Nightmare time trying to sort out 0Xc000021a BSOD on W8

ValiantSaint

New Member
Messages
20
Hello everyone,

my friend has asked me to have a look at his HP "Envy" ultrabook running Windows 8, as it's stuck in a boot up "loop" whilst displaying an error code (0XC000021a)

I had a bit of shock, when I found out it doesn't have a DVD drive! Cue, several hours reading up how to install W8 boot DVD onto a USB drive. Thought I was making in-roads, but sadly not, as I can't use System Restore ("To use System Restore you must specify which Windows install to restore")

And I can't "refresh" the machine, as I get this message: "The drive where Windows is installed is locked. Unlock the drive and try again."

I just don't know what else I can do? Even tried running Hirens Boot CD from USB flash drive, but it doesn't even load!

Please help! Many, many thanks in advance : )
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 HP 64Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3330 @ 3.00GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI B75MA-P45 (MS-7798) (SOCKET 0)
    Memory
    8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    1024MB ATI AMD Radeon HD 7800 Series (MSI)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG IPS234 (1920x1080@60Hz)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    128GB OCZ-AGILITY3 ATA Device (SSD)
    1TB SAMSUNG HD103SJ ATA Device (SATA)
Start the computer and immediately press the "Esc" key
This should give you the option to select the Recovery Manager
You can recover the system from there (if needed)

Another thing to try is contacting HP for a recovery USB drive. They're fairly cheap and good to have. Ordering instructions for the USA are here: Order Recovery Discs (USA) (the page is about a year old and I haven't checked the prices since then).
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1Pro - Finally!!!
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung/NP780
    CPU
    Came with the laptop (i7 of some sort)
    Motherboard
    Pretty sure that it has one, but haven't checked inside the case!
    Memory
    upgraded to 12 gB from 8 gB
    Graphics Card(s)
    has switchable - Intel/ATI - Used wrong drivers, now ATI card is inop :( Will have to fix it soon!
    Sound Card
    I'm nearly deaf, so this isn't used often
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Touchscreen on laptop/32" Toshiba on HDMI (laid the Sharp TV on a mouse and cracked the screen!)
    Screen Resolution
    800x600
    Hard Drives
    One Samsung 1tB drive - 5400 rpm. Gonna switch to a 7200/10000 rpm or an SSD (if I can find $500 for a 1tB SSD!)
    - Switched to 500 gB Samsung 840 series SSD - WOW!!!
    PSU
    Why do we ask this for laptops?
    Case
    Silver with a neat Samsung logo
    Cooling
    sub-par, gotta get around to working on it soon Worked on it - still sub-par! :(
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural - the same one I've used since it orignally came out around 1995
    Mouse
    no Mouse - Trackball!!!!
    Internet Speed
    too slow when I'm waiting for a download to finish
    Browser
    Yes, I use this (Firefox mostly, w/IE next most)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Windows Firewall
    Other Info
    I'm handsome and a snappy dresser :0)
Start the computer and immediately press the "Esc" key
This should give you the option to select the Recovery Manager
You can recover the system from there (if needed)

Another thing to try is contacting HP for a recovery USB drive. They're fairly cheap and good to have. Ordering instructions for the USA are here: Order Recovery Discs (USA) (the page is about a year old and I haven't checked the prices since then).

Thanks for the reply. I have tried to get into the recovery option, but when I select F11, the laptop just loops round into the same BSOD error message. Oh and I'm in the UK, BTW : )

I had a bit of a brain-storm today and found an old DVD-ROM drive that I had laying around. I matched that up to a USB to SATA patch cable, that I use to run HDs as USB portables, but the laptop couldn't find the "external" drive! Give me strength.......

Have also tried putting Hirens Boot CD on a flash drive, but get an "SYS Linux" screen come up in DOS, but that's as far as it gets, before resetting.......
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 HP 64Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3330 @ 3.00GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI B75MA-P45 (MS-7798) (SOCKET 0)
    Memory
    8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    1024MB ATI AMD Radeon HD 7800 Series (MSI)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG IPS234 (1920x1080@60Hz)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    128GB OCZ-AGILITY3 ATA Device (SSD)
    1TB SAMSUNG HD103SJ ATA Device (SATA)

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1Pro - Finally!!!
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung/NP780
    CPU
    Came with the laptop (i7 of some sort)
    Motherboard
    Pretty sure that it has one, but haven't checked inside the case!
    Memory
    upgraded to 12 gB from 8 gB
    Graphics Card(s)
    has switchable - Intel/ATI - Used wrong drivers, now ATI card is inop :( Will have to fix it soon!
    Sound Card
    I'm nearly deaf, so this isn't used often
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Touchscreen on laptop/32" Toshiba on HDMI (laid the Sharp TV on a mouse and cracked the screen!)
    Screen Resolution
    800x600
    Hard Drives
    One Samsung 1tB drive - 5400 rpm. Gonna switch to a 7200/10000 rpm or an SSD (if I can find $500 for a 1tB SSD!)
    - Switched to 500 gB Samsung 840 series SSD - WOW!!!
    PSU
    Why do we ask this for laptops?
    Case
    Silver with a neat Samsung logo
    Cooling
    sub-par, gotta get around to working on it soon Worked on it - still sub-par! :(
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural - the same one I've used since it orignally came out around 1995
    Mouse
    no Mouse - Trackball!!!!
    Internet Speed
    too slow when I'm waiting for a download to finish
    Browser
    Yes, I use this (Firefox mostly, w/IE next most)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Windows Firewall
    Other Info
    I'm handsome and a snappy dresser :0)

