BSOD while uninstalling software and while trying to reinstall OS

Question

I got BSOD while attempting to uninstall a program in Win XP, so I tried to reinstall the OS (because the guy who gave me the pc wants a clean-up) but a STOP 0x0000007F (0x00000008, 0x80042000, 0x00000000, 0x00000000) occurs.

I tried then to boot Kubuntu 9.04 live cd, and it booted fine, but when I tried an installation it failed too: just crashing...

I tried to change the RAM and the hard drives to no avail.

I'm thinking that it's an hardware failure, but can't track it down: what could it be? Video card? Motherboard?

Any advices?

EDIT: I ran 7 successful memtest - not even an error. I have to look at the harddisk ribbons and the motherboard.

EDIT No.2: I tried another harddrive, switching to sata connectors to no avail: the sata harddisk it isn't even recognized...Can it be the video card, or it will be the Motherboard?

Answer 1

What error did you get when the kubuntu install failed?

0x0000007f This is the link to Microsoft's explanation of that stop error.

If you have nothing else to do, try running a harddrive test from a live cd to try and make sure the drives, and their headers/cables are good as well.

Answer 2

is it a laptop? i came across a laptop that had a similar problem, and traced it to a faulty harddisk ribbon connector, something to consider anyway as laptop harddisk ribbon connectors seem quite fragile...

Answer 3

A. Be sure your XP install disc is at least SP2 integrated

B . Check your bios for a "Compatibility Mode", or other setting to slow the processor down while installing the OS, once the OS is installed (hopefully), set it back.

Your First Parameter of the bug check = 0x00000008, or Double Fault, indicates that an exception occurs during a call to the handler for a prior exception. Typically, the two exceptions are handled serially. However, there are several exceptions that cannot be handled serially, and in this situation the processor signals a double fault. There are two common causes of a double fault:

1. A kernel stack overflow. This overflow occurs when a guard page is hit, and the kernel tries to push a trap frame. Because there is no stack left, a stack overflow results, causing the double fault. If you think this overview has occurred, use !thread to determine the stack limits, and then use kb (Display Stack Backtrace) with a large parameter (for example, kb 100) to display the full stack.

2 . A hardware problem.

Note: A double fault can occur when the kernel stack overflows. This overflow occurs if multiple drivers are attached to the same stack. For example, if two file system filter drivers are attached to the same stack and then the file system recurses back in, the stack overflows.