How I fixed my Windows XP Stop c000021a {Fatal System Error} with Knoppix Linux

March 14, 2008 by meandean

Below are steps describing how I used Knoppix Linux to fix the dreaded Windows XP Error Message: Stop c000021a {Fatal System Error} The Session Manager Initialization System Process failure. This morning, when I powered-up my computer at work, my Windows XP-based computer booted blue, noting a file error which in turn kicked off an automatic chkdsk scan/fix of my hard drive. I got some coffee and used my smart phone to address email while all this was going on. When the system was done fixing the broken files, it rebooted to something Id never seen before a blue screen of death with the following ubiquitous message:
Stop: c000021a {Fatal System Error} The Session manager initialization system process terminated unexpectedly with a status of 0xc000026c (000000000 000000000). The system has been shut down.

After a few bouts with the on/off switch, it was clear, I was dead in the water. I walked down the hall to visit the IT guys, together we brought up the Microsoft Knowledgebase file #317189 entitled Error
Message: Stop c000021a {Fatal System Error} The Session Manager Initialization System Process

It had fun advice like installing Dr.Watson, running a memory dump and then sifting through the disassembled 0s and 1s to figure out what broke. Of course ones machine would have to boot before that byzantine process was possible a minor point not considered in said documentation. There were some other things about registry files, but again, I cant get to the the C:\> command line prompt then it doesnt do me much good. I did find on the Messenger Plus! Live Forums advice to run the Windows repair and replace my psapi.dll file with an older version, but again, thatd require getting onto the hard drive and the only way I knew how to do that at this juncture would be take a route similar to the one I wrote about in 2003 in my post entitled:Linux-based approach to fixing MSBlaster Worm infection. So after digging through a few drawers and CD stacks, I found a Knoppix CD I had burninated back in October for my blogging-tour of Jordan. For those of you who dont know, Knoppix is a Linux distribution based on Debian GNU/Linux designed to be run directly from a CD / DVD. So I popped the Knoppix disk into the CD drive, turned on the power switch and within minutes, my machine was back up and running under Windows XP; though part of me wonders if theres not an Ubuntu install in store for my aging home computer but I digress Anyway, I figured it might be helpful to some of you out there if I provides some detailed step on how I fixed my broken 1. 1. 2. 2. 0. 1. 3. 4. Windows operating system with Linux: Boot up your computer from the CD drive with your latest CD burnination of Knoppix. For me, this meant hitting the F12 key on boot up, and instructing the computer to boot from the CD/DVD drive instead of the hard drive. This step also assumes that at some time in the past, you downloaded, burned and tested a Knoppix CD. At the initial boot: prompt, hit enter. You may find youll need to boot Knoppix with various startup options to make it work on you particular hardware platform. Hitting the F3 key will show you some of those options. You can also find cheat codes online. Hopefully at this point youll see a Windows-like desktop known as KDE and with luck the hard drive in question will appear represented by an icon at the upper left as mounted and available for use. Click on the drive icon that contains your Windows operating system. This will open up ( and you Linux fans out there, please forgive me for the term Im about to use) this will open up an Explorer like file window as depicted below:

5. 6.

I suggest changing the the display to list the files in detail. Sort your directory by date in descending order. Expand both the found.000 (our found.001..n, etc) and your Windows/System32 directories.

7.

View which files the Windows chkdsk moved into the found.000 path as listed below:

Check for the same file names in the System32 directory back them up of need be then copy the files from the found.000 path into the /Windows/System32 directory; overwriting the existing files by the same name. 0. This is a dangerous move and can entirely mess-up your system -do it at yoru own risk. 1. In my case, I would have made backups, but all of them were of a 0 byte filesize, timestamped this morning at the time of the crash. 2. This is a dangerous move and can entirely mess-up your system -do it at yoru own risk. 3. It never hurts to backup files youre abut to overwrite. 4. This is a dangerous move and can entirely mess-up your system -do it at yoru own risk. 9. Shutdown Knoppix correctly (dont be impatient and just pull the plug:-) remember to remove the CD from the drive when prompted. 10. Reboot under Windows. 8.

DISCLAIMER
: Warning I do not recommend this course of action. I am merely enumerating the steps I took to fix my computer under my circumstances, configuration and context. Your mileage may vary as potentially you risk losing everything in following the same above steps. Now if you dont mind, I have some backups and diagnostics to run. After that, time to go burninate a fresher Knoppix CD; you never know when itll come in handy.