Windows Crashing (so what else is new??)

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 23 Apr 2001 4:55 pm

Halp! On my wife's computer, Windows 98 keeps crashing. I get the gray rectangle that speaks of some fatal error with some wierd code like EE075858XG1EE0098. Then when I reboot, the computer will only open in Safe Mode. This stinks. Any help will be much appreciated!
Thanks, guys (and gals),
Jimbeaux

Craig Allen · Post by **Craig Allen** » 23 Apr 2001 7:44 pm

Let it go to safe mode.
RIGHT click "My Computer"
Select device manager tab.
If there are any Yellow Exclaimation marks, you will have found your prob.

Remove the Problem, and re-start.

make sure you have your system disks handy, as you will probably need them to recover the system that you just removed.

OR: You can reload Windows. (Over the top)
Save system files, and let 'er go boys.
It will likely 'fix' whatever the evil empire broke.

I run 98 Second Edition, and haven't had an unexpected crash yet.

Bon Chance

George Rozak · Post by **George Rozak** » 23 Apr 2001 8:37 pm

Jim,

You can also try restoring one of your previous Registry configurations. You'll need to reboot in MSDOS mode & then type SCANREG /RESTORE at the command prompt. You'll be presented with a menu listing your last five Registry entries representing successful boots. You can restore a previous "good" Registry from this menu. It might be worth a try.

Hope this helps.

George

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 24 Apr 2001 6:12 am

Those five previous registries are not from "successful boots", just the last five boots. So if the last five boots (or more) have had the problem, this won't help.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 24 Apr 2001 6:33 am

Aaaauuughhh! Where were you a half an hour ago when I needed you Jim, just before I took George's advice??! Aaaauughhh!

p.s. by the way, when I right-clicked on My Computer, as suggested above, I didn't see an option for "Device Manager". Is there another place to access that?[This message was edited by Jim Cohen on 24 April 2001 at 07:35 AM.]

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 24 Apr 2001 6:39 am

For Device Manager, go to Start, Settings, Control Panel, System. Device Manager is the second tab from the left, I believe. I'm running Windows 2000 Professional and it's been a while since I've looked at Windows 98.

David Pennybaker · Post by **David Pennybaker** » 24 Apr 2001 9:46 am

WindowsKey - Break (press together) will also bring up Device Manager.

------------------
The Unofficial Photographer of The Wilkinsons

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 24 Apr 2001 10:06 am

Cool tip David. It brings up System Properties on NT. (I'm at "work"

now.)

George Rozak · Post by **George Rozak** » 24 Apr 2001 10:12 am

Jim...

Sorry about the mistake about Win98 saving the last 5 successful boots. In any case, when you restore one of the Registry backups with SCANREG, it's my understanding that it automatically backs up your current system files before it restores the Registry you specified... So hopefully you're not any worse off than you were before. You should be able to get back to your original configuration the same way. The SCANREG utility has bailed me out of problems in the past, but you may want to check with Jim S before you take my advice again

George

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 24 Apr 2001 10:27 am

It's OK, George. No harm done. I was just havin' fun with Jim above. I really do appreciate your help, as well as everyone else's. I'm still working on the problem though, but I haven't tried all the solutions offered yet.
jc

Everett Cox · Post by **Everett Cox** » 24 Apr 2001 10:47 am

Jim -- Sorry your wife has computer problems. I'm still running Win95(C) and have not had a system crash in more than a year. And I do a great deal of downloading and installation of software in order to find/try stuff for the benefit of others.

Anyway, did the error dialog not indicate which application or module was at fault? Was there a 'details' button that might have provided some clues? Can you provide more info about the problem so we can better diagnose and, hopefully, fix it???

If you can get the machine properly booted into Windows, I have utilities which MIGHT help to find and resolve the glitch.-Everett

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 24 Apr 2001 6:41 pm

Hi Everett:
Thanks for trying to help. Just tonite it was AOL that seemed to be crashing the system. Here's what happened. I signed on and within a minute got the gray rectangle that said as follows:

WAOL
This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down.

Invalid page fault in module MSHTML.DLL at 016f:7ad6cla7

Registers:
EAX=550008c2 CS=016f EIP=7ad6cla7 EFLGS=00010202

EBX=00000000 SS=0177 ESP=0405f55c EBP=0405f570

ECX=7ad83dc0 DS=0177 ESI=00000000 FS=3acf

EDX=0405f538 ES=0177 EDI=032b2075 GS=0000
(note: possibly that last one said "ED1=032b2075 etc"


There was more to copy down but just then I got the Blue Screen of Death with the following message:

Fatal Exception 0E occurred at 0028:C157B0C3. Current application will be terminated.

And then it all went very, very dark.

