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Solve : Nightmare iomdisk.sys driver problem?

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For several months this godawful driver called iomdisk.sys has been forcing my computer to reboot randomly.  I just can't take it anymore.  I have tried absolutely EVERYTHING.

Here is what I know about it.  It is a driver for my Iomega ZIP USB 100 MB external drive.  It also controls my CD-ROM drives (I have two; a CD burner and a DVD burner; neither are external).  When I got the zip drive, I installed Iomegaware.  I didn't have to, because Windows XP comes with drivers for the zip drive already.  I kept having problems with this iomdisk.sys driver.  I called Iomega's support center and the guy told me that it wasn't an Iomega driver; that it was a Windows driver.  I had uninstalled the Iomegaware prior to calling Iomega (and after uninstallation I kept having problems).  The Iomega guy told me that the Iomegaware replaces the original iomdisk.sys driver with one of their own.  UNINSTALLING Iomegaware should have removed it.  I don't know if it did.  I doubt it.  Anyway, he had me remove some old entries in the registry pertaining to Iomegaware, and told me that that should have fixed it.  It didn't.

I tried callling Microsoft, but I was on hold for an hour.

I have posted this on Microsoft's newsgroups.  I have done a search on the Internet - I have tried everything humanly possible besides just formatting my hard drive and reinstalling Windows.  I really don't want to have to do that.

There has to be someone on this Earth who knows.  I cannot be the only person driven to complete madness and misery because of this.  There simply has to be an answer.

The longer this problem exists, the worse my computer gets.  The cmd.exe loads EVERYTIME I boot up my computer, and something called IP Configuration Utility or something keeps asking for Internet access (I have Zone Alarm).  Everytime I open the Control Panel explorer.exe causes some horrible error and it shuts down, wiping out everything in my system tray.  I can't even listen to audio CDs anymore because the computer randomly reboots (might be sound card driver problems, which is totally different).

I tried disabling the driver by using the Recovery Console, but then I lost access to my CD-ROM drives as well.  I also tried going into msconfig to disable anything related to Iomega running when the comptuer boots up and still, the same problem.

I don't know what to do anymore.  It is making me very, very unhappy - and I am already depressed.  Please, please, someone help.  It would be greatly appreciated.

Oh, and one more thing.  I don't want any smart *censored* remarks posted in reply to this message.  I paid a lot of money for my computer and this is no joke.  I am not in the mood to put up with any smart assed, asinine one-liners.  So if you aren't willing to help, then just go harass someone else.  Thanks. Quote

I tried callling Microsoft, but I was on hold for an hour.


That's FUNNY, when you want to register and find out your product key has been blocked they seem more than eager to pick up.

Since you are using Windows XP, you should try the repair function.

Set the CD-ROM as the first boot device in the BIOS, insert the CD-ROM and run the repair utility.MihoshiMarie.....You are using XP ......are you using SP2?
I would try the following if you haven't already done so.
I would completely uninstall both of your cd drives......physically unplug then and remove all drivers.
Then I would completely uninstall your external zip drive and all drivers for it.
Then I would reboot the pc and do a search for any of the installed drivers for the cd's and the zip drive . I would also search the registry as well. Then I would run some kind of registry cleaner..( I'm sure you must have one that you like).
Then I would shut down and plug back in one of your cd drives. DO NOT install any drivers......Let Windows detect the "new hardware installed" and it will install the required driver.......then test it ......play a music cd. If your having a problem with your sound card.....try and sort it out now before going any further. You didnt mention what kind of burning software your using.....If the cd drive works ok ...then shut down and plug the second one back in and reboot and again let windows "detect new hardware" ...then test that drive.
If it works ....I would suggest doing a test burn....on a
CD +or- R  . If that is ok then I would shut down again and plug the zip drive in and let windows detect it and install the generic windows driver for it.
If you are using SP2....the driver for your zip drive may not be compatible with sp2.....You didnt say but I assume your pc was working just fine before you added the zip drive.

let us know

dl65  First of all, I'd like to thank Raptor and dl65 for their replies.  I have read them through and I will definitely try them out.

I do have Windows XP Home Edition, with SP1.  I tried installing SP2, but the computer's condition worsened, so I had to reinstall Windows XP.

I will post another reply here once my mother comes home (the resident computer expert) so that she can help me try these suggestions out.

Thanks again.   http://www.iomega.com/software/appservices.html Quote
...It is a driver for my Iomega ZIP USB 100 MB external drive....


I had one of those!  It made me miserable, too.  Got rid of it.  Are your internal drives Iomega, too?  The last good product Iomega made was the Bernoulli Box, still have the box with no drives.

Does this problem occur when drive is connected or disconnected?
Quote

I had one of those!  It made me miserable, too.  Got rid of it.  Are your internal drives Iomega, too?  The last good product Iomega made was the Bernoulli Box, still have the box with no drives.

Does this problem occur when drive is connected or disconnected?


No, thankfully my internal drives are not by Iomega.  As for the zip drive, this problem occurrs whether the drive is connected or not, but it occurrs more frequently when the drive is connected.

When the drive is disconnected, the problem usually occurrs when I am trying to shut down or restart the computer.

I haven't gotten a chance to try those solutions as yet, cos my FAMILY have been unpacking boxes in the basement.  I am glad to know that I am not the only one with this problem.  I hope you got your problem resolved. Quote
...I hope you got your problem resolved...

Drive is gone for good.  Computer problems were never as severe as yours.  Iomegaware is almost as bad as Norton System Works.  Once installed, they can never be completely removed and will haunt you forever.

Follow dl65's advice, above, and you've got a good chance of getting back to normal. Quote
Drive is gone for good.  Computer problems were never as severe as yours.  Iomegaware is almost as bad as Norton System Works.  Once installed, they can never be completely removed and will haunt you forever.

Follow dl65's advice, above, and you've got a good chance of getting back to normal.


I have tried using the driver verifier and enabled special pool (as advised by the blue screen of death) to make the problem go away.  This was after reinstalling Windows XP for the second time.  So FAR I haven't seen the problem again.

However, now I plan to follow dl65's advice and uninstall both of the CD-ROM drives (I never use the ZIP drive anymore).  I will have to do this after I get back from an out-of-state trip, which will be two weeks from now.

I also plan to get an extra hard drive, in case I need to back up my files and format the hard drive.

I don't think I will be using my ZIP drive anymore after this.  I don't know if I will get the same problems by using it on a clean system.  I hope not.

If it's any help to anyone else, the stop error message has this hexadecimal number:  0x000000C5.  The parameters that follow in parentheses vary.http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/w2kmsgs/1121.asp


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