gugis
asked on
Illegal Operation Blues...
Hey Everyone.
I have a BUTTLOAD of software on this machine. Every now and then, almost randomly, I get a message that says "This program has performed an illegal operation ..." I have to Close and so on. The machine works fine most of the time, but I don't like the mini-crash occurances. . . What do ya think I can check (I have Nuts and Bolts Deluxe)? Is it a Registry problem I'm not finding?
I have a BUTTLOAD of software on this machine. Every now and then, almost randomly, I get a message that says "This program has performed an illegal operation ..." I have to Close and so on. The machine works fine most of the time, but I don't like the mini-crash occurances. . . What do ya think I can check (I have Nuts and Bolts Deluxe)? Is it a Registry problem I'm not finding?
What kind of illegal operation? Write down the details of these messages as you get them, they may give a clue as to where the problem lies. there are a variety of things that can cause illegal operations errors, we need more info to answer your question.
> How often does this happen???
Often enough to be annoying,
and far too often to consider a computer to be
a "tool" for the masses.
Often enough to be annoying,
and far too often to consider a computer to be
a "tool" for the masses.
ASKER
You LOCKED my question to ASK another question!! Smeebud, you know better than that ...
Anyway, it happens once every other day. It's a NONspecific error message like...
"This program has performed an illegal operation. Choosing Close will close the application"
I should keep a log on WHICH programs are causing the error. Only thing is, it's NOT any Particular program. It seems to hit at random!!
Anyway, it happens once every other day. It's a NONspecific error message like...
"This program has performed an illegal operation. Choosing Close will close the application"
I should keep a log on WHICH programs are causing the error. Only thing is, it's NOT any Particular program. It seems to hit at random!!
Sorry gugis, I just did that to get a responce.
Can you still use CTRL+ALT+DEL???
Regards, Bud
http://www.geocities.com/~budallen/
Can you still use CTRL+ALT+DEL???
Regards, Bud
http://www.geocities.com/~budallen/
Does it happens after you did the print job? If that is the case, tell me what printer do you have??
Can you still use CTRL+ALT+DEL???
Bud
Bud
rehehehehealy.
I thought you'll figure it out.
The program that causes that message is
WINDOWS95
I thought you'll figure it out.
The program that causes that message is
WINDOWS95
ASKER
theh95: NO. It never happens after I print.
duke_n: I have windows98
smeebud: Sorry so long to answer. I don't know... I never use CTRL+ALT+DEL because of the clusters you have to clean up afterward.
Even with a clean install of Win95, then Win98 upgrade, then Word97, Norton AntiVirus, . . . I get the error message once in a while. It's not happening with every use; just enough to let me know there's a BUG flying around somewhere.
duke_n: I have windows98
smeebud: Sorry so long to answer. I don't know... I never use CTRL+ALT+DEL because of the clusters you have to clean up afterward.
Even with a clean install of Win95, then Win98 upgrade, then Word97, Norton AntiVirus, . . . I get the error message once in a while. It's not happening with every use; just enough to let me know there's a BUG flying around somewhere.
Try a new antivirus: may be it is some kind of Win95 virus (for example Win95.CIH).
Can you still use CTRL+ALT+DEL?
CTRL+ALT+DEL opens your end task box.
Bud
CTRL+ALT+DEL opens your end task box.
Bud
ASKER
smeebud - - Yep. The three button salute still works...(cntrl-alt-del)
ASKER
smeebud- Opened the task list. Hey detrimental would it be to reinstall Win98 over-top of the existing setup?
PoltaVets - Wouldn't Norton find the virus if I keep it current with AutoUpdate?
PoltaVets - Wouldn't Norton find the virus if I keep it current with AutoUpdate?
You can re-install over the the old, When you are prompted, choose to Restore Windows Files That Are Changed Or Corrupted.. Did you upgrade to 98 or buy The full OEM CD=ROM dosk??
Was it a fresh install to a clean/formated HDD??
Try operating in safe mode a bit. If that works we can rell that it maybe video related.
------------------2
General Protection Faults in Windows 95
This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down.
A FATAL EXCEPTION HAS OCCURED AT . . .
Invalid Page Fault...
The Big Ugly "BLUE SCREEN" again.
Due to the many possible scenarios that can cause these messages to appear on your
screen, not everyone will find a cure here.. and sometimes these errors are caused by bugs
in a particular piece of software. When that is the case, the only cure might be to stop
using that program.
Most of the time however, the causes are traceable to a conflict between two pieces of
software or a conflict between two modules within Windows itself or disk errors which
are frequently caused by powering off without properly shutting down. They also tend to
accumulate no matter what over a period of months. If over time you are noticing more
frequent errors, always run Scandisk with the "thorough" and "automatically fix errors"
options selected as a first step.
Video cards and their drivers are a common source of General Protection Faults. Always
check the Web site of your video card manufacturer for updated drivers and information as
a possible fix. Specifically, this type of error is often caused by a conflict between a
program, (usually games or other graphic intensive software) and the accelerator chip of
the video card. If you already have visited that manufacturers site and got the latest drivers
and have checked for known issues listed there, the workaround is often to disable the
accelerator chip on the video card. Look in your video card's utility software for an option
to disable it. Then disable it through Windows by opening Control Panel, click on "System",
click on "Performance", click on "Graphics". There you will see a slider labeled "Hardware
Acceleration". Drag it all the way to the Left to disable it. Click OK. You will probably need
to reboot for it to take effect.
