I have been having a number of problems with my laptop recently and need a bit of help. It kept restarting without any reason that I could find other than it informing me of a recent power failure. I have followed some online intructions to bring up the BSOD and it came up with the details as outlined in the title. I'm gathering, from some brief research on the internet, that it is a problem with drivers or a virus posing as this file?! I need to know how to sort this out.If it helps I am running Windows XP Media Center Edition 2002, Service Pack 3. Any other information is available upon request :-)Any help at all will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hi, 1. Did you make any changes to the computer recently? Unplug all the external devices connected to the computer and check. Do not remove mouse and keyboard.Method 1.In order to diagnose the issue, you may try to restart the computer & select "Disable automatic restart on system failure" & post back the complete error message/code.a. Restart the computer.b. Start tapping F8 key.c. You will get advanced boot option window.d. Select the option ‘Disable automatic restart on system failure’. Method 2.I would ask you to run an online virus scan and then update all the hardware drivers from the manufacturer's website. Sometimes the installed security program might not be just enough. I also recommend you to update your security software regularly. a. Follow the link below to run the free online scan:http://onecare.live.com/site/en-us/default.htmb. Run the Microsoft Malicious Removal Tool.Microsoft Malicious Removal Tool - 32 bithttp://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=AD724AE0-E72D-4F54-9AB3-75B8EB148356&displaylang=enMicrosoft Malicious Removal Tool - 64 bithttp://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=585D2BDE-367F-495E-94E7-6349F4EFFC74&displaylang=en Method 3.Check if the issue exists in Safe Mode, if the computer works as expected in safe mode then we can troubleshoot the issue in clean boot state.a. Refer to the article below for safe mode steps in Windows XPA description of the Safe Mode Boot options in Windows XPhttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/315222b. You are required to perform a clean boot to find the program that is causing this and then disable or remove it.How to configure Windows XP to start in a "clean boot" statehttp://support.microsoft.com/kb/310353/en-usNote: After you have finished troubleshooting, follow the steps as explained in the article to reset the computer to start as usual. Hope this helps.Thanks and Regards:Shekhar S - Microsoft Support. Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think. If this post helps to resolve your issue, please click the "Mark as Answer" or "Helpful" button at the top of this message. By marking a post as Answered, or Helpful you help others find the answer faster.

You have given us a general indication of the nature of the problem but specific error reports make finding a solution so much easier.When a BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) system failure occurs for most users there is insufficient time to note down in full what it says; the exact text is important to anyone trying to diagnose what is wrong. You can gain the time needed when the error next occurs by following the procedure described below.If you haven't done so already disable automatic restart on system failure. This should help by allowing time to write down the Stop Error code and related information properly. Right click on the My Computer icon on the Desktop and select Properties, Advanced, Start-Up and Recovery, System Failure and uncheck the box before Automatically Restart. Do not re-enable automatic restart on system failure after getting this information as this setting is best left to not to allow Automatic Restart.If the system failure occurs during the booting of the computer you need to try a different approach. You can access the Windows Advanced Options Menu on many computers by constantly pressing the F8 (Function) key during Start-Up and selecting the option - Disable automatic restart on system failure. This method is not always easy to use as it can be difficult to depress the F8 at exactly the right time. Try again if it does not work first time. On some computers a different key has to be used.Have a look in the System and Application logs in Event Viewer for Errors and Warnings and post copies here. Don't post any from than more than 48 hours ago. You can access Event Viewer by selecting Start, Control Panel, Administrative Tools, and Event Viewer. When researching the meaning of the error, information regarding Event ID, Source and Description are important. A tip for posting copies of Error Reports! Run Event Viewer and double click on the error you want to copy. You will see a button resembling two pages. Click the button and close Event Viewer. This places a copy of the report into your Clipboard. Paste into the body your message. Make sure that this is the first paste after exiting from Event Viewer. Hope this helps, Gerry Cornell

