That one's a doozy.
It's also not easy to explain, because it involves some really low-level stuff. In oversimplified terms, it means that a kernel mode process either tried to access a specific memory address that it did not have permission to access, or that it tried to access a process that had an IRQL (Interrupt Request Level) higher than its own. IRQL relates to the way the processor divvies up and prioritizes all the different processes that are requesting its attention.
So in really, really oversimplified terms, some piece of hardware, or a driver or process that runs at kernel level, is acting rudely.
It's most likely either (a) a hardware problem, or (b) a problem with software that mimics hardware, which can be many things, but more likely something like a virus scanner or firewall. I've also come across a couple of times when all I did was delete the pagefile (it's rebuilt on the next boot), or run a CHKDSK /p in the Recovery Console, and that fixed the problem. Go figger.
These things can be tough to diagnose, though, especially because you can't get into Windows to do it. Techs carry bootable environments like ERD that help us get into the system when it's hosed. What you have (hopefully) is the recovery console, which is contained on the bootable Windows XP CD, and
sometimes is also installed on the hard drive and can be accessed at boot time.
If you know how to use the Recovery Console, you can try disabling services to see what's causing the error. You can take a machete approach or a surgical approach, depending on how familiar you are with the way the services work. I always start with security software, followed closely by video and audio drivers, because I'd guess that three-quarters of the time that this is a software issue, it's one of those that's causing the problem.
Of course, you can also do serious damage in the Recovery Console, so... you may not want to go in there.
To see a list of all services and drivers on your computer, go into the recovery console and type
listsvc
To disable services or device drivers, type
disable service name or devicedrivername
replacing
service name or
devicedrivername with the name of the service or driver.
You also may want to delete everything in the prefetch folder ( C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch ) in case something corrupt in there is causing the issue. Dont delete the folder itself.
C:\Documents and Settings\USER_NAME>cd C:\Windows\Prefetch
C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch>del *
C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch\*, Are you sure (Y/N)? Y
A full list of Recovery Console commands can be found
here. Again, it's easy to hose your system from in there, so be careful. For example, make a list and keep track of what you're enabling and disabling.
The above isn't a "fix," but just a diagnostic. It'll help determine whether some funky software is causing your error. If it's a hardware problem, none of it will help. If it's a software problem, then possibly there are updates or patches that will fix it.
Sorry I can't be of more help. There are many, many things that can cause this error, and diagnosing it is a tedious process.
-Rich
