July 3rd 04, 04:17 PM
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HELP with Fatal exception messages
-----Original Message-----
These messages have many possible causes.
Did you recently install something? If so UNinstall it.
Next, I would try running the System File Checker. Go to
Start/Run and
enter "sfc".
If sfc doesn't do it, then you may have to reinstall
Windows into a
new empty folder. But before going that far, you could
try Safe Mode.
Troubleshooting should follow this logic:
1. Start Win95/98 in Safe Mode.
If the trouble does not appear in Safe Mode, then the
trouble is
caused by software conflicts or defects. Investigate each
of the
functions that Safe Mode turns off.
2. If the trouble also occurs in Safe Mode, rename the
current Windows
folder and reinstall Win95/98 into an empty folder.
If the trouble does not appear with a fresh installation,
the trouble
is caused by something you have added to Win95/98 (but
something that
is not turned off by Safe Mode).
3. If the trouble occurs even with a fresh install of
Windows, the
trouble is arising in hardware.
Safe Mode does the following:
(a) bypasses config.sys and autoexec.bat
(b) prevents programs from starting automatically (from
win.ini
or the startup folder)
(c) uses standard VGA video
(d) prevents a network from being started
(e) disables protected mode device drivers (those listed
in
Device Manager)
(f) bypasses the [boot] and [386Enh] sections of
system.ini
For more details, see document 122051 in the Microsoft
KnowledgeBase.
If Safe Mode makes the problem go away, you can try tests
from the
list below to pin down the cause of the problem. For more
elaborate
instructions, see document 156126 in the KnowledgeBase,
which explains
how to do troubleshooting in Safe Mode.
With Windows 98, you can use MSConfig to help you run the
tests below.
With Windows 95, you can use Startup Control Panel.
Startup Control
Panel is similar to the Msconfig utility that ships in
Windows 98. It
can make troubleshooting easier by removing and restoring
items from
the Windows startup. You can get Startup Control Panel as
freeware
from:
http://home.ptd.net/~don5408/toolbox/startupcpl/
Startup Cop can also disable items loading at Windows
startup and it
is freeware. You can download Startup Cop from:
http://www.zdnet.com/downloads/stori...0,,77594,.html
1. Change the video driver to Microsoft's Standard
Display Adapter
(VGA). Restart Windows and test.
2. Rename the Config.sys and Autoexec.bat to Config.sss
and
Autoexec.bbb, or edit them so that the only things
loading are
absolutely necessary for the computer to run. The latter
items might
be a SCSI driver for the harddrive, or disk management
software for an
EIDE drive. Deactivate EVERYTHING else by putting REM in
front of
that line. Reboot the computer and test.
3. Remove EVERYTHING from the Start Menu/Startup folder
by dragging
their icons onto the desktop. Also disable or uninstall
all utilities
that are running TSR (such as Norton Navigator, SoftRam
or Macafee
AV). Restart Windows and test.
4. Rename the Win.ini and System.ini to Win.iii and
System.iii. Then
make a copy of System.cb and name it System.ini. Do not
rename
System.cb itself. Edit the new System.ini as follows: Add
device=*vmd
to the [386Enh] section, and add
drivers=mmsystem.dll
mouse.drv=mouse.drv
to the [boot] section. Restart Windows. You probably will
have no
mouse so you'll have to use keystrokes to do the
following. Go into
Device Manager and select the mouse (which will have a
yellow
exclamation point). Click "Remove." Again, restart
Windows. Windows
should find the mouse and install software for it. Test.
5. With Windows 98, run the System File Checker. Go to
Start/Run and
enter "sfc".
6. Rename the current Windows folder (directory). Then
install
Win95/98 to a new, empty folder. Test. If problem does
not occur, it
was caused by something in the old installation. I
recommend that you
keep this new installation and reinstall your Windows
applications.
When you reinstall applications, install Windows
applications that
were written for Win95/98 or WinNT but do not install
older
applications that were written for Windows 3.x. Install
only one
application at a time and test the system thoroughly
before installing
another application. Before you install and application,
make a system
snapshot with a program such as ConfigSafe; this will
allow you to
revert to the previous situation if (when) you install an
application
that causes trouble. With Win98, it is also possible to
run "ScanReg
/Backup" before you install an application, which allows
you to
restore the Registry if (when) you install an application
that causes
trouble. However, it is safer to make a complete system
backup and
recovery with ConfigSafe or a similar product.
The following articles explain how to install into a new
folder:
How to Reinstall Windows 95 to a New Folder [142096]
http://support.microsoft.com/support...icles/142/0/96.
asp
How to Install Windows 98 to a New Folder [193902]
http://support.microsoft.com/support...icles/193/9/02.
asp
Information about reinstalling is also on
www.windowsreinstall.com.
Bill Starbuck (MVP)
.
Thank you.
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