[sugah]

I have just installed a new (WD 500 GB) hard drive b/c my old one (WD 250 GB and 3+ years old) kept getting the Blue Screen of Death and wouldn't allow me to reinstall Windows XP (kept getting hung up in the middle).

I have a Dell Dimension E521 (I'm at work but I believe that's the one I have), with Windows XP Media Center 2005 installed on it. I have not installed anything but the drivers and I continue to get BSOD codes. The latest one was:

STOP 0x0000008E (0x80000003, 0x804EF483, 0xF1E16D50, 0x00000000)

I tried finding it on the microsoft website to no avail.

The one thing all of the error codes tell me is that I need to 'disable bios memory options such as caching & shadowing' but otherwise all of the codes are different.

I can use all the help I can get. My warranty expired the exact same week I started having errors and that was month's ago. I do know a bit about the hardware of computers but the software is another thing.

I appreciate any help anyone has to offer. Thanks!


Edited to add: I should also say that I am able to turn on the computer and use it for a few minutes (5-30) before the BSOD pops up.

Edited by sugah, 11 December 2008 - 08:20 AM.

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Well I'm concerned about the hardware in the computer - if you are getting blue screens on two different installations of Windows, it's either a bad driver on both (possible) or bad hardware (likely).

Find the CD that says "Drivers and Utilities" on it. Put that into the CD drive and turn off the computer. Turn it back on and immediately start tapping the <F12> key, maybe once or twice a second, to get to the Boot Device Selection menu. Arrow down to "Onboard or USB CD-ROM Drive" and press Enter. This will boot to the CD so we can run some tests. When you get to a grey window on a blue screen, click the Test System button, if that is an option, then Extended Tests. This will test every testable piece of hardware on your computer, and will not require any interaction, so you can just walk away once the test starts running. The test will take between 30 and 45 minutes to complete.

Please report back if you get any error codes, which indicates that there might be a piece of bad hardware.

You can also see this very helpful guide for using Windows Debugger to diagnose the driver that is causing the bluescreens using dump files found in C:\WINDOWS\Minidump. Definitely worth a read!

Edited by The Admiral, 11 December 2008 - 11:18 AM.

[The Admiral]

Well I'm concerned about the hardware in the computer - if you are getting blue screens on two different installations of Windows, it's either a bad driver on both (possible) or bad hardware (likely).

Find the CD that says "Drivers and Utilities" on it. Put that into the CD drive and turn off the computer. Turn it back on and immediately start tapping the <F12> key, maybe once or twice a second, to get to the Boot Device Selection menu. Arrow down to "Onboard or USB CD-ROM Drive" and press Enter. This will boot to the CD so we can run some tests. When you get to a grey window on a blue screen, click the Test System button, if that is an option, then Extended Tests. This will test every testable piece of hardware on your computer, and will not require any interaction, so you can just walk away once the test starts running. The test will take between 30 and 45 minutes to complete.

Please report back if you get any error codes, which indicates that there might be a piece of bad hardware.

You can also see this very helpful guide for using Windows Debugger to diagnose the driver that is causing the bluescreens using dump files found in C:\WINDOWS\Minidump. Definitely worth a read!

Edited by The Admiral, 11 December 2008 - 11:18 AM.

[sugah]

Well I'm concerned about the hardware in the computer - if you are getting blue screens on two different installations of Windows, it's either a bad driver on both (possible) or bad hardware (likely).

Find the CD that says "Drivers and Utilities" on it. Put that into the CD drive and turn off the computer. Turn it back on and immediately start tapping the <F12> key, maybe once or twice a second, to get to the Boot Device Selection menu. Arrow down to "Onboard or USB CD-ROM Drive" and press Enter. This will boot to the CD so we can run some tests. When you get to a grey window on a blue screen, click the Test System button, if that is an option, then Extended Tests. This will test every testable piece of hardware on your computer, and will not require any interaction, so you can just walk away once the test starts running. The test will take between 30 and 45 minutes to complete.

Please report back if you get any error codes, which indicates that there might be a piece of bad hardware.

You can also see this very helpful guide for using Windows Debugger to diagnose the driver that is causing the bluescreens using dump files found in C:\WINDOWS\Minidump. Definitely worth a read!

Thanks! I will do this when I get home tonight and let you know how it goes!

[sugah]

I ran the diagnostics last night and everything passed. :-/

[The Admiral]

hmmm... Did you by chance read that article on using the Windows Debugger to determine the cause of the blue screen? Alternatively, you can take the three most recent dump files (in C:\WINDOWS\Minidump), zip them up, and attach them to your next post, and I can look at them and see what I can find.

[sugah]

hmmm... Did you by chance read that article on using the Windows Debugger to determine the cause of the blue screen? Alternatively, you can take the three most recent dump files (in C:\WINDOWS\Minidump), zip them up, and attach them to your next post, and I can look at them and see what I can find.

I did but the diagnostics test took FOREVER. It asked me questions, etc. and took much longer than I anticipated (all night). I'll see if I can work the debugger tonight or tomorrow and get back to you. Thanks!

[sugah]

More issues...

Just realized that my hard drive is calling itself the I: drive instead of the C: drive and it won't let me rename it under disk management.

Then I tried to install some Dell drivers from the discs and the disc is telling me my computer is not a Dell now.


Grrrr... My frustration level is higher now... I love having my computer when it works but when it doesn't...

I'm able to use the computer for longer periods of time in the safe mode but it still gives me BSOD.

And my computer is a Dell Dimension 5150/E510