Windows is known for its error messages and frustrating freeze-ups. Many things may occur to cause such problems, and unless you see a known and documented behavior, or a previously seen and oft-resolved error message, the troubleshooting process can be long and tedious. This training is designed to provide you with tools you can use to try to figure out what is going on.

GENERAL RULES OF THUMB

Windows 9x/me errors:

Fatal Exception OD
Microsoft's definition | top

The cpu has lost contact with a device or a virtual device driver, while attempting to complete an operation with that device. As per Microsoft: A Fatal Exception 0D is an error message that is most commonly found, but not limited to, out dated or damaged video display adapter drivers and out dated multimedia software; however, this error message has also been know to occur when theHsflop.pdr file is missing or damaged.

Fatal Exception OE
Microsoft's definition | top

The cpu has lost contact with a device or a virtual device driver, while attempting to complete an operation with that device. Frequently, an application attempts to access an illegal operation or instruction. This type of error is an indication that there is a hardware issue or hardware driver that needs to be resolved.

General Protection Fault
Microsoft's definition | top

An application is attempting to use a memory location that it is not supposed to use. If one application tries to utilize a memory space being used by another application, a general protection fault will occur. This error is an indication that the program in question is corrupt, or the RAM is bad or incompatible with the system.

Invalid Page Fault
Microsoft's definition | top

Virtual Memory has become unstable. The system is unable to utilize the paging file to efficiently run all processes. This error indicates that there is a shortage of physical RAM, a shortage of available disk space, or that there are simply too many processes running. In addition, programs attempting to utilize other programs' data or memory space can cause these errors.

Kernel32.dll Errors
Microsoft's definition | top

Kernel32.dll is a dynamic link library file which handles memory management, interrupts, and input/output operations. The error usually takes the form of an invalid page fault where a program is invading the kernel32.dll memory space ('[app name] has caused an invalid page fault in kernerl32.dll)'. Such a program must be uninstalled and re-installed.

Windows Protection Error
Microsoft's definition | top

You see these on startup. The error message says, "Windows protection error. You need to restart Windows." The system is loading a damaged .vxd (virtual device driver) file, or an etry in the registry that points to the .vxd file is corrupt.. You may or may not be informed of the file in question. These errors have many possible causes. Refer to Microsoft's definition.
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Missing .dll or .vxd files
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.dll files are small files that are called into use by apps when needed, and put away when the app is done with it. These files are not necessarily part of the app. The extension stands for 'dynamic link library'.
.vxd files are actual components of the operating system. The extension stands for 'virtual device driver'. The file is a 'virtual device'. Such errors are an indication that a file is missing, but entries in the registry or the system.ini configuration file prompt the system to look for it.

Solution: Extract the file in question from the OS cd-rom.

Unknown Errors
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The most frustrating of the bunch: An app has caused an unknown error in a 'module'. If you're lucky, both the application and the 'module' are listed. Otherwise, only the app is listed. This error is an indication of a corruption is a specific application, either in the 'corruptor' (the app) or the 'corruptee' (the module). Solution: Uninstall and re-install (or, if the student doesn't need it, just uninstall) the offending application.

How to Perform a Clean Boot in Windows 9x/ME

Clean booting is a selective-startup procedure in which you control what programs and drivers the system starts with at boot. It is a long and tedious troubleshooting procedure, but with patience, you might isolate the problem and solve it. Click here for the instructions.

Windows XP Errors

a. Stop Errors
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This is the Windows XP version of the BSOD (blue screen of death). There are many things that can cause this, but you'll usually see it on startup.

This error is an indication of a problem with a device or its driver.


b. Memory Dumps
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A blue screen error common to all NT based operating systems (NT, 2000, XP). You'll see a cryptic set of hexadecimal addresses, along with the words "memory dump". The OS is 'dumping' the error into a text file for examination at a later date.

This type of error usually indicates a major corruption in the OS. Forget about looking ot the dump file. It is time to re-install Windows.

HOW TO LOOK UP WINDOWS ERROR MESSAGES
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Whenever you get an error message, you will need to look it up to see what the solution is (if there is one). This section describes some web pages you can go to in order to look up and troubleshoot these problems.

Microsoft's knowledge base

- Enter the OS in question
- Enter keywords from the error (it type of error, any applications idicated, etc.)
- For efficient searches, refer to Microsoft's tips on how to query the knowledge base.


General information about Windows errors

Windows 98/ME Error Message Resource Site

Windows 2000 Error Messages

Windows XP Troubleshooting - Specific Stop Errors



Independent Resources for looking up Windows errors

Labmice.net: A good resource for Windows 2000 and XP. Note: Links will open directly to specific MS knowledge base articles.
Windows 2000 error codes | Windows XP error codes


Techadvice.com: A low-tech site with a lot of information about all versions of Windows.
Windows 95 | Windows 98 | Windows ME | Windows 2000 | Windows XP


Do a Google search

Place the error message or its keywords into a google search (or other search engines; Google just does the job very well). You will get numerous hits, including the specific Micorosft article pertaining to the issue, or close to it.

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