Hello everyone,

I am new to this site but I hope someone out there can help me. I have tried so many different things. I have already checked several websites listed in forums all of which was not able to help.


A couple of days ago, I started my comp up and got the BSOD with the error message:

A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.

If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:

Check for viruses on your computer. Remove any newly installed hard drives or hard drive controllers. Check your hard drive to make sure it is properly configured and terminated. Run CHKDSK /F to check for hard drive corruption and then restart your computer.

Technical Information:
***STOP: 0x0000007B (0xBA4C3528, 0xC0000034, 0x00000000, 0x00000000).



This was on a 6gb HDD that I had running with nothing too important on it so i figured what the hell, I'll do a re-format and clean install of XP Home. After doing this I get to the black screen, white lettering that ask me to start in safe mode, last known good configuration, normal, etc. No matter what I pick it kept going back to that same BSOD.


So then I decided to plug in a 10gb HDD that I had, did a format and clean install of XP Home and it's still doing the same thing. Plugged in yet another 6gb HDD, formatted, clean install of Home XP and once again the same BSOD. Now all these HDD's are older and all but the last thing I want is to go buy a brand new HDD and get the same problem. I run chkdsk and then chkdsk /p and then chkdsk /r and still no progress.

Sorry for the lengthy post but I tried to give as much info as I could think of. If anyone could help I would be so grateful. Thank you all in advance.

These are the specs that I know.


MoBo: Gigabyte KNS Ultra-939
RAM: 2gb A-Data DDR 400
Processor: AMD Atholon 64
Video Card: GeForce FX5500 128mb

A 7B error means Windows lost access to the system partition or boot volume during the startup process. Typical causes: Installing incorrect device drivers when installing or upgrading storage adapter hardware, or a virus.

First, check to see if your cable is connected properly.

All cables are plugged in properly. Checked and re-checked. LOL I figured that since I know a fair share about comps that I might make sure I remember the easy fixes being that I tend to overlook those with the assumption it is something difficult. Any other recommendations?

Is there any way for you to access your minidumps or won't the PC load at all?

I can get a DOS prompt off of the recovery console but that's as far as I can get. No clue how to access minidumps.

If somehow you can get to your desktop screen...

How to find your minidumps:

My Computer > C Drive > Windows Folder > Minidump Folder > Minidump Files. We need the files and not the folder itself. See the button below Manage Attachments.


Do you have another PC that you can plug those HDs into?

I have no access to my desktop. I haven't tried plugging the HDD's into my other desktop but I'll let you know as soon as I do. My main concern is that the problem has happened with three different HDD's on the same comp. I don't want to spend the money on a new HDD and have the same problem occur. I am in the military and don't make near enough to be able to throw away on computer parts. Any help or other recommendations?

Wow! Could it be the mobo then, i.e., where the HD connects to the mobo? Any burnt components? How is the stablity of your PSU?

By the way, thanks for serving.

I don't see any burnt components and the connection to the MoBo is good. I am able to reformat, delete and create partitions, and my BIOS reads everything and boots fine. As for the stability of my PSU? No clue how to find out if it's stable or not. LOL

It's my pleasure to serve and thank you for the unbelievably quick responses. Do you sleep? LOL

Ok. I plugged the HDD's in question into a Dell Dimension 8110. The 10gb would not register with the BIOS on that system. The 6gb gave me the same error message as it did on my custom cpu. I am hoping that this means that it more likely then not a HDD issue so that I don't have to worry about replacing my MoBo. Does this sound accurate to you or do you think I should try some other things first to make sure. Also if you know of any ways to fix these HDD's or getting them working/usable again that would be much appreciated. Again, I know that HDD's nowadays are not to pricey but unless it is cheaper then five bucks it's probably out of my price range. LOL

Thanks for all the help again and hope to hear all everyone has to offer.

Have you switched cables to see if they might be defective? I know that at times a cable or a cable's connector looked fine, but I could not get the HD to boot. A simple switch to a new one worked.

The only thing that causes me a serious red flag is that 3 HDs on the same motherboard and all three are experiencing the same issue. Thus, I think you are wise to be cautious.

I know WD and Segate offer HD diagnostics for free. If you can get onto another computer and download and burn I would then set the BIOS to where your HD is first bootable and see if you can run a diagnostics that way.

Ok. I want to make sure that I got this down right. I have a Maxtor, Fujitsu both 6gb and WD that is 10gb. If I download the diag for the WD and boot from disc it will run the diag on the WD HDD? As for checking the cables, I have some extra ones that I will switch out and try. I would amazed if the solution is that simple but I have had easier fixes to worse stuff before.

Again, thank you so much for all the advice. I hope that I can finally get this working. I have not invested to much money in this comp. Most parts I got from people who upgraded to bigger and better so they gave them to me for free but it's still frustrating not having the comp to use for my gaming. I'll let you know how those other cables fair out and if you could please clarify about the diag d/l it would be much appreciated.

Thanks Again

Ah, yes, gaming!

As for the WD diagnostics I say give it a shot on your WD harddrive. I know Seagate allows you to download and utilize a floppy (and I am sure a CD) for diagnostics. WD has a really nice diagnostics tool as well but I've only used it when I could get to the desktop.


As for my suggestion about first bootable, I am not sure if it will work but give it a shot.

Let me understand something for clarification. Even when you kooked up the HDs to the Dell you were unable to access the information?

Yes. When I hooked them up to the Dell the 10gb came back with the same BSOD mentioned above which gave me hope that it was the HDD's. The other two were being read by the dell bios. Though the odds have having 3 HDD's messed up are small none of them were manufactured after 99 so I am hoping to just chock it up to old hardware. I have not tried switching the cables yet but was also wondering if this would do anything seeing as they didn't work on the Dell either. I'll get on d'l'ing the WD diag and see what happens. Thank you again and please let me know if there is anything else you can think of that I should try.

Well - Duh Me! - SandV4. In the Storage and Networking forum they have a sticky at the very top for haddrive diagnostic and their links. I never noticed it before until I made my own post there (never needed to post there before). There is even a Fujitsu link. Perhaps that will help.

Ok. So i ran the diag on the WD HDD and come back with no errors. This was after the quick and extended checks. I decided to zero out the drive and do a clean install of xp home again. Low and behold, I am still getting the same BSOD. I am completely baffled. A friend suggested dl'ing all the MoBo drivers and making it into an .iso disc and try booting from there and that might fix the issue. I wanted to get your opinion on this and if you think it would be worth the try or if there is anything else I should do.

Thanks again so much for all your help.

Honestly, I don't how to answer that question with enough experience to tell you to try it. However, if the WD diagnostics has said no errors then I keep coming back to the motherboard as your friend suggests as well with the newest drivers possible for it. Give it a shot.

Did you try the Fujitsu diagnostics utility? I wonder if you would get the same outcome as you did with WD.

Try www.ocforums.com and see if anyone there can give you a heads-up on your particular mobo and the HD issues you've run into. Since 939 is passe' so to speak the traffic for that particular forum isn't nearly as heavy but the overall community is very vibrant. You'll notice I just rtecently posted a question of my own over there.

Haven't tried the Fujitsu diag yet. Figured I would get the same problem. I guess it won't hurt to try though. I'll let you know what happens when I burn the .iso with the drivers. Crossing my fingers.

So i went to the gigabyte website and d'l the bios files they have. Only problem now is that they are exe files and I need them to be able to run from a boot cd at startup. This is getting beyond frustrating. Can anyone help?