Endless Reboot BSOD Stop Error 0x0000008e

1guylikeu1guylikeu St Pete, FL
edited December 2009 in Science & Tech
I have a ThinkPAd R40 laptop with Windows XP Pro SP3 that recently acquired some nasty trojans TDSServ and a couple of other ones. I manually removed most of them but could not find the hidden files with any spyware/antivirus software I found online. I still could not get an error message to stop coming up whenever I would start IE (something about a dll couldn't be found) and also found my DNS setting was changed (something I found in the antivirus results). Things have gotten worse as I have tried to fix it by researching online on another laptop. I kept getting BSOD after 60 seconds once the logon screen was loaded. A local tech guy suggested that the trojan left me a "parting gift" upon manual removal of some files and corrupted some boot files. I used the recovery cd to boot from and I've tried FIXMBR and BOOTCFG as well which was no help.

Now for awhile all I was getting is the stop error and BSOD endless reboot (no other modes work either). I tried repairing from an XP Pro recovery disk and it still happened. When it said it needed to restart to finish repairing, the BSOD came up and now it won't load up anything past the IBM logo. I can't install on another partition because NOW I have no more space!!!!

I can boot from a recovery disk..but that is all I can seem to do now.

Please help.....I hope I am being clear enough.....I really don't want to lose the important files I have!

Thanks!

Comments

  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    edited February 2009
    Download Ubuntu, burn it to CD, and use it as a Live CD. It will boot you into a session of Ubuntu entirely from RAM, no disk access. Then use that to find your files and copy them to a flash drive. Copy them all off to another working computer (or just the flash drive, if it's big enough), and then wipe the whole damn hard drive clean. Leave nothing behind, and reinstall your OS.

    If you don't want to use Ubuntu in particular, there are other Linux variants you can get bootable live media from as well. Take your pick.
  • 1guylikeu1guylikeu St Pete, FL
    edited February 2009
    Snarkasm wrote:
    Download Ubuntu, burn it to CD, and use it as a Live CD. It will boot you into a session of Ubuntu entirely from RAM, no disk access. Then use that to find your files and copy them to a flash drive. Copy them all off to another working computer (or just the flash drive, if it's big enough), and then wipe the whole damn hard drive clean. Leave nothing behind, and reinstall your OS.

    If you don't want to use Ubuntu in particular, there are other Linux variants you can get bootable live media from as well. Take your pick.

    Thanks for the suggestion. I hope I can do this.
  • ThraxThrax 🐌 Austin, TX Icrontian
    edited February 2009
    1. Evaluate the condition of your PC's memory by testing it with Memtest86. If this passes...

    2. Evaluate the condition of your hard drive by testing it with Hitachi DFT or the full scan in Seagate's Seatools for DOS. If this passes...

    3. Evaluate the output of your power supply by testing it with a digital multimeter (DMM). If this passes...

    4. At this junction, your motherboard/processor or operating system are malfunctioning. If you're interested in pursuing further hardware troubleshooting, you need to replace the CPU and/or the motherboard with identical components. Realize that the probability of the CPU and/or motherboard being faulty in such a manner that they produce the 0x0000008E error is unlikely. I suggest OS troubleshooting, which continues below...

    5. Now that we've reasonably identified the OS as the source of the issue, you need to enter Windows safe mode and uninstall every device in the following categories:
    • Disk drives
    • Display adapters
    • IDE ATA/ATAPI controllers
    • Network adapters
    • Sound, video and game controllers

    You must obtain and install the newest driver revision for your GPU, sound card, chipset, and ethernet adapter. If this has failed to resolve your issue, proceed to 6. If you cannot boot into safe mode, proceed to 7.

    6. If driver replacement has failed to correct the issue, you must be absolutely positive that strains of Vundo, Smitfraud and Rustock are not present on your system. Please run these following tools/fixes in sequence: A) Vundofix, B) Smitfraudfix, C) Rustock.B Fix. If these fixes fail to correct the issue, proceed to step 7.

