"Unable to Load Device Driver" Error Occurs When You Start Windows XP

STOP: 0xc000026C [Unable to load device driver] DriverName

STOP: 0xc0000221 [Unable to load device driver] DriverName

STOP: 0xc0000221. Bad image check sum, the image user32.dll is possibly corrupt. The header check sum does not match the computed check sum.

• A device driver file (.sys) is missing or damaged. The missing or damaged file is probably the driver file that the error message mentions.



• The User32.dll file may be missing or damaged.


Missing or Damaged Driver File
1. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, and then restart the computer. Select any options that are required to start the computer from the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive if you are prompted to do so.



2. When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to start Recovery Console.



3. If your computer is configured for dual booting or multiple booting, select the relevant Windows XP installation.
   
   
4. When you are prompted to do so, type the administrator password, and then press ENTER.
   
   Note In Windows XP Home Edition, the administrator password is\ blank by default.
   
   
5. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER: cd windows\system32\drivers



6. To rename the damaged driver file, type the following command, and then press ENTER ren drivername.sys drivername.bak where drivername is the name of the damaged driver file.



7. To copy the driver from the Windows XP CD-ROM to the Drivers folder, type the following command, and then press ENTER copy cd-rom:\i386 drivername where cd-rom is the drive letter for the drive that contains the Windows XP CD-ROM.



8. Type exit, press ENTER, and then restart the computer.




Missing or Damaged User32.dll File
1. Insert the Windows XP CD-ROM into the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive, and then restart the computer. Select any options that are required to start the computer from the CD-ROM or DVD-ROM drive if you are prompted to do so.



2. When the "Welcome to Setup" screen appears, press R to start Recovery Console.



3. If your computer is configured for dual booting or multiple booting, select the relevant Windows XP installation.
   
   
4. When you are prompted to do so, type the administrator password, and then press ENTER.
   
   NOTE: In Windows XP Home Edition, the administrator password is\ blank by default.
   
   
5. At the command prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER: cd windows\system32\drivers



6. To rename the User32.dll file, type the following command, and then press ENTER: ren user32.dll user32.bak



7. To expand a new copy of the User32.dll file from the Windows XP CD-ROM to the System32 folder, type the following command, and then press ENTER: expand cd-rom:\i386\user32.dl_ c:\windows\system32 where cd-rom is the drive letter for the drive that contains the Windows XP CD-ROM, and c:\windows is the drive letter and folder in which Windows XP is installed.



8. Type exit, press ENTER, and then restart the computer.


Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs.

How to backup Windows registry?

How to compact Windows Registry?

How to repair Windows Registry?