This document contains basic troubleshooting steps to help resolve the following Windows 95 generated error messages: Illegal Operation, Fatal Exception Error, Windows Protection Error, and General Protection Faults. This document assumes that the CD-ROM drive letter is D: and all software is installed on the C: drive.

Possible causes

Files on the hard drive are fragmented or corrupted.

The computer system has a virus.

Newly added software is interfering with the software application, Windows 95 or the computer system.

The video resolution or number of colors is set incorrectly for the application or the application is incompatible with the video drivers.

A memory resident application is interfering with the software application, Windows 95 or the computer system.

Newly added hardware is interfering with the software application, Windows 95 or the computer system.

Windows 95 core files or Registry is corrupt or malfunctioning.

Basic Troubleshooting

Temporary files on the hard drive - Many software programs keep temporary files on the hard drive and often in the directory the program uses. Windows 95 can also accumulate temporary files if the computer "locks up" or if you do not exit Windows 95 completely before shutting off the computer. Often, an accumulation of temporary files can cause some programs to malfunction or produce errors. The temporary files generally have a *.tmp extension and often start with a ~ as the first character in the file name. To locate these files, right click the My Computer icon in the upper left hand corner of the screen. Click the word Explore that appears on the menu. At the top of the Explorer window, click the word Tools, then click the word Find and finally click the word Files or Folders. The Find: All Files window appears on the screen. In the box labeled Named:, type:

*.tmp

Click the mouse in the box labeled Look in:. Highlight the information in the Look in: box, then type:

c:\windows\temp

and click the Find Now button on the upper right hand side of the window. All the temporary files appear in the box at the bottom of this window. Press the Ctrl key and the A key on the keyboard at the same time to highlight all the files. Once all the files are highlighted, press the Delete key on the keyboard. Once you finish with the *.tmp files, click the New Search button on the right hand side of the screen. A window appears informing you the boxes for the current search will be cleared. Click the OK button. In the Named: box type:

~*.*

and click the Find Now button in the upper right hand corner of the screen. More temporary files appear in the box at the bottom of this window. Press the Ctrl key and the A key on the keyboard at the same time to highlight all the files. Once all the files are highlighted, press the Delete key on the keyboard. Once you finish this procedure, click the X button in the upper right hand corner of this window. Right click the Recycle Bin on the desktop. Click the word Empty Recycle Bin on the menu that appears. Click the Yes button when asked if you want to delete the files. You are now ready to Defragment your hard drive.

Defragment the files - Many software errors are corrected by running Defrag on the hard drive. You should only need to run Scandisk if Defrag recommends it. Defragmenting the hard drive puts all the files and directories in a logical order so the program may find the information on the hard drive more efficiently. To run the Defrag program - Click the Start button, then click the word Programs, followed by Accessories. Click the word System Tools and finally click the word Disk Defragmenter. A Select Drive window appears on the screen asking you which drive you wish to defragment. Highlight C: and click the OK button at the bottom of the window. If you have programs or files on more than one hard drive or partition, click the down arrow on the right hand side of the screen and scroll to the bottom of the list of drives. Click on All hard drives to highlight it, then click the OK button at the bottom of the window. A Defragmenting drive window appears on the screen. Note: If there is any corruption in the program, Defrag informs you it cannot run until Scandisk is run and corrects any file errors. If you wish see the files being moved as the drive is defragmented, click the Show Details button on the lower right hand corner of the window. Once Defrag is finished, click the Yes button to quit the program and return to Windows 95. Try running the application again to see if the error occurs.

Software considerations - If you are only receiving error messages in one application, you need to uninstall and reload that application. If there is no uninstall option for the software, you may have to delete the program. After you reinstall the application, try running it again to see if the error still occurs. If you are still receiving the errors, consult the documentation that came with the program or the programís vendor or manufacturer to see if the application is compatible with Windows 95. Although not normally necessary, you may need to upgrade the application so it will function in Windows 95.

If you recently added a new software program to the computer and are now receiving errors in other applications, uninstall or remove the newly added software. Some of the files that Windows 95 or other software applications require to run may have been changed when the new software was installed.

Computer virus - Computer viruses are programs created to delete and/or damage files on your computer. These viruses are often the cause of error messages in Windows 95. To see if a boot sector virus is present, click the Start button in the lower left hand corner of the screen. Click the word Programs that appears on the menu, then click the word MS-DOS Prompt to open this window. At the C:WINDOWS\> prompt type:

CHKDSK

and press Enter. Locate the line which reads, Total bytes memory. If the bytes does not equal 655,360, a boot sector virus may be present. If you have a virus, you need to obtain a virus utility. Make sure the virus utility is on a write protected diskette and it recognizes Windows 95 long file names. Once you remove the virus from the computer, reboot the computer and try the program again. If a virus is removed from the computer and the program still malfunctions or causes an error message, uninstall and reload the application.

Note: If you have an Adaptec SCSI controller with BIOS version 1.2s or greater, CHKDSK may report the Total bytes memory at 651,264. This does not mean there is a virus present. However, running a virus scan utility is always a good precaution.

