Fredrik Martinsson
Formerly known as Ultimate Warrior
No problem. Glad to help.Thanks, UW. I really, really appreciate it.
Anyone Computer Savvy?
- Thread starter Gideon Stargrave
- Start date
ourchair
Well-Known Member
Does anyone know how to remedy a Bad Pool Caller error?
Basically, Windows refuses to start up because of an error associated with "BAD_POOL_CALLER", a kind of "STOP" error that gives me the following hexadecimal nonsense:
*** STOP: 0x000000C2, (0x00000043, 0xD24270000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000).
I've looked up several places for a solution, but most of the suggestions revolve around the assumption that my laptop can reboot into Safe Mode from which I can tweak around, but even Safe Mode gives me the same error.
One person suggested I download an app called MemTest86 to see if there're any problems with the RAM, but I think that would be moot if I can't even access Windows itself.
Basically, Windows refuses to start up because of an error associated with "BAD_POOL_CALLER", a kind of "STOP" error that gives me the following hexadecimal nonsense:
*** STOP: 0x000000C2, (0x00000043, 0xD24270000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000).
I've looked up several places for a solution, but most of the suggestions revolve around the assumption that my laptop can reboot into Safe Mode from which I can tweak around, but even Safe Mode gives me the same error.
One person suggested I download an app called MemTest86 to see if there're any problems with the RAM, but I think that would be moot if I can't even access Windows itself.
Fredrik Martinsson
Formerly known as Ultimate Warrior
MemTest86 is actually a boot program so you can run it without having to start Windows.
OK, so a few months ago, I tried a to format my hard drive and reinstall windows xp using the cd that came with the computer. I aborted it sometime in the middle, or it had an error, I can't remember which. Ever since then, upon booting up my computer, there are two options for OS selection. One is standard windows xp, which works fine when I select it. The other is windows xp setup, which is the automatic default setting, so I have to be at the computer every time I restart it or it will try and reinstall windows, even though the windows xp professional cd is not in the disk drive. Its really annoying, and although I've been ignoring it, I really want to get rid of that option, or set windows xp to default instead. Any help would be great!
ourchair
Well-Known Member
Oh my bad. Thanks for correcting on me that.
Which is funny, because right after I ran it, it turns out I had already used the program before. Back in the late 90s.
Anyway, it didn't help. My RAM seems to be working fine, so I can't identify the source of the Bad Pool Call error. Taking it to the shop next week.
Fredrik Martinsson
Formerly known as Ultimate Warrior
I have Windows XP in Swedish so I'm sorry if the translations isn't accurate but go to Controlpanel->System->Advanced->Start & Reset (the third option). There you should be able to change if you want an option about what should be booted and what option should be the default one.
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ourchair
Well-Known Member
Does anybody know a good Vista-friendly hassle-free podcatching software?
My girlfriend received a new laptop for Christmas and can't get any of her podcatchers to work because it's VISTA. *thunder cracks*
My girlfriend received a new laptop for Christmas and can't get any of her podcatchers to work because it's VISTA. *thunder cracks*
ourchair
Well-Known Member
Okay.
I just came home from a long day of working in front of a computer to try to spend my free hours being in front of a computer to find out my monitor seems to be broken.
Granted, it could actually BE broken, but I'm going to assume for the moment that it can be fixed home style.
Anyway, it was working in perfect condition this morning and now booting up the computer only displays single line about a pixel wide. Well it's not really a pixel as it is one big glowy line running from the top of the screen to the bottom, like some kind of broken cathode emission.
Does anybody know what could possibly have gone wrong?
I can still hear all the proper booting sounds, but there's absolutely no way that the command prompt boot sequence would register as a multi-color line running vertically in the center, nor would the XP password prompt be a magenta and cyan blended glow-row.
And more importantly, any way I can fix it?
I just came home from a long day of working in front of a computer to try to spend my free hours being in front of a computer to find out my monitor seems to be broken.
Granted, it could actually BE broken, but I'm going to assume for the moment that it can be fixed home style.
Anyway, it was working in perfect condition this morning and now booting up the computer only displays single line about a pixel wide. Well it's not really a pixel as it is one big glowy line running from the top of the screen to the bottom, like some kind of broken cathode emission.
Does anybody know what could possibly have gone wrong?
I can still hear all the proper booting sounds, but there's absolutely no way that the command prompt boot sequence would register as a multi-color line running vertically in the center, nor would the XP password prompt be a magenta and cyan blended glow-row.
And more importantly, any way I can fix it?
