, indicates that the requested page of kernel data from the paging file could not be read into memory. Stop 0x77 can be caused by a number of problems, such as:
Bad sectors on the hard disk.
Defective or loose cabling, improper SCSI termination, or the controller not seeing the hard disk.
Another device is causing a resource conflict with the storage controller.
Failing RAM.
This Stop message, also known as Stop 0x7A, indicates that the requested page of kernel data from the paging file could not be read into memory.
One of the following conditions usually causes a Stop 0x7A: a bad sector in a paging file, a virus, a disk controller error, defective hardware, or failing RAM. In rare cases, a Stop 0x7A occurs when nonpaged pool resources run out.
This Stop message, also known as Stop 0x7B, indicates that Windows XP Professional lost access to the system volume or boot volume during the startup process. This error always occurs while the system is starting and is often caused by one of the following:
Hardware problems
Corrupted or incompatible storage drivers
File system problems
Boot sector viruses
Outdated firmware
During I/O system initialization, this error can occur when:
The controller or driver for the startup device (typically the hard disk) failed to initialize the necessary hardware.
File system initialization failed because the system did not recognize the data on the boot device.
For more information about these and other Stop messages, see Common Stop Messages for Troubleshooting in this book.