[Super Pancake]

So my Dell xps 410 messed up a few days ago i believe it either was a virus or some widows automatic update screwd up my computer.

since that day I did a system restore to find out all the microsoft application are not working, my dvd drive does not work. so I decide to repair windows. I mistakenly use my old windows xp disk it started up but i canceled before going further I then use the one dell gave me which has service pack 2.

So I go through the motions i figured i skip the preinstall drivers sata/raid etc since i'm just repairring windows and the drivers are already installed. I go through the setup and it begins to repair, in the middle of the install I get a iastor.sys is missing message and told to locate it I tried but my mouse and keyboard has been was locked up. so i turn off the pc. I do a quick search on the net see that dell has a history with iastor.sys errors but can't pinpoint my problem.

I thought maybe i should use my dell resource cd to do a preinstall of drivers so I go through windows xp install again I press F6 to do the pre-install of drivers and etc but it does not let me it goes on with the instalation and gives me a message that a repair was in progrees and was aborted should I continue. I try f6 again and again it still wont let me insert the dell resources cd.

So before I think of reinstalling windows can somebody help me repair it first by addressing the iastor.sys problem.

[Episteme]

Bleh, what a pain. I'd try this, looks like it's working for most people.

Quote

Sorry you guys are having so many issues. I am a Dell L2 Tech in Phx, Az. I was researching this same issue and found your article.

Here is the Dell provided Fix,

How Do I Resolve a Stop 0×000000D1 Error Message in IASTOR.SYS in the Microsoft® Windows® XP Operating System?

Table of Contents

1. Change the SATA Operation setting from RAID Autodetect / AHCI to RAID Autodetect / ATA in System Setup.
2. Download and install the Intel® Matrix Storage Driver.
3. Change the SATA Operation setting to RAID Autodetect / AHCI in System Setup.

Change the SATA Operation setting from RAID Autodetect / AHCI to RAID Autodetect / ATA in System Setup.

Date Created: 2005-08-26
Date Modified: 2005-08-26

Audience:
Internet
Extranet
Intranet

To change the SATA Operation settings in the System Setup (BIOS), perform the following steps:

Reboot the computer.
Press the key on the keyboard immediately after the keyboard LEDs flash to enter the BIOS (System Setup).
The System Setup screen appears.
Press the or keys to highlight the Drives section, and then press the key.
Press the or keys to highlight the SATA Operation section, and then press the key.
Press the or keys to highlight RAID Autodetect / ATA, and then press the key.
Press the key to exit the System Setup.
Press the or keys to highlight Save/Exit, and then press the key.
The computer restarts.

Return to Table of Contents

——————————————————————————–

Download and install the Intel® Matrix Storage Driver.

Date Created: 2006-10-27
Date Modified: 2006-10-30

Audience:
Internet
Extranet
Intranet

To download and install the Intel® Matrix Storage Driver, perform the following steps:

Click ftp://ftp.us.dell.com/SATA/R130119.EXE to download the R130119.exe file to the Windows Desktop.
Double-click the R130119.EXE file on the desktop.
The Self-Extracting window appears and prompts you to extract to the C:\DELL\DRIVERS\R130119 directory.
Write down this path so you can find the Setup.exe file later.
The Self-Extractor window appears.
Click OK.
Click the Start button, and then click Run.
Type C:\DELL\DRIVERS\R130119 in the Open box and click OK.
Follow the on-screen installation instructions.

Return to Table of Contents

——————————————————————————–

Change the SATA Operation setting to RAID Autodetect / AHCI in System Setup.

Date Created: 2004-07-19
Date Modified: 2004-08-02

Audience:
Internet
Extranet
Intranet

To change the SATA Operation settings in the System Setup (BIOS), perform the following steps:

Reboot the system.
Press the key immediately after the keyboard LEDs flash to enter the System Setup (BIOS).
Press the and keys to highlight the Drives section and press the key.
Press the and keys to highlight the SATA Operation section and press the key.
Press the and keys to highlight RAID Autodetect / AHCI and press the key.
Press to exit the System Setup (BIOS).
Press the and keys to highlight Save/Exit and press the key.

Posted here by a Dell tech, feel free to visit and throw rotten food at him!

I have downloaded the file myself and scanned it for viruses, the source for the file is the dell server. I would consider it safe, but if you're more comfortable you can probably run a search for the same file on the dell website.

[Super Pancake]

Thanks for the help very appreciated, I've been to that site before. It looks like I might have to reinstall windows. I can't believe how huge of problem a dell pc can be its worse then some annoying windows errors, I've heard stories of people having to reinstall windows multiple times after getting a dell, after re-installation I'm making sure all my drivers are updated, and maybe consider a new anti-virus program.

[Episteme]

There were some that said they were having this problem with Gateways too. Doesn't look like much fun, so this fix didn't do the trick?

[Super Pancake]

sorry for the late reply no it didn't work. i just reinstalled windows and got the necessary updates