Fredrik Martinsson
Formerly known as Ultimate Warrior
OK, I see that ourchair has been banned but anyway...
1.) Can you access the menu of the monitor? If you can you should check the settings.
2.) Check your connections. It could just be a lose cable.
3.) Can you check the input signal some other way? Like hooking up the monitor to another computer or using another type of signal (if you use an analog input try digital, if you use RGB then try DVI or USB if you have those options).
ourchair
Well-Known Member
No.
Nope.Fredrik Martinsson said:
You are however, unsurprisingly correct as always and confirmed only what I already suspected hoped to be untrue, I just wanted to see if you knew of any instance in which a seemingly "hardware-like" malfunction of a monitor (as opposed to "software-like") would be caused by a virus or some kind of error in the BIOS or Windows itself, rather than being the hardware failure most obviously seems to be.
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Anyway, on a different note, does anybody know how to downgrade from Vista to XP?
My girlfriend received a new laptop last Christmas and between my preachy anti-Vista ways, all those Get A Mac ads, and the continuing problems she encounters in dealing with her video editing software and podcatching... she's thrown in the towel on Vista.
I'm a DOS boy, so I tend to be rather ignorant about these things, and she's a gadget girl who is arguably more dependent on hardware and software compatibility than I am, so she really needs to downgrade.
But here's the problem. I've done some searches on the topic, and there's all sorts of nonsense about talking to customer service representatives and all that whatnot, which I don't want to involve since I come from a third world country where everyone uses less than legitimate software.
So, assuming I have XP and I want to downgrade her Vista-based system, how would I go about that?
No...but the place I work has some kind of tool for doing it. It's not easy and they obviously don't want you to do it, but it can be done. I don't actually work on any computers there but I know that they have done it in the past. I'll ask tomorrow and see if they know where to get the program/tool to do it.
ourchair
Well-Known Member
Thanks. I'd really appreciate that.
Ordinarily, she could take it a shop since local technicians are actually a lot more resourceful and self-taught than those I've encountered in America but it'd probably be a greater hassle to schedule transportation and free time to actually take it to one than to do it ourselves.
In other news, I've inherited an old Centrino-based HP Pavilion laptop from my father and after uninstalling the eight hundred applications that slow it down it's working wonders for me. I'm now using it for work instead of the Ubuntu-based desktops they have in the office, simply because I don't have to deal with the total control they maintain on them.
The result? I'm now able to get more work done by shut out all the excessively chatty co-workers while listening to The Winter Sounds and Asobi Seksu and focus on my page quotas, and I no longer have to deal with the hundreds of web pages that are unviewable due to restrictions on the usage of Firefox plugins.
Can you tell I'm in a rather gearheaded mood this week?
Fredrik Martinsson
Formerly known as Ultimate Warrior
Sorry to hear about your monitor but those things happen.
About Vista: I'm staying as far away as possible from Vista so I don't know of a way you actually downgrade Vista to XP but the simplest way would be to just format the drive and install XP on it.
About Vista: I'm staying as far away as possible from Vista so I don't know of a way you actually downgrade Vista to XP but the simplest way would be to just format the drive and install XP on it.
That too. It probably wouldn't be much different.
Ultimate Houde
UC's Resident Genetic Recombinator
Curious, but why the Vista hate?
After a few weeks of it on my new laptop, I got quite use to it and it's little quirks.
Then again, all I use my laptop for is writing and internet surfing.
Mattimeo84
Well-Known Member
Something to keep in mind, if you downgrade, you void the entire warenty.
That being said, reform is by far the easiest way to go.
I am also curious as to the Vista hate, I have it and love it.
ourchair
Well-Known Member
I am aware of this.
However, very few people actually use legitimate software in the Philippines, let alone rely on the warranty.
Which is why the warranty is irrelevant, and I automatically discounted the customer service option, since rarely anyone here qualifies for customer service.
Then again, my girlfriend's HP laptop is a legitimate purchase with original software, so her case might be a local exception.
(The only warranty I ever used was for my Nano.)
Mattimeo84
Well-Known Member
Ahhhhh, well, if service and warranty aren't so much of an issue, then reformat.
I only gave caution, cause im on my fourth free computer thanks to the wonderful worlds of service & warranty
I have Vista on my work PC and it's terrible. I have a nice computer with 4 GB of RAM and it takes almost 8 minutes to boot up. That's ridiculous. SP1 didn't do anything to help that.
The sister company to the one I work for does PC sales, repair, installations, etc. and they've had several instances where people ask about downgrading or not getting Vista on a new PC. Same reasons.
