Can't boot: either Stop error 0x7e or Hard Disk not found

[fysixx]

Hello! I'm having a major problem with my laptop.

It's an Acer Aspire 5024 running Windows XP Home Edition, which I have owned for
about a year and a half. Anyways, here's the problem:

Yesterday Windows crashed out of nowhere. The stop error message was 0x7e. I've gotten
quite some times before, and restarting the system usually worked. But this time
when I restarted, the Operating System was not found. I restarted again, and the
boot screen appeared, although it took much longer time than usual. After the boot
screen, the screen turned black. After waiting for about 10min, I restarted again.
Then the same thing happened. I tried to boot in some different modes. It's the same
for all modes, except Last Good Known Configuration. There I managed to enter Disk
Scan (or whatever that's called). It freezes at 16%. If I cancel it, I get system
restart after a while.

I disabled automatic restart on system crash, and this is the complete error message
on the blue screen after the boot screen:

0x0000007E (0xC0000006, 0x804FAA48, 0xF79673A4, 0xF79670A0)

The Windows disks that came with my acer system only have as an option to format
C and reinstall windows. I have many important files without backup on my laptop,
so formating is not an option. I have a WinXP Pro disk, so I tried running it to
use the Recovery Console. When I enter the Recovery Console, I can't type anything.
The keyboard works, but nothing appears on screen.

I tried installing WinXP Pro on D: (my hard disk is partitioned into C: and D: ),
so I could backup my important files. But instead I get an error before the installation.
Sometimes it says that no hard disk was found, or some other error about the partition.
I can post it here if it helps.

Then the "Operating System not found" came back. It looks like the computed doesn't
recognize the hard disk, but not always.

The current situation is varying. Sometimes the operating system is not found, and
sometimes it starts the boot, but crashes with the 0x7e error.

Is there anything I can do to fix the problem without losing my data? I have not
installed any new hardware or driver recently.

Thank you in advance


UPDATE: the recovery console works now. When I issue the command chkdsk I get a message which says that the volume selected seems to have one ore more irrecoverable problems... Is it over? =(

 

[raysautomatic]

Hi,
1. you might try using Fixboot.exe
2. if you have access to another XP machine try running your laptop drive as a slave to recover your data. You may need an interface addapter that are less than $10.00.
If you use method #2 you should also use the OEM disk utility for your drive to check it out. They all have a drive fitness test in them and testing your drive before you tyr to re-use it will save you problems later.

 

[fysixx]

Hello! Thank you for your answer.

1) What is fixboot.exe and how can I use it?

2) I do have another XP machine (a very slow one, but better than nothing). I have never done that (have my laptop as a slave), how do I do it?

 

[raysautomatic]

Fixboot.exe is a command that you can use in the repair console, it can many times repair a corrupt boot sector on your drive.

As for slaving your Laptop drive you’ll need to remove it from the laptop, reset the jumper on the drive and connect it to your other computer as a slave. This should give you access to your data so you can back it up before repairing or reloading you operating system.
It may be possible to use an external USB hard drive enclosure instead of the interface adapter, that way you can reuse USB enclosure to make a portable external HD for backing up and saving data from any computer with a USB port. Just make sure you get one with the correct interface for your 2.5” laptop drive.