[dc_fan]

My Dell Dimension 4600 running win XP SP3 has been experiencing routine stop error 0x1000007e on shut down. They started a few weeks ago, random at first & now at every shut down. The stop error occurs after windows "saving your settings" , and after the the dialog box states "windows is shutting down".

The computer has a 2.66 Ghz processor, 1.5 gig of ram & over 40 gig of available hard drive. The system is stable & fast for its configuration.

I have verified my drivers to be good in Device Manager, updated my video driver, ran a full defrag and chkdsk.

I resat the ram in the slots.

The event logger states an Information entry "The computer has rebooted from a bugcheck. The bugcheck is 0X1000007e (oxc0000005, 0x8065723b, 0xf78b2bc8, 0xf78b28c4.


Any help will be greatly appreciated

[Maurice]

Hi, a STOP 0x1000007e is much the same as a STOP 0x0000007e

See the MSDN article on this STOP code here:-

Bug Check 0x7E: SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED

You will see from this that the error relates to 'memory access violation' which could be down to some hardware imcompatabilty/fault, memory problems, driver problems. You say it happens on shut down so I guess it's not a RAM problem but it could be driver related, graphics device in particular.

When the stop occurs note down more of the details displayed. Particularly look to see if a filename is mention which may help track down the cause.

What has changed on the PC recently? Have you changed any drivers? Did you install a driver from a MicrosoftUpdate run? If you did, roll it back to the previous version to see if that makes a difference. Try and think what may have been changed just prior to these events happening to identify the cause.

The last time I had these occurr at work I flashed the Dell BIOS and installed newer graphics drivers and hey presto, the problem went.


I checked on the Dell support site and the latest BIOS version for a Dimension 4600 is A12. You can find updates here but checked whether yours is a Dimension 4600 OR 4600c

If you enter the tag number off the label into the website it should be correctly identified.
Dell Drivers and Downloads

Let us know how it goes.

[dc_fan]

Thank you for the quick response.
The computer is a Dell Demension 4600.

I flashed the BIOS from A06 to A12. I checked and found the video driver was the latest version, so I rolled it back & reinstalled the current driver.

I still have the error on shut down, but not it shows 0X00000007e not 0x1000007e.

The only think that changed over the past 6 - 8 weeks was that I uninstalled my Lexmark printer & reinstalled to try to fix a communications problem. The printer now works fine, but I'm wondering if this could have caused the problem?

Any ideas?

Bob

[Maurice]

Does the STOP screen give any useful info?

It looks like the crash occurs as Windows is trying to stop & unload services. Hence the comments re drivers etc. It could be the printer driver that is causing it. Can you check if there are newer drivers for it?

You could uninstall the printer and unplug it from the PC and try start ups/shutdowns to see if the STOP goes away or not. It would at least eliminate the Lexmark from the equation.

[dc_fan]

The stop error screen does not reference a file as the cause.

I uninstalled the printer & rebooted. I got the same error.

The error seems to appear as the computer should power off, or very close to that point. (It happens after the computer verified the a:drive is empty.)

I'm going to reinstall my printer & see if there is any change.

My computer is attached to a LinkSys router via cable, a second PC is also conected by cable & the printer is wireless. My internet connection is via a cable modem.

[Maurice]

Maybe the time has come to bite the bullet and re-install Windows to get a clean install?

If you back up all your data & key files then you can re-install XP and apply service pack3 followed by all further updates then your program etc etc.

Not the answer you want I expect but sometimes it is better to wipe the PC and re-install everything fresh and it's often faster than try to find what's causing the problem.

[dc_fan]

Maurice,

I was hoping for an easier answer, but reloading windows to get a clean install is probably the best thing to do.

Will I have any issues loading the original Windows XP Pro, seeing that I'm not running service pack 3?

Do I need a bootable disk or will the CD drivers be available on my system?

I will be reinstalling Win XP from the Dell Operaring System Reinstall CD & the Dell Resource CD

I will back up all my personal files & copy them back once the pc is up & running.

Thank you for your help

[Maurice]

First thing you need to do is back up everything that want to save. Things like:-

My Documents
IE Favourites
modem/broadband settings
email account settings

You'll need to copy key items off to an external drive or burn them to an optical disc. Think carefully about which items & settings you need to keep.

