Tuesday, September 02, 2008

HP Laptop Recovering from a Bad_Pool_Caller Blue Screen of Death

Use these instructions with caution. I am not an expert but just giving you my experience of the problem and how i solved it. IF experts see this post please add your comments to make this better.

Problem: I have a HP5237 Laptop that I bought from Costco over 2 years ago. All of sudden yesterday the laptop would not boot and showed me a "blue screen". As my laptop was set to auto reboot on recovery all  I could quickly grab  from the screen was " Bad_pool_caller. I did figure out how to set it not to auto reboot but that's another story. In the interim I did consider moving to an macbook and would have done so id i had not solved the problem.

Solution: All the forums I checked advised using the recovery disks to reinstall the operating system. I spent a day searching for my recovery disks and used them. There is a way to do this without the recovery disks which is to hit the "F11" button as soon as you switch on the laptop. This does the same things that the recovery disks do. Choose the option "R" which keeps your data and only reinstalls the OS ( Windows XP). This should usually take you through to reinstall and all the info that you needed when you first bought it.

More problems : If you still have a screen that tells you ""The system is not fully installed" here are tow pages that will tell you what to do. I am reproducing the steps from the HP page in case the link changes.

Microsoft : http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;320279

HP Support page : http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00024476&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=&product=71747&rule=915

This document pertains to all HP and Compaq Desktop PCs with Windows XP.

After completing the initial setup process the PC will not start into Windows. The PC displays the following error:

System not fully installed. Please run setup again.

This error is typically caused when a recovery or the initial setup process is interrupted and not allowed to complete.

NOTE:
Certain LCD flat panel monitors may prevent or delay the inital computer software setup. If you are using an LCD flat panel monitor, try attaching a conventional CRT monitor to perform the setup. Once the setup has been completed and you can use Windows, reconnect your LCD flat panel monitor.

NOTE:
If this error occurs after perfroming a recovery, to prevent this message from re-appearing in the future, make sure that Windows Setup has finished. In some circumstance it may take several hours.

Resolution: Performing a Recovery

This error is best resolved by recovering all software using the recovery process. The recovery process may take a long time to complete, but it is the easiest method to resolve this issue. To start the recovery process, turn on the PC and press F10 repeatedly when the first screens appear. For more information about HP System Recovery, refer to HP and Compaq Desktop PCs - Performing an HP System Recovery in Windows XP .

CAUTION:
Performing a Destructive Recovery will format the hard drive. This will delete all the information on the hard drive and reinstall Windows XP and the original software that came with the PC. Be prepared to reinstall software that was not originally included with the PC. You will also need to reconfigure an Internet Connection and obtain all critical Windows Updates, Virus definition updates, and anti-spyware updates.

Alternate method: Resetting System Setup

If you do not want to perform an HP system recovery, you can use the following steps to resolve this error:

Step 1: Opening a command prompt

Use the following steps to open a command prompt:

  1. Turn on the PC.

  2. Press the F10 key repeatedly at the first screen until a System Recovery screen appears.

    If a Welcome screen appears, click OK to continue.

  3. Click Advanced Options .

  4. Press the Alt + D keys to bring up the command prompt window

Step 2: Loading registry hive

Use the following steps to import a registry hive:

  1. At the command prompt enter the following: regedit

  2. Select HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE .

  3. Click File , and then select Load Hive .

  4. Select the main drive letter (HP_Pavilion or Presario) from the "Look in:" dropdown field at the top of the Load Hive window.

  5. If a system32 error appears, click OK to continue.

  6. Browse to \windows\system32\config and double-click System .

    NOTE:
    If the system32 folder is empty, type the following into the File name field: \windows\system32\config\system

  7. In the "Key Name" field, type the following: temphive

  8. Click OK .

Step 3: Editing SystemSetupInProgress value

Use the following steps to edit the value:

  1. In the registry editor window, double-click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE , and then double-click temphive .

  2. Select the Setup key.

  3. Double-click the SystemSetupInProgress value in the right window.

  4. Change the "Value data:" field to a numerical zero "0" and then click OK .

Step 4: Unloading the hive and saving

Use the following steps to unload the hive and exit:

  1. Select the temphive key in the left window.

  2. Click File , and then select Unload Hive .

  3. Close the Registry Editor and type the following at the command prompt: exit

  4. Press Enter , and then click Back in the Recovery screen.

  5. Click Quit to exit and restart.

    If this error occurred after installing software (not a recovery and not first time setup), you are finished.

Step 5: Resuming the PC setup process

Use the following steps to start the initial PC Setup process again:

  1. After Windows opens the desktop, click Start , Run , and enter the following into the Open field: c:\hp\bin\firstboot.txt

    The firstboot.txt file opens in Notepad.

  2. Click Edit , and then select Replace .

  3. Type a quotation mark ( " ) into the "Find what:" field.

  4. Click Replace All .

  5. Delete the following text: [Commands]

  6. Click File and then Save As .

  7. Type firstboot.bat in the File name field.

  8. Make sure that path ends with the bin directory, and click the Save button.

  9. click Start , Run , and enter the following into the Open field: c:\hp\bin\firstboot.bat

  10. Click OK and do not touch the keyboard or mouse until the "Please Wait" screen closes

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