Getting "page_fault_in_non_paged_area" error on Vista Ultimate upg

Al wrote:

> I've tried, unsuccessfully, 5 times to upgrade my XP Media Center Edition to
> Vista Ultimate.
> Upgrade runs fine until the final reboot, and then I get the BSOD with the
> above error about the paging file.
> Restore back to the old OS, and check that the paging file is system managed.
> Retry. Same error occurs. It gives a memory error as well, but the screen is
> there for a second, and then it reboots.
> I've run the advisor, and it shows all good, except for a few items
> (software) which it says, will not cause any major problems.
>
> I've done a search on the error, and found that this happens with memory. I
> did upgrade the memory from 2GB to 3GB, before i ran the upgrade.
> To counter that, i removed the new chips, and put it back down to 2GB, with
> the old chips. Still the same poroblem.
>
> If anyone has seen this, can you point me in the right direction of a
> possible solution?
>
> Thanks.

The error you mention certainly can happen with memory, but that's not
the only thing that can give this error. That said, when I encountered
this BSOD message several months after my last XP build, it WAS the RAM.
Even if you're running with the old DIMMs, it could still be a memory
problem because you could have accidentally loosened their electrical
contacts while installing the additional RAM. First, try removing them
and reseating them firmly; clean the contacts with something like Pro
Gold contact conditioner (Radio Shack) if they don't look perfect. If
that doesn't fix the problem, test each DIMM, by itself, with Memtest86
run from a boot disk. If neither original DIMM is defective, and you
still get the error after reinstalling them, look elsewhere for an
explanation -- for example, video drivers.

There are rare instances when defective DIMMs will pass Memtest86, but
fail the Prime95 Torture Test, so if you're at your wit's end, you may
want to download Prime95 to test the RAM from within Windows XP.

If you NEVER get this BSOD when you've restored back to the old OS, then
your RAM is probably OK. Bad DIMMs will crash XP just like they'll
crash a Vista installation.