Knowledge Base

Windows XP problems with damaged or incompatible hardware

Article ID: 330181

Article Last Modified on 5/9/2007

APPLIES TO

Microsoft Windows XP Professional
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition

This article was previously published under Q330181

SYMPTOMS

After you upgrade your computer to Windows XP, you may experience one or more of the following symptoms:

Your computer unexpectedly restarts at random intervals.
When you start your computer, you receive the following error message:

Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:
System32\DRIVERS\pci.sys
When you start your computer by using the Windows XP Recovery Console or by starting from the Windows XP CD-ROM, you receive one of the following error messages:

Setupdd.sys could not be loaded. Error code 4.

Setupdd.sys could not be loaded. Error code 7.

CAUSE

This issue may occur if your computer contains a hardware component that is either damaged or is incompatible with Windows XP.

RESOLUTION

To troubleshoot this issue, follow these steps.

Warning Do not complete the following procedure unless you are very familiar with internal computer hardware removal and installation. The hardware components in a computer are very sensitive to static electricity. For information about the correct handling of computer components, contact your computer manufacturer.

Shut down your computer, and then remove all the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) devices.
Restart your computer.
- If Windows starts successfully, shut down your computer, and then reinstall the PCI devices one at a time. Start Windows after the installation of each device. When you install a device that causes the issue that is described in the "Symptoms" section, remove that device, and then continue to install the other PCI devices.
- If Windows does not start successfully, remove one or more of the memory modules that are installed in your computer. Leave sufficient RAM for your computer to start and run Windows XP.
  
  Note Windows XP requires 128 megabytes (MB) RAM. The minimum is 64 MB and the maximum is 4 gigabytes (GB).
  
  For example, if two 256-MB memory modules are installed in your computer, remove one of the memory modules. If Windows starts successfully, shut down the computer, and then reinstall the RAM modules one at a time. Start Windows after the installation of each RAM module. When you install a module that causes the issue that is described in the "Symptoms" section, remove that module, and then continue to install the other RAM modules.
Determine if the PCI devices in your computer are compatible with Windows XP. To do this, visit the following Microsoft Hardware Compatibility List (HCL) Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/whdc/hcl/default.mspx

MORE INFORMATION

For information about how to contact computer hardware manufacturers, 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

For additional information about related topics, click the following article numbers to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

311542 Devices may not power up properly when resuming from standby

315335 "STOP 0x0000008e" error message during Windows XP Setup

Keywords: kbenv kbhardware kbprb KB330181

Microsoft KB Archive/330181

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