Windows Setup and the BSOD

[longarm]

Trying to re-install XP on my laptop. During install the damn thing keeps hanging. Sometimes the system just freezes but mostly I get the BSOD with the stop message PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA.
Does this appear to be a memory problem? Can anybody suggest and resouloutions before I throw the thing out of the window. The Stop message is as follows if that helps (its all Greek to me!)
STOP 0x00000050 (0xBC87D6B9, 0x00000000, 0X8888c792, 0x00000002)

[ORAC]

Its a memory, CPU or video error - or an installation CD problem. Take out and reseat your memory. If the problem still occurs, run a memory check using memtest from www.memtest.org

if its not the memory, there is not much you can change with a laptop. Try cleaning the CD or borrowing another copy. If that doesn´t work, You can try using an external USB CD drive to load it. (If the BIOS will not boot from it, you can download XP boot floppies)

[longarm]

Thanks for the reply. I've tried three different XP cd's to no avail. I've also tried to reseat the memory. Thanks for the tip about memtest I'll give that a try.

[Saab Dastard]

Stop 0x00000050 or PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA

This Stop message, also known as Stop 0x50, occurs when requested data is not found in memory. The system generates a fault, which normally indicates that the system looks for data in the paging file. In this circumstance, however, the missing data is identified as being located within an area of memory that cannot be read to disk. The system faults, but cannot find, the data and is unable to recover. Faulty hardware, a buggy system service, antivirus software, and a corrupted NTFS volume can all generate this type of error.

Interpreting the Message

The four parameters listed in the message are defined in order of appearance as follows:

• 1. Virtual address that caused the fault
  
• 2. Type of access (0 = read operation, 1 = write operation)
  
• 3. If not zero, the instruction address that referenced the address in parameter 1
  
• 4. Opaque information about the stop, interpreted by the kernel

Resolving the Problem

Faulty hardware.
Stop 0x50 usually occurs after the installation of faulty hardware or in the event of failure of installed hardware (usually related to defective RAM, be it main memory, L2 RAM cache, or video RAM). If hardware has been added to the system recently, remove it to see if the error recurs. If existing hardware has failed, remove or replace the faulty component. You need to run hardware diagnostics supplied by the system manufacturer. For details on these procedures, see the owner's manual for your computer.

Buggy system service. Often, the installation of a buggy system service is a culprit. Disable the service and confirm that this resolves the error. If so, contact the manufacturer of the system service about a possible update. If the error occurs during system startup, restart your computer, and press F8 at the character-mode screen that displays the prompt "For troubleshooting and advanced startup options for Windows 2000, press F8." On the resulting Windows 2000 Advanced Options menu, choose the Last Known Good Configuration option. This option is most effective when only one driver or service is added at a time.

Antivirus software.
Antivirus software can also trigger this error. Disable the program and confirm that this resolves the error. If it does, contact the manufacturer of the program about a possible update.

Corrupted NTFS volume.
A corrupted NTFS volume can also generate this error. Run Chkdsk /f /r to detect and repair disk errors. You must restart the system before the disk scan begins on a system partition. If you cannot start the system due to the error, use the Recovery Console and run Chkdsk /r. For more information about the Recovery Console, see "Troubleshooting Tools and Strategies" in this book. If the hard disk is a SCSI disk, check for problems between the SCSI controller and the disk.

Warning: If your system partition is formatted with the FAT16 file system, the long file names used by Windows 2000 can be damaged if Scandisk or another MS-DOS-based hard disk tool is used to verify the integrity of your hard disk from an MS-DOS prompt. (An MS-DOS prompt is typically derived from an MS-DOS startup disk or from starting MS-DOS on a multiboot system.) Always use the Windows 2000 version of Chkdsk on Windows 2000 disks.

All this and more available by plugging "PAGE_FAULT_IN_NONPAGED_AREA" into Search on MS website.

SD

[longarm]

Thanks for the replies. I ran memtest but it kept freezing up. So I removed one bank of RAM and tried again. Memtest ran fine with no faults so I suspect a RAM failure. Have just re-installed windows and all is well. Thanks again.