Depending on the age of the system the Dell Windows CD will possibly have SP1 or SP2 slipstreamed onto it. It may be shown on the CD label if it is bare windows or SP1 etc. The Dell resource CD will have all the relevant drivers although some of these may have been updated since purchase.

Now depending on your resources you could download the full XP Service Pack 1a and Service Pack 3 files from www.microsoft.com/downloads and burn the two on to a CD. SP3 will only install if SP1 is already installed.

Once you have checked, and checked again that you have backed up everything you can then install XP from the CD. Put the CD in the drive and reboot, during BIOS POST press F12 to get into the boot menu - if that doesn't work you may have to reboot and press F2 to get into the BIOS and alter the boot device to the CD drive. Boot from the CD and it will scan and detect an existing installation. You need to follow the on-screen prompts and choose to 'quick' format the C: partition and install there.

When Windows has installed you want to get SP1a & SP3 installed asap. Hence the thing about downloading and burning to CD. Now you can check in Control Panel->System->Hardware->Device Manager and see what devices need drivers. You can now load the Dell resource CD and let it install. It will then run and identify your hardware and version of windows and list the relevant drivers for the hardware it detects. You can then install them now and later check for updated ones from the Dell support site.

Get your anti-virus and other security programs installed and get your modem/broadband connection up and running. Once you are online go to WindowsUpdate and choose to have MicrosoftUpdate instead and then install all the critical updates. Check the recommended and hardware updates too for anything relevant. You can get IE8 at this point if you like.

Now you can start installing your apps such as MS Office/Works and other apps you want. Don't install anything you don't really need.

Once you have installed any MS apps do another visit to MicrosoftUpdate to get all the hotfixes. Often you need to do a couple of visits as some fixes are dependent on prior fixes etc. Also, update all your AV and security programs before contemplating browsing etc.

Now you can start to bring back your documents etc etc. Install other devices such as printers, cameras etc but leave a break between them so that you can test the system shutsdown/starts ok. Each time you add a device etc a recover point is created so hopefully you could roll-back if needed.

Let us know how it goes and don't hesitate to ask any questions.

[dc_fan]

Maurice,

Last night I backed up all the neccessary files & settings.

I tried to boot to my Dell Win XP SP1a Reinstallation CD/DVD Disc. First by rebooting & pressing F12 to access the boot menu, and the pc still went to the windows XP screen, once I selected my user name, windows opened & the pc ran the setup file on the CD. I exited that & tried again, same results. I also tried to change F2 to access the BIOS & change the boot drive to IDE CD-Rom drive, but I was unable to change the settings. The BIOS screen didn't give me the option of changing the BIOS.

So, what am I doing wrong?

[Maurice]

F2 should always get you into the BIOS on a Dell PC. When the PC starts and you get the Dell BIOS screen you need to hit F2 a few times before it gets a chance to start loading Windows. Once you get into the BIOS you look for 'Boot Sequence' and you need to move the CD/DVD drive above the hard-drive. Choose the exit and save option.

[dc_fan]

Maurice,
followed your instructions to get the PC to boot from the Dell Win XP SP1a Reinstallation CD/DVD Disc. Windows installed & I'm now installing the drivers.

I will let you know how it goes.

Thank you for the help

[dc_fan]

Maurice,
hMy system is back up & running with out any stop errors!!!! Thank you for the help


I still have two devices in my device manager that I can not find a driver for, but the system runs faster & is more stable.


The first is PCI Input Device, my mouse & keyboard both are recognized & drivers are loaded.

The second is PCI Simple Communications Controller.

Any ideas on these two devices.

[dc_fan]

Maurice,

I'm all set. The PCI Input Device, is sound Blaster & I loaded the correct driver. The other, PCI Simple Communications Controller, is my Conexant modem & I loaded the correct drive.

Thank you again for the help.

Bob

[macrobt]

Awesome a happy ending!! Thanks for letting us know everything went well

[Maurice]

Hi dc_fan, glad you managed to get everything up and running ok again. Once you have have been through this process you get a bit more confident at doing again.