Issue With Netbook and Blue Screen

[Haku Mioje]

received a dell inspiron mini the other day that had the blue screen (unbootable mount volume). Made a copy of XP SP2 so i could try and repair or redo windows using an attached CD/DVD Drive. I tested the drive with the first CD i could grab(happened to be OPH Crack) and it loaded up perfectly, so i know the drive is good. But when i tried to put the XP disk in i couldnt get it to run set up at all, it would attempt to load then go straight into the windows loading screen followed almost immediately by blue screen error.. took out the HDD to check connection and everything was fine with it... cant tell if the drive needs to be replaced or if its going to be able to repair.. im over in the desert on deployment so my resources are small and my friend was hoping not to have to buy a new set up... she said that she used it and it worked fine the night before and when she woke up the next morning to use it, she had the error

 

[Indigo]

If you're getting a BSOD on boot, there's more going on than just Windows. Grab a copy of Hiren's Boot CD and run MemTest x86 from it (first level on the boot menu) and make sure that the RAM isn't spitting errors. More often than not, that's the first cause of a problem like this, especially if the reinstall won't continue. If the RAM tests fine, then format the drive using the same boot CD (plenty of hard drive formatters under Hard Disk Tools) and then try to reload. If that still doesn't work, let us know.

 

[Haku Mioje]

i attempted the memtest program from Hiren's everything came back fine, im going back to make a customized copy of Herin's to try a few other things, thanks for this software, i really like alot of what it offers.

 

[Indigo]

How long did it run? (I usually do overnight for a full test, Your mileage may vary of course)

Something you can try since you took the drive out is to go ahead and just wipe the drive (pull any data she wants/needs) and then reload on a fresh slate. The gwscan tool on the Hirens is great for that (just do a quick, no need to do a full)