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Troubleshooting Windows XPe's blue screen "Stop 0x0000007B" error
by Sean Liming (Apr. 4, 2005)

One of the most common problems that developers new to Windows XP Embedded encounter is the blue screen "Stop 0x0000007B" error. Although the book Windows XP Embedded Advanced has the solution listed in the "Tips-and-Tricks" chapter, the explanation is not as detailed as it could be, and developers still run into the problem.

The error is occurring because a driver -- such as a PCI bus driver, disk driver, or IDE controller driver -- is missing from the image. Many developers start the XPe development process using the DOS version of Target Analyzer -- TA.EXE, instead of TAP.EXE. There are a number of reasons why developers go the TA.EXE route: loading Windows XP Pro on the target is time consuming; it is physically not possible to install Windows XP Pro on the target; or running WinPE (the Windows Preinstallation Environment) is not possible.

TA.EXE is like a PCI sniffer program. It will check the CPU bus, basic hardware ICs, and the BIOS to gather information for the PMQ file. TAP.EXE goes a little further by checking Windows XP’s or 2000’s registry to see what drivers have been loaded by the OS. The issue is with TA.EXE. TA.EXE doesn’t gather all the components needed to boot the operating system.

My understanding is that the error occurs when the OS is switching from real mode to protected mode. The OS is loading the drivers necessary to access the boot drive in protected mode. Today’s PCs access the drive controller via PCI bridge chips. If the correct PCI driver or other disk device drivers are not in the image, the system will blue-screen.

Some of the missing components TA.EXE doesn't find might be the following:
  • PCI standard host CPU bridge
  • PCI standard ISA bridge
  • Plug and Play Software Device Enumerator
  • Primary IDE Channel
  • Secondary IDE Channel
  • Disk Drive
  • Standard Dual Channel PCI IDE Controller
  • Standard IDE/ESDI Hard Disk Controller
A specific OEM BUS master IDE or SATA controller component might also be the culprit.

The best way to gather all the necessary components is to install Windows XP Pro on the target systems and run TAP.EXE. The next best solution is to use XPe’s CD1 and boot to WinPE and run TAP.EXE. You should note that there are limitations with WinPE, since not all the drivers are in the WinPE image, thus TAP under WinPE would not capture all the components that TAP under Windows XP Pro would capture. For example USB or 1394 client drivers are not in WinPE, but you would get the components needed to boot the OS. If you only have MS-DOS, then try adding the components listed above to see if that solves the problem.

If all else fails and to prove that XPe runs on the system, build an image using either MinLogon Sample Macro or WinLogon Sample Macro components and don’t include the TA.EXE results. These two macro components have the basic components to build an image that will run on any system.


About the author


Sean Liming is a Microsoft eMVP and is the author of three books on Windows Embedded including Windows XP Embedded Advanced and Window XP Embedded Supplemental Toolkit. Liming is currently the Managing Director of SJJ Embedded Micro Solutions, which offers books, toolkits, training courses, and consulting services covering all aspects of embedded design hardware, software, manufacturing, and life-cycle management.


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