Today I was away from my computer for awhile and upon my return, the screen was blue with the following detailed error message written across the screen:
A problem has been detected and windows had been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.
KERNEL_DATA_INPAGE_ERROR
If this is the first time you've seen this stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:
Check to make sure any new hardware or software is properly installed. If this is a new installation ask your hardware or software manufacturer for any windows updates you might need.
If problems continue, disable or remove any newly installed hardware or software. Disable BIOS memory options such as caching or shadowing. If you need to use Safe Mode to remove or disable components, restart your computer, press F8 to select Advanced Startup Options, and then select Safe Mode.
Technical Information:
*** STOP: 0x0000007A (0xC03E1838, 0xC000000E, 0xF860E384, 0x08F88860)
*** atapi.sys - Address F860E384 base at F8601000, DateStamp 41107b4d
Beginning dump of physical memory
Physical memory dump complete
Contact your system administrator or technical support group for further assistance
.......................................................
That's the error message and I really don't know what to make of it. I've read a few things online explaining what Stop error messages and 0x7A messages are, but that's about as far as I can go. I don't know what I need to DO to resolve this problem. Is there a program I can download to fix it, or a step-by-step process I need to follow?
It's very odd because once the blue screen error message appears, I am able to restart my computer and then use it as usual for a random period of time of approximately 1 hour or so before the same blue screen error message re-appears.
I don't recall downloading or installing any new programs within the past few days, so I'm very confused as to why this happened all of a sudden and am really hoping that it can be resolved with some help from someone with a little more technical know-how. Please, any assistance will be greatly appreciated.