System files (WinXP)

[JJe]

Hi All
I dont want to go back to the slow win98 after xp. However as XP crashes far to often i fear i must or try Linux.
Over a ten month period i have had XP running for two weeks at most before a crash.
Nearly all the errors are related to installation of drivers , updates. program updates or Microsoft Updates. Upon installing an update ( last one was nero update ) . After reboot or the next cold boot my old friend System 32 files corrupt rears it ugly head .At times i can recover others it means a reinstallation.
I am in Win 98 at present and Disk Doctor and Doc Memory have reported no errors .
All drivers are the very very latest all bios updates the same .
Any help or at least a pointer in the right direction gratefully recieved
JJe

[DaveA]

Is this a clean install or a upgrade on top of a older OS?

[WyllyWylly]

And in addition to Dave's question, is all of your hardware on the Windows XP Hardware Compatibility List? I've been using XP in several different situations since before its public release (betas) and my experience has been that it's the most stable thing around, even when it was in beta form.

BTW, I don't think you're going to find Linux to be the magic bullet either. It's a fair amount more work than Windows in any flavor even if it is a decent OS and there's far less software available.

[JJe]

Hi Dave About the 50 th clean full format on an empty drive using win xp to format FAT32 . have tried NTFS same if not worst

[JJe]

Hardware is all newish Asus A&V 133 mobo with KT133 A chipset . Athlon 1 ghz thunderbird not clocked .temp 50 to 54
Videologic vivid Xs video card 3 X 128 mb pc133 ram Hayes V92 lucent modem . crystal sound card . All are supposed to be win xp compatible and have latest WHQL drivers. I have tested in win 98 with no errors removing all cards bar video . Clearing cosmos doing a clean format and reinstall of XP tonight .
I am aware Linux is difficult unless i grow a beard but the failure of XP is driving me up the wall
JJe

[JoeP517]

XP is very picky about memory. You might try taking a stick out and running for a while. If ok, then put it back in and see what happens. If not, take out a different one. You could also look for software to run memory tests. Also, if all devices all run after the OS install I'd upgrade the drivers one at a time and see what happens. You might be able to pinpoint a problem driver. Your problem seems more hardware or driver related not XP.

HTH, Joe

[WyllyWylly]

It may be that the hardware is supposed to be compatible, but is it on the list in the link I provided? And what specific error messages are you getting? The errors are important!!

Click on Start-Run and enter MSCONFIG. Remove all startup items and reboot. Still have a problem? This will rule out something running in the background.

Check your BIOS revision and get the latest VIA 4-in1 drivers. Joe suggested using aa single stick of RAM - try it in different memory slots, one at a time, and see if the problem is a bad RAM socket.

<hr>I am aware Linux is difficult unless i grow a beard but the failure of XP is driving me up the wall<hr>

Understood. But I don't think XP is the problem; you're among the minority of people who have encountered stability issues. Deep breath, patience, and let's eliminate possibilities - something in your environment must be different to be causing such instability. Write down the error message you see and post them here, chances are high that they will say something specific and allow you to troubleshoot effectively instead of grasping at straws.

[JJe]

Ok will forget all past errors am about to wipe win 98 and install a clean copy of XP will post as soon as i hit an error message .
Thanks all

[JJe]

Ok clean disk formatted full .
Start to install XP , first error during install SHELL 32.DLL not copied and wont try resetup still no skip file next error DSUIEXT.DLL not copied retry OK XP continues to load .
Those error messages are their from install number one october 2001.
Compatability test on line shows no problems
Am now going to start loading and logging all latest drivers.
Will report as and when
JJe