Hi,I haven't changed anything recently at all. This seemed to start out of the blue. When it restarts automatically it comes up with a black screen saying that windows was unable to start up due to a recent power failure and gives the option to start up in safe mode etc. However, it will not start up in safe mode and I have to just start windows normally. Problem #1.The full info provided on the BSOD is (I was able to take this down):DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUALDisable or remove and newly installed hardware or software.Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing.STOP: 0x000000D1 (0xF730A6A, 0x00000005, 0x00000008, 0xF730A86A)atapi.sys - Address F730A86A base at F7309000, Date Stamp 4802539DContact system administrator or technical support. This isn't the only problem I am having.Problem #2.Prior to this I was having troubles installing automatic updates. The two that there were issues with were:KB2443685 and KB2440591I looked online and saw that one was conflicting, so I followed instruction to ignore one of the updates and managed to install the other. Problem #3.Now I have another problem when trying to start up my computer. Sometimes I can get past it but sometimes it won't have it.A black screen with white writing:(Something about failing to start up)System32\drivers\ntfs.sys missing or corruptRun setup disk and press rI don't have the setup disk...would I have got this when I bought my laptop new? Problem #4.Whilst trying to upload pictures from my SD card. I had this come up.i/o device error I have followed Method 1. I successfully disabled the automatic restart on system failure. But laptop started up fine this time.I tried to follow Method 2 but OneCare crashed IE and came up with the debug/send error message box. Malicious Removal tool crashed laptop so I had to reboot. This is a total nightmare it it just falling apart but as I said I have not made any changes, I understand that after 5 years of probably pretty reckless usage has resulted in this.I don't think I am going to be able to resolve this considering the issues that I have already come across so far. Would your advice be to continue to try, take it to a specialist or just buy a new laptop?

Please include the make and model of your computer when asking questions here. It sounds like a really corrupted system. Is your computer still under warranty? Are your important files backed up? Do you have the disks for your programs?If you have a Windows installation disk you may be able to do an inplace upgrade (aka repair installation). If not you may have to reinstall from the recovery partition on your drive if the solutions being proposed in this thread don't fix things.If you bought your computer locally take to the repair dept. for diagnosis of the hardware.Colin Barnhorst

Problem 1 references IRQL 5 as the second parameter of the Bug Check Code. This could indicate a Device Conflict i.e. two devices squabbling over resources. Sound cards and printers can use this IRQL. If connected disconnect them. Atapi.sys is the hard disk controller and used IRQL 5 on older systems so there could be a problem accessing your hard drive. Problem 2 –no direct comment but do you have Outlook 2007 on your computer as there was another update last December which caused many users problems. Problem 3 is the nasty problem and potentially difficult for you to resolve. The inference is that you have a corrupted registry hive. You have indicated that you have a laptop and these usually come with a branded version of the operating system. The branded version normally does not allow for repairing or restoring the operating system in a non-destructive way. In other words it returns the system to what it was when the computer left the computer manufacturer. All the user’s personal files are destroyed so it is essential to recover these files before the restore function is initiated. To advise you properly we need to know your computer make and model. Also whether you have access to a second computer and that computer make and model? In essence it is possible to remove the hard drive from the first computer and to use the second computer to access and copy the personal files to other storage media. You can then put the hard drive back into the first computer and initiate the recovery process. You then reinstall all Windows update and programmes. This is not a simple task and takes time. You can do these tasks yourself but if your computer experience is limited you could be challenged. You do not need a computer specialist. A local small computer repair shop can perform stage 1 –recover your files and stage 2 reinstall the operating system and Windows Updates. The shop should give you an estimate of the cost which should be much less than a new computer. Of course you could opt for stage 1 only and buy a new computer. Don’t use the Geek Squad or Big Store repair service. One of your friends will know a reputable local repair shop. Laptops do not come with setup disks. Most manual recommend that the first task after purchase should be to create them in the way described in the Manual. Many users are too excited by their purchase and go exploring with the result that the task never gets done. In this case I suspect it would not helped resolve the problem. Problem 4 –it will probably not be an issue if the operating system is restored. You just might resolve your problem using Last Known Good Configuration. Details are in this link. Disconnect everything except keyboard and mouse before making your attempt. If it works you may still have lesser problems to resolve.http://support.microsoft.com/kb/307852Hope this helps, Gerry Cornell