Resolving error message difficulties

Virtual memory settings - It is highly recommended that you let Windows 95 manage the virtual memory settings on the computer. Error messages are common if the virtual memory settings in Windows 95 are changed by the user. To verify the virtual settings, right click the My Computer icon in the upper left hand corner of the screen. Click the word Properties that appears on the screen. Across the top of the System Properties window are four tabs: General, Device Manager, Hardware Profiles, and Performance. Click the Performance tab to view this information. In the lower right hand corner of the screen, click the Virtual Memory button. In the upper portion of the Virtual Memory window, make sure that there is a bullet beside Let Windows manage my virtual memory settings (recommended). Once any changes are made, click the OK button at the bottom of the windows until you return to Windows 95. If prompted, click the Yes button to restart Windows 95. Once you return to the Windows 95 desktop, try your software application again.

Video settings - The number of colors, as well as the particular drivers used by the video card, may cause certain applications to generate errors. To check the number of colors the system is currently using, right click an open area on the Windows 95 desktop. Click the word Properties that appears on the menu. Across the top of the Display properties are four tabs: Background, Screen Saver, Appearance, and Settings. Click the Settings tab to view the information on this screen. In the Color palette: box on the middle left hand side of the screen, click the down arrow beside the current setting. Scroll through the list and highlight 256 (if not already using 256). Click the OK button at the bottom of the screen. Windows 95 needs to be restarted when changing color depths When the message appears prompting you to restart Windows 95, click the Yes button. After Windows 95 restarts, try the application again. If the application still does not run or produces an error, refer to the Safe Mode portion of this document to further troubleshoot the difficulty.

Windows Initialization (*.ini) file - Although Windows 95 and Windows 95 specific applications do not generally require modifications to the WIN.INI file, some software applications may still modify this file. If you are receiving errors immediately on entering Windows 95, a software program may have caused a problem by modifying this file. To view this file, click the Start button, then click the word Run that appears on the menu. In the Open box, type:

win.ini

and click the OK button. The WIN.INI file opens in the Notepad window. Look for a line that starts with Load= and Run=. If there are any words after the = sign, place the cursor at the beginning of the Load= line and press the semi colon (;) key on the keyboard. Next, place the cursor at the beginning of the Run= line and press the semi colon (;) key on the keyboard. Once any changes are made, click the X button in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Answer Yes to save the changes, shut down and restart Windows 95, and try to run the application again.

StartUp Group - Often, programs in the StartUp group can contribute to errors, especially if the program is corrupted and it attempts to load automatically as Windows 95 starts. To view programs in the startup group, right click the Start button in the lower left hand corner of the screen. Click the word Open that appears on the menu. The Start Menu window opens on your screen. Double click the Programs icon in this window. In the Programs window that appears, double click the StartUp icon. This window displays the programs that automatically start when Windows 95 starts. One at a time, right click the icons in the StartUp window, then click the word Cut that appears on the menu. Right click an open spot on the Windows 95 desktop, then click the word Paste that appears on the menu. Once all the programs are removed from the StartUp window, click the X in the upper right hand corner of this window to close it. Click the X in the upper right hand corner of the Programs, then click the X in the upper right hand corner of the Start Menu window to return to the Windows 95 desktop. Click the Start button in the lower left hand corner of the screen. Click the word Shut down that appears on the menu. Click Restart the computer on the final window, then click the Yes button to restart the computer and Windows 95. Once you re-enter Windows 95, try the application again. If the application now works, double click the icons that were in your StartUp window one at a time to see which program is causing the error message.

Newly added hardware - Newly added hardware and the drivers to run the hardware may interfere with programs already installed, as well as Windows 95 core files. If you started receiving errors after installing new hardware, such as a scanner, printer, sound card, etc., to the computer, remove the new hardware driver or software program, as well as physically removing the hardware from the computer. To remove the hardware from Windows 95, right click the My Computer icon in the upper left hand corner of the screen. Click the word Properties that appears on the menu. Across the top of the System Properties window are four tabs: General, Device Manager, Hardware Profiles, and Performance. Click the Device Manager tab to view this information. Click the + symbol beside the type of hardware you added to the computer, such as a network card, hard drive, etc. A listing of the devices the computer recognizes appears under this. Click the device you added to highlight it, then click the Remove button at the bottom of the screen. The Confirm Device Removal window appears on the screen. Click the OK button to continue removing the device, then click the Yes button to restart Windows 95 (if prompted, otherwise shut down and restart). As soon as the computer starts to reboot, power the system off. Remove the hardware device from the computer. Power the system back on. Once you re-enter Windows 95, try the application again that was producing the error.

Safe Mode - Safe Mode is used to eliminate the possibility that a device driver or something automatically starting when Windows 95 starts is contributing to the difficulty. However, Safe Mode eliminates all drivers, including video drivers and startup options, all at once. If starting the computer in Safe Mode eliminates the errors, you should contact our Customer Support Technicians to help you narrow the problem area. To enter Windows 95 in Safe Mode, power the computer on or click the Start button in the lower left hand corner of the screen, then click Shut down, followed by highlighting Restart the computer and finally click the Yes button. The system now boots up. As soon as you see the message Starting Windows 95..., press the F8 key on the keyboard immediately. Select the option from the menu for Safe Mode, then press Enter. Windows 95 starts in Safe Mode. Try to run the application again. If you are unable to press the F8 key quick enough, simply exit Windows 95 or start the computer and hold down the Shift key until the computer boots into Windows 95.

Note: Since certain drivers, particularly for the CD-ROM, are not loaded in Safe Mode, applications that require the CD-ROM drive will not function correctly.

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