    7. If you cannot load regular Windows, boot safe mode, or the prior fixes have failed to correct the issue there is nothing further you can do for your current installation of Windows. Please follow the "Windows does not load and/or does not appear to be installed" section of Icrontic's reformatting guide. If you're reading this step, there are no is no other recourse for your predicament. You must reformat your computer.

    For more information on why the 0x0000008E error does not reveal the actual cause of the issue, please read Icrontic's guide to Why BSODs are Useless.

    For more information on the cause of the 0x0000008E error:

    The 0x0000008E error is one of the most common errors Windows XP experiences and it has no definitive cause. In fact, we have a long thread on Icrontic about this very error, but the fix alleged to be definitive has only worked for a handful of people. In reading the thread, you'll notice that many people have had the 0x0000008E happen to them with a variety of causes.

    This blue screen is a generic error. It does not point to any one error on Windows that can be fixed with a single, static process. A system suffering from a 0x0000008E error must have every element of its design evaluated for working condition. Some users get lucky and stumble upon their faulty component on the first go, others must fine-tooth comb everything to fix the issue.

    When I encounter a computer with this error, I check the hardware's condition, back up the user's data and immediately reformat. Given that there are over 20 possible causes for this error, it's not worth the time it takes to troubleshoot. Two hours of reformatting and reloading is much better than days of troubleshooting.
  • 1guylikeu1guylikeu St Pete, FL
    edited February 2009
    Snarkasm wrote:
    Download Ubuntu, burn it to CD, and use it as a Live CD. It will boot you into a session of Ubuntu entirely from RAM, no disk access. Then use that to find your files and copy them to a flash drive. Copy them all off to another working computer (or just the flash drive, if it's big enough), and then wipe the whole damn hard drive clean. Leave nothing behind, and reinstall your OS.

    If you don't want to use Ubuntu in particular, there are other Linux variants you can get bootable live media from as well. Take your pick.

    Is there any other trojan removal methods like Avira boot CD? I tried that and it couldn't delete anything....anything better than that?
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    edited February 2009
    Note that I didn't advise that you try to remove the virus anymore. Find a Live CD that will let you boot to RAM so that you can rescue the critical files you need, then wipe the drive.

    Checking the hardware is always a good first step, but if all you care about are your files, a good reformat never hurt anybody.
  • 1guylikeu1guylikeu St Pete, FL
    edited February 2009
    I was able to use Ubuntu successfully! I appreciate your help everyone. I am reformatting now...and I will let you know how successful it was.
  • 1guylikeu1guylikeu St Pete, FL
    edited February 2009
    everything is working smoothly and I have all my files. Thanks again! :) You guys were awesome.
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    edited February 2009
    Awesome. Take care of it! :)
  • jaskaranjaskaran
    edited December 2009
    Can anyone tell me how this Ubuntu works I'm facing a similar error with my Vista OS
  • SnarkasmSnarkasm Madison, WI Icrontian
    edited December 2009
    Click the big download now button here, then burn the file that you download onto a CD. When you have, you can use that as a LiveCD - put it in your optical drive (CD tray, DVD tray), restart the system, tell it to boot from CD, and there should be a menu option to try Ubuntu without installing. If you do that, it'll give you a functional desktop that you can use to look at your other files and transfer them to another hard drive if you can connect one, or you can email them to yourself or put them on a flash drive.
  • jaskaranjaskaran
    edited December 2009
    Snarkasm wrote:
    Click the big download now button here, then burn the file that you download onto a CD. When you have, you can use that as a LiveCD - put it in your optical drive (CD tray, DVD tray), restart the system, tell it to boot from CD, and there should be a menu option to try Ubuntu without installing. If you do that, it'll give you a functional desktop that you can use to look at your other files and transfer them to another hard drive if you can connect one, or you can email them to yourself or put them on a flash drive.

    Thanks I did that. Isn't there anyway I can resolve the problem for Vista through Ubuntu....like through the C Drive that I can access through Ubuntu
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