When I turn on my computer, it fails to start up windows and restarts after a

brief blue screen error message. All of the message that I can read before it

restarts is "beginning dump of physical memory." I'm using windows XP on an

HP laptop that is about a year and a half old.

 

I am completely clueless as to what I need to do, so any help would be

greatly appreciated. I would really prefer if I could salvage my documents

and files, but I don't know if that's possible.

 

Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

"Randomguy#27" wrote

> When I turn on my computer, it fails to start up windows and restarts

> after a

> brief blue screen error message. All of the message that I can read before

> it

> restarts is "beginning dump of physical memory." I'm using windows XP on

> an

> HP laptop that is about a year and a half old.

>

> I am completely clueless as to what I need to do, so any help would be

> greatly appreciated. I would really prefer if I could salvage my documents

> and files, but I don't know if that's possible.

>

> Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

 

Restart the computer, as the BIOS splash screen disappears repeatedly tap

the F8 key to get the Advanced Options menu. One choice should be to

disable Automatic Restart on error. Choose that. Then reboot. Now it

should stop at a blue screen with the error message. Copy that verbatim.

Start your research here:

 

http://aumha.org/a/stop.htm

 

Also do Google group and web searches on the error.

 

What is the history of this computer and problem? What changes occurred

between the time things worked and now?

 

--

Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]

"Randomguy#27" <Randomguy27@discussions.microsoft.com> wrote in message

news:F8F444AB-D708-4AFD-8987-EF9918250101@microsoft.com...

> When I turn on my computer, it fails to start up windows and restarts

> after a

> brief blue screen error message. All of the message that I can read before

> it

> restarts is "beginning dump of physical memory." I'm using windows XP on

> an

> HP laptop that is about a year and a half old.

>

> I am completely clueless as to what I need to do, so any help would be

> greatly appreciated. I would really prefer if I could salvage my documents

> and files, but I don't know if that's possible.

>

> Thanks in advance to anyone who can help.

 

It's actually easy to get the documents and files off, but it requires

another XP system with sufficient drive space and a USB adapter or case.

The adapter or case will set you back perhaps US$20 - $30. You'll also

normally need a rather small Phillps screwdriver and possibly a set of

needle-nose pliers.

 

Simply remove the hard disk from the laptop, and connect it to the case or

USB adapter. Here, you need to know the type of drive before you buy the

case - newer SATA drives have different connectors than older IDE drives.

Prices are about the same, they just aren't interchangeable. Some

manufacturers used a special header on IDE drives, and pulling that off is

what you'd need the pliers for.

 

Once the drive is connected, plug it into the other XP system. XP will

recognise and mount the drive, and you can do whatever you like to get your

files off. This ranges from simply finding and copying the files to making

a full image backup. The full image approach is helpful if you are not

sure exactly where all the data is (your emails, for example - which may be

in a hidden folder), and want to just be sure you got it.

 

You can make the image with the 15-day trial version of Acronis TrueImage

Home; this is about a 100 meg download.

 

You may need to Take Ownership of folders to get access to files. You'll

know you have to do this if you get an "access denied" message.

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/308421

 

Be sure to verify any backups before proceeding.

 

Next, look in the root folder and delete the swap file and the hibernation

file (if it exists). These are the two biggest files, several hundred

megabytes. You may need to set Explorer to Show Hidden/System Files.

Empty the wastebasket, and then run chkdsk /f on the drive.

 

Now, put the drive back in. You may find that it now works. If not, try

to get the STOP message from the blue screen (try pressing the PAUSE key).

Or, you can - since you have a verified backup - use whatever restore or

repair disk, routine or partition came with your system.

 

HTH

-pk