stop 7b error on install with XP but not vista...

[drashleyscully]

I'm trying to reinstall windows XP on my home computer and am running into the stop 0x000007b error and am not able to install. I had XP running on it previously and decided to reformat due to a suspected virus and that's when I started having issues. The windows disk is fine, its a valid copy of windows - no scratches, etc. I've also tried installing windows server 2003 and xp 64 bit, it gets to the exact same point in the install after copying files and then quits. Right now I'm (unhappily) running Vista since its the only thing I could get to install besides Linux. I tried switching harddrives to a known working drive and I got the same error so I believe that takes harddrive error off of the list. I thought it might be the RAID drivers I was using or something, so I switched to ATA in my BIOS but that didn't go far either.
Does anyone have any suggestions on what to try next? The hardware is working fine (except for vista not finding the right drivers for my sound device).
Thanks!
Ashley

 

[raybay]

You have either a driver error or a hardware error that needs to be tracked down...
It could be video graphics driver, memory error, cpu fan, hard drive, or power supply... but
Be sure you have all the WXP drivers downloaded before you begin the install.
Drivers for Windows Server 2003, WXP, and X64 do not mix well... you need to remove everything and start fresh to have a clean install.
I suspect most of the problems you report are related to these changes in hardware and software.

 

[drashleyscully]

I haven't made any changes in hardware since the last install - everything is exactly the same as it was when it was working fine. I never needed extra drivers at the start of install. Any suggestions on how to narrow this down? I don't have a lot of spare parts I can just start throwing in and testing... Someone else is suggesting a boot sector virus or one in BIOS - is that feasible since when vista installed it should have rewritten the boot sector?

 

[raybay]

Of course it can be a virus or other infestation... just as likely as the ones I listed...
Infestations should always be suspected in any install.

Download some of the free scans and try them... They will not remove the evil stuff, but will tell you they are there..
Run them in regular mode, and again while in Safe Mode.
We like AVG Antispyware and AVG antivirus... both available free, as is their Root Kit removal tool.