How to Troubleshoot STOP 0x0000004C FATAL_UNHANDLED_HARD_ERROR (291801)

MORE INFORMATION

The parameters that are listed in the "Summary" section of this article are:

• Parameter 1: Microsoft Windows NT error status that is found in the Ntstatus.h file on MSDN
• Parameter 2: not used
• Parameter 3: not used
• Parameter 4: not used

Common Troubleshooting Steps

The STOP code that is described in the "Summary" section of this article may be caused by several different factors, but is most commonly a damaged registry or system file. Microsoft recommends that you repair the damage by using an Emergency Repair Disk (ERD), or replace the damaged file with a file that you know is not damaged. As a precautionary measure, you should completely test that your computer hardware is working correctly by using any diagnostic tools that are provided by your computer manufacturer.

Parameter 1

x218

This parameter means that a necessary registry hive file could not be loaded. For example, this could occur if the file is damaged or missing. If the file is damaged or missing, use an ERD to repair the damage, or complete a reinstallation. Some less obvious causes for this parameter are that the driver has damaged the registry data while the data is loading into memory, or the memory where the registry file was loaded is not actually memory. In particular, AST EISA machines with 16 megabytes (MB) or more of memory must have enabled access to the memory above 16MB in the EISA Configuration Utility. If this memory is not enabled, a registry file may be loaded into this location, but returns 0xffffffff when you view the memory.

x21a

This parameter means that either winlogon, or csrss (windows) quit unexpectedly, and the exit code provides more information. Usually, the exit code is c0000005, and this means that an unhandled exception crashed either of these processes. Note that unless this becomes a persistent problem, this problem is hard to resolve.

x221

This parameter means that a driver is damaged, or that a system DLL file has been detected as being damaged. An integrity check of drivers and important system DLL files is regularly made, and if these types of files are found to be damaged, an error message that contains the name of the damaged file is generated on a blue screen to protect your computer from potential future damage. Start your computer to an alternate operating system, or if this option is not available, complete a reinstallation. Make sure that the on-disk file that is listed as "bad" matches the version that is on the CD-ROM, and replace that file if necessary. In some cases, random damage can mean that there is a hardware problem in the input/output path to the file.