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 HP 64Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3330 @ 3.00GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI B75MA-P45 (MS-7798) (SOCKET 0)
    Memory
    8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    1024MB ATI AMD Radeon HD 7800 Series (MSI)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG IPS234 (1920x1080@60Hz)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    128GB OCZ-AGILITY3 ATA Device (SSD)
    1TB SAMSUNG HD103SJ ATA Device (SATA)
But if the HDD is the problem, then the HDD test that you saw on boot up may not work.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1Pro - Finally!!!
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung/NP780
    CPU
    Came with the laptop (i7 of some sort)
    Motherboard
    Pretty sure that it has one, but haven't checked inside the case!
    Memory
    upgraded to 12 gB from 8 gB
    Graphics Card(s)
    has switchable - Intel/ATI - Used wrong drivers, now ATI card is inop :( Will have to fix it soon!
    Sound Card
    I'm nearly deaf, so this isn't used often
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Touchscreen on laptop/32" Toshiba on HDMI (laid the Sharp TV on a mouse and cracked the screen!)
    Screen Resolution
    800x600
    Hard Drives
    One Samsung 1tB drive - 5400 rpm. Gonna switch to a 7200/10000 rpm or an SSD (if I can find $500 for a 1tB SSD!)
    - Switched to 500 gB Samsung 840 series SSD - WOW!!!
    PSU
    Why do we ask this for laptops?
    Case
    Silver with a neat Samsung logo
    Cooling
    sub-par, gotta get around to working on it soon Worked on it - still sub-par! :(
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural - the same one I've used since it orignally came out around 1995
    Mouse
    no Mouse - Trackball!!!!
    Internet Speed
    too slow when I'm waiting for a download to finish
    Browser
    Yes, I use this (Firefox mostly, w/IE next most)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Windows Firewall
    Other Info
    I'm handsome and a snappy dresser :0)
But if the HDD is the problem, then the HDD test that you saw on boot up may not work.

Thanks again. I have run the quick HD test, and the HD SMART check passed, as did the Short DST check. Just running the longer one now (The Optimized DST has come up as "NOT AVAILABLE"?)

Cheers : )

EDIT: What is the main cause of this BSOD?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 HP 64Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3330 @ 3.00GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI B75MA-P45 (MS-7798) (SOCKET 0)
    Memory
    8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    1024MB ATI AMD Radeon HD 7800 Series (MSI)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG IPS234 (1920x1080@60Hz)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    128GB OCZ-AGILITY3 ATA Device (SSD)
    1TB SAMSUNG HD103SJ ATA Device (SATA)
Most often this is a software error - usually due to bad/corrupted drivers or mismatched system files.
More info here: BSOD Index - 0xc000021a

IMO the quick/short test aren't worth your time.
If they pass, you still don't know if the drive is good (so you still have to run the long test)
If they fail, you still have to run the long test to be sure it's accurate.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1Pro - Finally!!!
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Samsung/NP780
    CPU
    Came with the laptop (i7 of some sort)
    Motherboard
    Pretty sure that it has one, but haven't checked inside the case!
    Memory
    upgraded to 12 gB from 8 gB
    Graphics Card(s)
    has switchable - Intel/ATI - Used wrong drivers, now ATI card is inop :( Will have to fix it soon!
    Sound Card
    I'm nearly deaf, so this isn't used often
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Touchscreen on laptop/32" Toshiba on HDMI (laid the Sharp TV on a mouse and cracked the screen!)
    Screen Resolution
    800x600
    Hard Drives
    One Samsung 1tB drive - 5400 rpm. Gonna switch to a 7200/10000 rpm or an SSD (if I can find $500 for a 1tB SSD!)
    - Switched to 500 gB Samsung 840 series SSD - WOW!!!
    PSU
    Why do we ask this for laptops?
    Case
    Silver with a neat Samsung logo
    Cooling
    sub-par, gotta get around to working on it soon Worked on it - still sub-par! :(
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Natural - the same one I've used since it orignally came out around 1995
    Mouse
    no Mouse - Trackball!!!!
    Internet Speed
    too slow when I'm waiting for a download to finish
    Browser
    Yes, I use this (Firefox mostly, w/IE next most)
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender and Windows Firewall
    Other Info
    I'm handsome and a snappy dresser :0)
Most often this is a software error - usually due to bad/corrupted drivers or mismatched system files.
More info here: BSOD Index - 0xc000021a

IMO the quick/short test aren't worth your time.
If they pass, you still don't know if the drive is good (so you still have to run the long test)
If they fail, you still have to run the long test to be sure it's accurate.

Thanks again for your help, usasma. I'll give the longer test a try : )
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 7 HP 64Bit
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel Core i5 3330 @ 3.00GHz
    Motherboard
    MSI B75MA-P45 (MS-7798) (SOCKET 0)
    Memory
    8.00GB Dual-Channel DDR3
    Graphics Card(s)
    1024MB ATI AMD Radeon HD 7800 Series (MSI)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    LG IPS234 (1920x1080@60Hz)
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    128GB OCZ-AGILITY3 ATA Device (SSD)
    1TB SAMSUNG HD103SJ ATA Device (SATA)
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