Can anyone help? Thanks!
Jim

Craig Allen · Post by **Craig Allen** » 24 Apr 2001 7:52 pm

Could it be that you need to upgrade the drivers for your modem????????

Jim Smith · Post by **Jim Smith** » 24 Apr 2001 7:54 pm

Jim, my guess is that WAOL is Windows (or something) AOL. The error is in it's DLL (Dynamically Linked Library) MSHTML. Try reinstalling AOL, if that doesn't help, reinstall Windows 98, or upgrade to Windows 98 SE. It looks like something is corrupted.

If possible, copy your AOL Favorites, emails, and address book to another folder, and uninstall AOL by going to Control Panel, Add/Remove Software. Hope one of these helps.

Jack Stoner · Post by **Jack Stoner** » 25 Apr 2001 2:44 am

Problems, like Jim's, usually require troubleshooting the particular system configuration.

A lot of times similar symptoms turn out to be different problems in different systems. e.g. one may have a bad driver for a certain brand/model of video card and get a similar error, but the other system has a different video card and the problem may not be video related. I get that all the time when I go on a service call "my son had that problem and it was "so and so" and do that to mine" - never works.

One culprit that seems to cause problems, in certain configurations, is the antivirus programs. If you don't have the "latest and greatest" version of the program it can cause conflicts with certain applications. I've seen it with both McAfee and Norton and they both have workarounds for specific problems.

After saying everything is system specific, etc., I'll now say that I've had, relatively, a lot of calls about system errors that turned out to be AOL program inflicted. The AOL program seems to be buggier (some versions) than many other programs. I have one client using Compuserve that has had similar problems as AOL, and since Compuserve is owned by AOL and the S/W is basically modified AOL software I can see why.

Tom Diemer · Post by **Tom Diemer** » 25 Apr 2001 3:52 am

Jim,

When it first boots, safe mode, or normal,(either will work for this), go to 'start button', 'run' and type MSCONFIG

Find the 'Startup' tab (If 98 SE, it will be under Advanced, if I remember right). You will see everything that is launching on windows bootup. Uncheck everything except 'explorer' and 'systray' (if this is 98 SE, you wont see explorer listed)..

If the problem is a corrupt program that is loading on boot, this should get you into Windows. Then you can replace those things, one at a time, till you find the bad one.

The device manager tab wont show you much of value when in Safe mode, because those drivers arent loaded in Safe mode.

Also, you might try running 'sysinfo' in 'start, programs, accys, system tools.,
On the tools menu, there is 'system file checker', very powerful tool for replacing corrupt or out of version modules and drivers..

Another thing to look for, if none of this works, is a corrupt printer driver, or screen saver file. They both load on windows boot *parts of them do*..

You also could be looking at a hardware problem (specifically, a bad ram chip)

If you could copy down the exact error message you get, post it. Might be able to find a solution that way.

Good luck Jim

Tom

Tom Diemer · Post by **Tom Diemer** » 25 Apr 2001 5:12 am

I must have been still sleeping, missed the post about AOL errors...

In the past, the fix for that, is to go to ADD-REMOVE programs in control panel, uninstall AOL, then go to 'windows setup', and uninstall dialup networking. Reboot, reinstall dialup networking (replaces the corrupt IP files), then reinstall AOL.

Just reinstalling AOL has never worked for me.

Removing dialup networking and reinstalling it, does.

Again, good luck.

Tom

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 25 Apr 2001 5:37 am

Thanks, Tom. I know how to uninstall and reinstall AOL but how do I uninstall/reinstall dialup networking? where do I get the file to reinstall it? And, where is "Windows setup"?

By the way, I was already following your advice above and here's what happened so far. First of all, while booting up I saw a passing message, FWIW, that said: CMOS/GPNV Checksum Bad. Don't know what that means, but sounds 'bad', right? But it kept booting anyway. Then it told me I needed to check the clock because it had reset it for daylight savings time. Well, maybe, but it keeps resetting the calendar back to January 1980!! The time itself is only off by an hour (the minutes are fine), so maybe that part has to do with DST, but not the calendar setback!

So then I unchecked everything in the Startup tab of MSCONFIG, except for systray (you're right, there was no option for Explorer) and everything was going fine so far. Then I started AOL and while AOL was opening, the background screen colors changed to wierd electric colors and now instead of having a colored background for the AOL home screen, I have a grainy black and white background. Are we getting close?

So, I can uninstall and reinstall AOL, but please tell me how to do the dialup networking uninstall/reinstall. Thanks!
jc

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 25 Apr 2001 5:45 am

Oh, one other system problem: when the printer (EPSON ActionLaser 1100) in "on", it seems to slooooow the system down so much that everything starts to crawl... and then sometimes it won't print either. So we usually keep the printer "off" and things go better. I've tried to get the updated printer driver from the Epson website but they don't seem to list one for this printer anymore.

