It can be quite annoying when you are using your computer and all of a sudden the blue screen of death, aka BSOD, suddenly pops up.
Recently, I was re-installing Windows XP (yes, you heard right) on a desktop computer. Everything was going fine until a setup error occurred.
The specific error was “setupdd.sys could not be loaded. Error code 4. Setup cannot continue.” So, you can imagine how shocked I was as there was no problem earlier.
I initially thought there were bad sectors on the hard drive that were causing the problem. I then remembered an issue I had some years prior where I had a defective RAM which caused a different installation error.
I removed the RAMs and put them back one at a time, booting the PC after each RAM was put back. After I found the defective RAM, I took it out of the PC and threw it away. Problem solved!
Lesson: One proven way I have personally been able to get rid of these errors is by checking my RAM. In 98% of the cases I have encountered, at least one of the RAM had stopped working.
So, the next time you encounter a similar problem, shut down you PC, remove the memory chips, and then put them in one at a time and boot your PC. The defective one will either cause the PC not to boot or cause the error to return.
This is a troubleshooting step worth trying that takes about 10 minutes. If your RAM is bad, leave it out until you can replace it. If it is the only one in your PC, go and buy a new one.
This post was brought to you in association with Health Products For You.