Stop Error - is it hardware or software?

[richy_2k]

I posted this here last night but it got closed as i put in the win xp forum as well but don't close this one please as more people view this forum and are likely to be able to help.

I have recieved a stop error in Windows XP three times now, what happens is the hard drive sounds like it's in trouble then i recieve the stop error:

stop:c000021a unknown hard error

For a little while after the error the primar master isn't detected.

Are windows stop errors caused by software or have i got a faulty hard drive. If it's caused by a software error restoring my system would be the fix but my woory is that the hard drive is faulty, any info would be great.

Thanks,

Richy

[HAL9000]

The reason it was closed was it is not necessary to post the same question mulitple times. Anyone here that may know an answer or have a suggestion will be in the NT/2K/XP forum as well. Please do not open multiple threads on the same topic. It also makes progress with the problem difficult for you and others to track.

See posting here.