Ways to Resolve “STOP: 0xc0000221” Error

One of the most common reasons for a STOP error message in Windows XP operating system is corruption of a device driver file (.sys). In most cases the name of he damaged file is mentioned in the error message. Corruption in most cases primarily occurs due to virus attack, unexpected computer shut down, incomplete upgradataion, and human errors. The after effects of a device driver file damage create a havoc for the user, rendering to unbootability of the Windows operating system. Furthermore, the user is also unable to access the data saved in the hard drive. To access the data in case of Windows unable to boot, the user can opt for an easy option of restoring it from an updated backup. But if in case, the user has not created any backup or backup falls short to restore the data, then the user needs to use an effective Data Recovery Software.

Consider a practical case, where the device driver file has corrupted on your Windows XP based system and you encounter the below error message while booting your system:

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

DriverName is the name of the file that is corrupted.

The above booting error message does not allow your system to boot and makes the data saved in the hard drive inaccessible.

Resolution:

To solve the above problem and to access the files saved in your hard drive, you will need to replace the DriverName file. To do so, you will need to follow the below steps:

To begin, you will need to reboot your system. Inserting the Windows XP CD-ROM before rebooting.

Press ‘R’ button when ‘Welcome to Setup’ screen appears on your screen. This will start the Recovery Console.

Enter the administrative password (is asked) and type the below command:
cd windows\system32\drivers

Type a new command to rename the corrupted device driver file:
ren drivername.sys drivername.bak

Type the below command to copy the file to the Drivers folder:
copy cd-rom:\i386 drivername

Exit from the command prompt and reboot your computer.

If the error message still appears while rebooting, then format your system and use an advanced Data Recovery Software to recover your formatted data. A Data Recovery tool is an application to recover lost data even after formatting.

However, there are many situations wherein the above option fails to resolve the error and your system remains unbootable. For such situations, the user can either restore data from an updated backup or use Bootrec.exe tool. But in case, both the above measures fail, the user can recover his/her data using advanced Data Recovery application.

Consider a practical case to illustrate the above problem. You attempt to boot Windows 7 operating system and encounter an error message stating that the boot.ini file is corrupt. To surmount the above error, select ‘System Recovery Options’ dialog box and select ‘Startup Repair’ option.

Windows Data Recovery is a data recovery tools that recovers data post any logical corruption scenario, even after formatting. The software recovers lost files (of any size and type) from corrupt, deleted, or formatted FAT12, FAT16, FAT32, VFAT , NTFS and NTFS5 file systems based hard drive partitions. It can be installed on Windows 7, Vista, XP, 2003, and 2000.