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 25 Apr 2001 7:01 am

OK, here's the latest, guys. I ran the System Checker as recommended above and it identified two files in the C:\Windows\System folder that "may be corrupted". They are: user.exe and setupx.dll

It gave me the option to reinstall them from source disks, or to skip doing that for now. I skipped it for now till I could run this by youse guys. I'm a little concerned that it might delete the copies I have before confirming that the disk I put in the drive (Windows 98SE "for new computers")will provide the proper replacements... and then I could end up with a dead computer? Say it isn't so! Shall I close my eyes and press "Enter"?
Thx,
jc

Craig Allen · Post by **Craig Allen** » 25 Apr 2001 8:09 am

Please Jim, save yourself a lot of agrivation, and just reload 98SE over the top.
You won't lose anything, if you just do a re-store. It will fix any kinks that have cropped up, and have you up and running in 30min. or so.

While you are in WQindows, slip the SE disk into the CD drawer. When the prog. starts close it. Right clikc your CD icon, in My Computer. Select "EXPLORE", then select the setup, and you're on your way.

It's a lot faster, and it will end the frustration.

A word of note. If YOU have any Tweak Programs, as in Tweak UI, or X-Tech Setup, that have chanced things in the registry, they will not be "FIXED". And if this tweaking has caused a problem, then you'll need to do a re-format, unless you know how to work with the registry. I warn you that messing with the registry can get ya in trouble, if you're not hip to it.

Here's my phone. 281 357 1042
I would hope that others would offer up their phones, too.
Call, and I or anyone else can talk you through this. It's faster and we or anyone else can address any quirks that pop up, on the spot.

I run 98SE, and know my way around it pretty well.

Bon Chance

David Pennybaker · Post by **David Pennybaker** » 25 Apr 2001 9:34 am

FDISK works wonders, Jim.

(just kidding -- though sometimes it DOES seem tempting).

Follow Mr. Allen's advice, and try re-installing Win98. I've never done that, but it's "supposed" to work just fine, without screwing up other programs. (Bless you, Mr. Gates).

Concerning your printer: is that a relatively new model? Is it parallel, or USB?

My experience with new printers has been interesting. The HP was incredibly slow on the parallel port (and slowed down the entire system when printing), but worked GREAT on USB -- which is why I upgraded from Win95 to Win98.

When I got my Epson 870, it seemed to work OK on USB, except half the time, it'd lock up somewhere during an 8x10 print. I tried different USB cables, different USB ports, exchanging the printer, re-installing the drivers -- all to no avail. Then just installed it as a parallel printer -- works fine and fast.

Go figure.

Best of luck.

------------------
The Unofficial Photographer of The Wilkinsons

Jim Cohen · Post by **Jim Cohen** » 25 Apr 2001 11:52 am

Have now reinstalled Windows 98 with the wonderful help and patience of C Allen (thank you!) and so far things are doing just fine. Haven't tried the printer yet but I'm encouraged so far by what I'm seeing... and not seeing!

Thanks to everyone who pitched in here!
jc

Everett Cox · Post by **Everett Cox** » 25 Apr 2001 2:24 pm

Jim-- I've been hanging back since I don't use AOL and I'm still using Win95. The others with sytems similar to your's should have better advice.

The suggestion to reinstall Windows sounds like a good one but remember to copy the 'Favorites' and 'StartMenu', at least, to some other drive or folder. They will often get over written during a reinstall. Later, the contents of the saved folders can be pasted back into the appropriate places.

The screen colors are different when you're in 'Safe' mode because the normal video driver is not being used.

The Windows 'Setup' should be a tab at the top of the window that opens when you invoke the 'Add/Remove Programs' applet in Control Panel.

The Epson AtionLaser 1100 is evidently rather old. The Epson site does not provide much help. I DID check what they had at
http://support.epson.com/hardware/printer/laser/al1100/filelibrary.html
and read the spec's. I noticed they said to use the Hewlit-Packard Laserjet III driver if the Epson fails.
http://www.hp.com/cposupport/swindexes/ ... Windows 98

Epson also said the printer will NOT work with an ECP or EPP printer port. (I could not tell if they were talking about the Epson or the HP printer, though.) If you must, the port can be changed to 'Standard' in the computer BIOS which is accessed at bootup.
I saw HP has a Win98 driver for use with the Autocad application. You likely don't use Autocad but the driver MIGHT be an improvement.

If you really get into any of this stuff, you will certainly need some additional details. Post questions or send email.

Hope some of this was/is helpfull. -Everett [This message was edited by Everett Cox on 25 April 2001 at 03:27 PM.]