I've been trying to help my friend fix her laptop since shes been getting a stop error 0x0000007E (0xc0000005, 0x804d9a69, 0xf7cca67c, 0xf7cca378). The error comes out with any start up mode (normal, safe, last good config) usually after the Win XP logo comes out. Unfortunately I do not know the HD size or the amount of memory on it. Any suggestions on how to fix this?

The thing to check first would be the drivers. You need to update all of her drivers if possible. I don't know if you can get to the Log-in screen and actually use the laptop or not, but this is a major cause of this type of error.

Basically what happened was while the computer was booting, some bit of software created an awesomely huge error that the Windows Error Handler couldn't manage to catch. So it went and turned into a Stop Error. So either you have something on that computer in terms of software that's causing it to crash right on startup, or the one of the drivers are faulty and causes it to crash.

Since it only seems to do it on startup, I'm willing to bet there's a driver problem rather than some software. It could also be a very bad virus is causing the problem, but again, I highly suspect one of the drivers. Sound, video, ethernet drivers....any one of them.

Unfortunately I cant get to the log-in screen only up to the win xp logo so im at a lack of options. Here are some of the specifications straight from the manufacturer: 1.5GHz Intel® Centrino™ Mobile Technology featuring Intel® Pentium® M Processor 715A, 512MB 266MHz DDR System Memory (2 Dimm), the HD has been recently upgraded so I dont know the size.

Hi, I'm a new user to this site and i'm in a bit of a situation with my mam's laptop. Basically i have exactly the same problem as 3Jay2956. I keep getting the blue screen error screen with the code Stop: 0x0000007E (0xc0000005, 0x804d9a69, 0xfa3ee67c, 0xfa3ee378). This error also comes on with any start up mode i try (normal, safe, last good config) usually after the Win XP logo comes out. From another website i was reading it sounds like it's either a hardware or memory fault but i can't identify what these codes mean as tried to google them but no luck and the computer will not let me go past the start up screen. Would doing a repair install do any good? I really can't afford to take this to a technician so any help anybody could give me would be most appreciated :'( Thanks

loozy, I'm sorry if I sound a little bit mean, but please don't hijack other people's threads. It's better if you create your own. The fix that helps one person doesn't always work for everyone else. It's better if we can scrutinize the situation for different people separately.

3jay, that is one OLD computer. Not necessarily a bad thing, I'm just not used to seeing specs like those anymore, haha.

Seeing as you can't login to fix anything, there's really only one thing to do. Wipe it. Format the hard drive, install a fresh copy of the OS, and then run a memory test to see if there are any hardware problems you're not aware of. Then run along and find the most up to date drivers you can. Granted, there might not be too many up to date version for something that old, but there's always a chance you can find the last revision that was put out still floating around on the web.

Wiping it is not always an option, and honestly, if you want to test the hardware and memory....get a Linux live CD such as Linux Mint 7 and boot up and do your tests. Wiping it and re-installing to do a memory test is the long way. You may also try the Hiren's BootCD to test hardware. Anyway, wiping it for me is a last resort. It sounds like it is most likely a driver or a virus....but there is the possibility that if the harddrive is starting to fail that you have corruption of a file needed by the system.