[RESOLVED] BSOD but can't get into Safe Mode

[Reverend]

The BSOD is 0x000000124 no driver name listed, not very helpful.

When I try to enter Safe Mode I get 'Windows couldn't start - Repair or Start Normally. Start Normally results in the BSOD again and the Repair option loads files but then says 'Windows couldn't start.'

So - how do I get in and what do I do when I get there? If I can't enter safe mode, that implies a low level problem, like chipset drivers?

The OS is Win 7 Ult, newly installed and the client hasn't installed anything since I gave them the system yesterday.

Thanks - rev

[jdc2000]

Possibly useful link:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/w...8-db2986bb00ba

[Midknyte]

The OS is Win 7 Ult, newly installed and the client hasn't installed anything since I gave them the system yesterday.

Is this on brand new hardware? If not, did you reinstall Windows because there were problems?

First thing I would do is a memory and hard drive diag. You've been on this forum for a while, so I'm hoping you have a copy of UBCD by now.

[Reverend]

To both of you:

This one is funny. I read jd's link and many others like it and most of them narrowed it down to everything on earth that you can possibly think of! ALL hardware could be responsible, along with drivers, software, memory and viruses. In other words, that error doesn't really have any meaning and it's about as helpful as saying, 'Something's wrong.'

One solution I read was so simple I decided to try it first and bingo, I nailed it! I recommend it as the first step for anyone who gets this error, especially where the hardware isn't suspect i.e. everything was working fine for years right up to when you did the install. I know there are those strange 'coincidences' where disturbing the status quo seems to provoke an error but they're relatively rare.

Solution:
* Press F8 while booting to get to the F8 options
* Select the last entry in the list - the one that disables Microsoft signing - and press Enter.

That was all that was necessary in my case.

If that's your solution, the machine will work fine from then on because it wasn't objecting to a driver, only to whether or not the driver was signed. A real objection to a driver usually results in that file being listed on the BSOD screen.

If that doesn't work for you, you're in for a long and tedious process of elimination. The next most likely candidate according to my reading would be the graphics card driver. Strangely enough, it's probably the manufacturer's driver that's the culprit and getting rid of it in favor of something generic is the recommended solution. I felt very lucky to get out of this one so easily!