Knowledge Base

"Bad Image Checksum" Error When You Upgrade to Windows XP

Article ID: 326687

Article Last Modified on 4/29/2003

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Windows XP Professional Edition
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

This article was previously published under Q326687

SYMPTOMS

When you upgrade your computer to Windows XP, you may receive an error message that is similar to one of the following:

C0000221 (Bad Image Checksum)

-or-

STOP: C0000221 - Bad Image Checksum in ModuleName

-or-

STOP: C0000221 - Bad Image Checksum. User32.dll is possibly corrupt. The header check sum does not match the computed check sum.

CAUSE

This issue may occur if any of the following conditions exist:

A damaged file exists in the folder in which Windows is installed, and this file is not overwritten during Setup. For example, if you receive the error message that references the User32.dll file, the User32.dll file may be damaged.
One or more of the random access memory (RAM) modules that are installed in your computer is faulty, or the RAM configuration is incompatible.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this behavior, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Extract a New Copy of the User32.dll File from the Windows XP CD

Extract a new copy of the User32.dll file from the Windows XP CD to the drive:\Windows\System32 folder on your hard disk, where drive is the drive on which Windows is installed:

Insert a Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) or Microsoft Windows 98 Startup disk into your computer, and then restart the computer.

NOTE: For additional information about what to do if you do not have a Windows Millennium Edition or Windows 98 Startup disk, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

186300 How to Create a Windows 98 Startup Disk from MS-DOS

267287 How to Create a Startup Disk in Windows Me
When the Windows Startup menu appears, use the ARROW keys to select Start Computer with CD-ROM Support, and then press ENTER.
Make a note of the drive letter of your CD-ROM drive.
Rename the User32.dll file to User32.old. To do so, type the following lines at the command prompt, pressing ENTER after each line, where Drive is the drive on which Windows is installed:

Drive:
cd windows\system32
ren user32.dll user32.old
Insert the Windows XP CD into your CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive.
Extract a new copy of the User32.dll file from the Windows XP CD to the Windows\System32 folder on your hard disk. To do so, type the following lines at a command prompt, pressing ENTER after each line, where CDROMDrive is the drive letter of the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive that contains the Windows XP CD-ROM, and Drive is the drive on which Windows is installed:

a:
extract CDROMDrive:\i386\user32.dl_ Drive:\windows\system32\user32.dll

For example, if your CD-ROM is drive E and Windows is installed on drive C, type extract e:\i386\user32.dl_ c:\windows\system32\user32.dll, and then press ENTER.
Remove the Windows 98 or Windows Millennium Edition startup disk from your computer, and then restart the computer.

Method 2: Remove or Replace the Faulty RAM

Remove the memory modules that are installed in your computer, leaving enough RAM for the computer to start and run Windows. Restart the computer, and then run Setup again.

For additional information about Windows XP RAM requirements, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

314865 System Requirements for Windows XP Operating Systems

If the issue is not resolved, remove a different memory module. To identify the specific memory module that is not working correctly, you may have to restart your computer more than one time.

For information about how to add and remove RAM to the computer, contact the manufacturer of the computer, or view the documentation that is included with your computer.

Method 3: Install Windows to a Different Folder

NOTE: Before you install Windows to a different folder, first try the troubleshooting procedures in the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

310064 HOW TO: Troubleshoot Windows XP Setup Problems During Installation When You Upgrade from Windows 98 or Windows Me

If the issue is not resolved by using the troubleshooting procedures in 310064, install Windows to a different folder. For more information about how to do this, see the "Installing to a New Folder" section of the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

316941 HOW TO: Install Windows XP

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about how to troubleshoot "STOP: C0000221 error messages", click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

314474 "STOP: C0000221 Unknown Hard Error" or "STOP: C0000221 STATUS_IMAGE_ CHECKSUM_MISMATCH" Error Message Occurs

For additional information about upgrading to Windows XP, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

316639 HOW TO: Prepare to Upgrade Windows 98 or Windows Millennium Edition to Windows XP

For additional information about how to troubleshoot startup problems in Windows XP, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

308041 Resources for Troubleshooting Startup Problems in Windows XP

For additional information about Windows XP Setup, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

306824 Release Notes for Windows XP Setup Contained in the Home.txt File

286463 Release Notes for Windows XP Setup Contained in the Pro.txt File

286647 Windows XP Read1st.txt File Contents

For information about how to contact your hardware manufacturer, click the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

65416 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K

60781 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P

60782 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z

Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

Keywords: kberrmsg kbsetup kbprb KB326687