Help for "Serious Error" (Blue Screen 2ndary to "Sysdata.xml" Crash)
andrew perash
This potential help is posted FWIW and Use at Your Own Risk.
It is long and detailed. Search Goggle on "sysdata.xml" for sources.
This error is found widely on the WWW on various help-sites, etc.
There is contradictory info regarding fixes, but this seems more
accepted. It is posted here so that future suffers might (hopefully)
find help. If I was sure of the Originator I would gladly give credit.
If you are he accept my thanks.
The problem begins when your PC starts doing this crashing for
no apparent reason, giving you the dreaded Blue Screen of Death, doing
a full re-boot, and requiring logon that leaves back where you started
and wondering what went wrong. After reboot your PC gives you this
message:
> BCCode : d1 BCP1 : 0000002C BCP2 : 00000002 BCP3 : 00000000
> BCP4 : F8A1FF85 OSVer : 5_1_2600 SP : 1_0 Product : 768_1
Followed by this cryptic "detailed report":
> C:\WINDOWS\Minidump\Mini012604-01.dmp
> C:\DOCUME~1\Daddoo\LOCALS~1\Temp\WER9.tmp.dir00\sysdata.xml
MS Support implies this is a driver problem - meaning Not Them, and
doesn't offer fixes. even Annoyances.org requires you to search their
many posts to find a cure. Many sites offer various suggestions based
on add/remove hardware - like putting fans behind your PC for goodness
sake. The following suggestion seems to be most successful and is
offered here FWIW and at your own risk. I will post when Ive had time
to do it as, like you, I work for a living and this is a long and
detailed fix. I hope it helps you if you've had this problem
repeatedly bugging you.
>As Follows:
Message:
System has Recovered from a Serious Error
There are several methods to resolve this issue.
Follow the instructions in the first section. If the
problem is not resolved, proceed to the next
section.
I. Resize the Swap File
When a serious error occurs, by default the system
dumps the system state to the swap file for later
retrieval. However, it is possible that the swap file
is not properly cleaned up and the system thinks that
it is rebooting from a crash. To resolve this, you
will need to resize the swap file:
1. Click the Start button.
2. Right click the My Computer menu option, and then
click Properties on the context menu that appears.
3. Click the Advanced tab, and then click the Settings
button in the Performance section. The Performance
Options window appears.
4. Click the Advanced tab, and then click the Change
button in the Virtual Memory section. The Virtual
memory window appears.
5. Click Custom Size, and then record the Initial Size
and Maximum Size.
6. Set the Initial Size and Maximum Size to the same
value as the amount of RAM that is installed in the
system.
7. Click Set and then click OK. The system will advise
you to restart the computer.
8. Click OK.
9. Click OK at the Performance Options window. The
system prompts you to restart the computer.
10. Click Yes.
After the system has restarted, repeat the above steps
to restore the original Initial Size and Maximum Size
values for your swap file.
II. Delete the Minidump Files and the Sysdata.xml File
When a serious error occurs, by default the system
writes out a miniature memory dump along with an XML
description of the system status (which notes the
program at fault and other pertinent system data) that
can be uploaded to Microsoft. If this data is not
correctly closed out, the system may present a Serious
Error screen upon boot. To resolve this problem,
perform
the following steps:
1. Click the Start button.
2. Right click the My Computer icon, and then click
Explore on the context menu that appears.
3. Browse to the c:\Windows\Minidump directory.
4. Delete everything located in this directory.
NOTE : You will need to be able to view hidden and
system files and the system should not be hiding
protected operating system files.
5. Browse to the c:\Documents and Settings folder.
6. Search for the following file: sysdata.xml file.
7. Delete all instances (you may find more than one)
of this file.
8. Click the Start button, click Turn off the
computer, and then click Restart.
III. Disable the Automatically Restart setting
This attacks the same class of Serious Errors that
resizing the swap file fixes, but it tries to ensure
that the errors do not happen beforehand.
However, this does not help to rid the persistent
Serious Error message after the fact.
1. Click the Start button.
2. Right click the My Computer icon, and then click
Properties on the context menu that appears.
3. Click the Advanced tab and then click the Settings
button in the Start-up and Recovery section.
4. Click to remove the check next to Automatically
Restart checkbox and then click OK.
5. Click OK. The system will no longer automatically
restart after a Serious Error message appears.
IV. Disable Memory Dumps\
This option totally disables memory dumps altogether,
which may help fix some persistent Serious Error
messages. To disable memory dumps, perform the
following steps:
1. Click the Start button
2. Right click the My Computer icon, and then click
Properties on the context menu that appears.
3. Click the Advanced tab, and then click the Settings
button in the Start-up and Recovery section.
4. In the Write debugging information tab, click to
select (none) and then click OK.
5. Click OK.
Source for above:
http://www.uwm.edu/~bobtreat/messages/219.shtml
Andrew