XP Won't Boot at All

[proponent]

On Aug. 27, I attempted to download and install updates from the Microsoft website. During installing, a BSOD appeared. It mentioned the file ctoss2k.sys . Unfortunately, I neglected to jot down the error-message numbers. There were three updates to be installed, one of them being a new Audigy driver.

Since then, my Dell 8300 will not boot to XP. After I turn the machine on and select XP (I dual boot with XP and a non-Windows OS), I get a blank screen and nothing happens.

I've followed the help wizard on the Dell website. No change.

I've tried booting to safe mode, booting to safe mode with command line, and turning off automatic re-boot. No change.

The system passes the hard-drive diagnostic and the other OS works just fine. Therefore, I suspect the problem is in software rather than hardware.

At this point, all I can think of doing is re-installing XP (which will mean re-installing the other OS as well), but I'd *really* rather not have to go through all of that. Would anybody have any better ideas?

Thanks much.....

[cluberti]

Actually, you probably got a STOP 0x7E in the ctoss2k.sys driver, and since that's a somewhat well-known issue with the Creative drivers, you should try booting in safe mode and uninstalling the creative drivers and software to get your box booting again.

[proponent]

Actually, you probably got a STOP 0x7E in the ctoss2k.sys driver, and since that's a somewhat well-known issue with the Creative drivers, you should try booting in safe mode and uninstalling the creative drivers and software to get your box booting again.

Thank you, but my attempts to boot in safe mode have led to the same result as before: nothing happens.

[Guest fxj10cn]

File ctoss2k.sys is located in the folder C:\Windows\System32\drivers. Known file sizes on Windows XP are 195432 bytes (20% of all occurrence), 114688 bytes, 187040 bytes, 178736 bytes, 113840 bytes, 116224 bytes, 178672 bytes, 117120 bytes, 178640 bytes, 106496 bytes, 190176 bytes.

The driver can be started or stopped from Services in the Control Panel or by other programs. The program is not visible. There is no detailed description of this service. The file is not a Windows system file. The file is a Microsoft signed file.

As you can boot into other OS, so I would suggest you find this ctoss2k.sys and check it size and version, then find this file from other computer and copy to your computer. But I guess the problem is not so easy that only caused by ctoss2k.sys corrupt. So if you can find windows boot logs and post here, that will be help.

[cluberti]

See if you can boot the XP CD to the recovery console, and either disable the Creative service or rename that file on disk.

[wimb]

Boot with BartPE from CD / DVD / USB-stick so that you can make changes in WINDOWS\inf

WINDOWS\system32 and WINDOWS\system32\drivers dirs and rename entries for ctoss2k.inf ctoss2k.PNF and

ctoss2k.sys (e.g. org_ctoss2k.sys ).

Or boot from your Windows Setup CD in TXT mode and enter Recovery Console with option R to do the same

from the Recovery Console command line as described above.

[proponent]

Thanks, everybody.

I booted from the XP CD (I hadn't known you could do that) and then renamed ctoss2k.sys (it's size, by the way, was 126760 bytes, not one of the standard sizes). I'm now able to use XP normally.

[cluberti]

Good to hear - watch those creative drivers, and avoid their products if at all possible due to issues like this.