Third party screen-savers are another common source of system crashes. If you're serious
about pursuing maximum system stability, get rid of them.
Conflicts can take the form of two modules each trying to use the same block of memory,
or two modules issuing mutually exclusive conflicting instructions to the operating system.
Crash protection programs such as "CrashGuard" usually do just the opposite of what they
are supposed to do. What they are best at is crashing your system. Windows doesn't need
them. Get rid of them.
One of the biggest and most easily fixed causes of general protection faults is having too
many unneeded protocols installed in the Dial-up Networking properties panel.. To check
for this, click Control Panel. Click "Network". You should see a list of installed network
components. If you have a regular ISP and you are using the Windows 95 TCP/IP
connection to the Internet, and you are not on a LAN you should have only three items
showing on that list.
* Client for Microsoft Networks
* Dial-Up Adapter
* TCP/IP
If you have AOL installed, you will also see "AOL Adapter". AOL being installed might also
decrease your TCP/IP reliability.
If you have Microsoft Personal Web Server, that will be there too.
If you see NetBEUI or IPX/SPX or anything else on the list, highlight it and click "Remove"
Write down the changes just in case.
Next, highlight TCP/IP, Click "Properties",
* Click the DNS Configuration tab.
* Click the box that says: "Disable DNS"
* Click the "WINS Configuration" tab
* Click "Disable WINS Resolution
* Click "OK"
Now reboot and put your system to the test. You may be amazed at the improvement.
There is one peculiar aspect of Win95 worth noting that can also cause the system to
crash. Windows normally controls it's disk cache automatically and determines the size of
it by the amount of available ram. If you have an usually large amount of RAM, say..over
48Mb, Windows may allocate too much ram to the cache. For reasons thusfar unexplained,
too large a cache can cause problems, including total system crashes. It may also be
responsible for sluggish overall system performance. This cache, called VCACHE, can be
controlled from SYSTEM.INI
This letter below is one from a previous posting:
I'm getting an unusual error while booting W95:
"a fatal exception 0E has occured at 0028:C002979A in VXD VCACHE(01) + 000003E2.
The current application will
be terminated "..etc . .but when I press a key to continue the whole system hangs,so all I
have to do is to reboot. It's not from corrupt files (I formmated my disk and set up
everything from scratch)
If all your peripherals have updated drivers with no conflicts on the motherboard,and
generally everything is just fine except for this -sickening- blue screen appearring with a
75% possibility every time you boot up. I suggested the following ..which has fixed this
problem:
Open SYSTEM.INI for editing. Look for the following section: [vcache]. Then add the
following two lines right below it. It should look like the following when done:
[VCACHE] FOR 16mg
MaxFileCache=4096
[vcache] FOR 32mg and so on
MaxFileCache=8192
These values represent the size of the cache, in KB The address that your system reports
the error sounds suspiciously like that belonging to video ram. As a first step, try disabling
the disk cache by setting both numbers to 0. Then try 1024, 2048, and 4096 to find which
works best. If you are using any memory managers such as QEMM386 or EMM386, try
disabling it.. They are not needed at all except for certain DOS programs. They might be
conflicting with a system device or Windows module.
Regards, Bud
http://www.geocities.com/~budallen/
Was it a fresh install to a clean/formated HDD??
Try operating in safe mode a bit. If that works we can rell that it maybe video related.
------------------2
General Protection Faults in Windows 95
This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down.
A FATAL EXCEPTION HAS OCCURED AT . . .
Invalid Page Fault...
The Big Ugly "BLUE SCREEN" again.
Due to the many possible scenarios that can cause these messages to appear on your
screen, not everyone will find a cure here.. and sometimes these errors are caused by bugs
in a particular piece of software. When that is the case, the only cure might be to stop
using that program.
Most of the time however, the causes are traceable to a conflict between two pieces of
software or a conflict between two modules within Windows itself or disk errors which
are frequently caused by powering off without properly shutting down. They also tend to
accumulate no matter what over a period of months. If over time you are noticing more
frequent errors, always run Scandisk with the "thorough" and "automatically fix errors"
options selected as a first step.
Video cards and their drivers are a common source of General Protection Faults. Always
check the Web site of your video card manufacturer for updated drivers and information as
a possible fix. Specifically, this type of error is often caused by a conflict between a
program, (usually games or other graphic intensive software) and the accelerator chip of
the video card. If you already have visited that manufacturers site and got the latest drivers
and have checked for known issues listed there, the workaround is often to disable the
accelerator chip on the video card. Look in your video card's utility software for an option
to disable it. Then disable it through Windows by opening Control Panel, click on "System",
click on "Performance", click on "Graphics". There you will see a slider labeled "Hardware
Acceleration". Drag it all the way to the Left to disable it. Click OK. You will probably need
to reboot for it to take effect.
Third party screen-savers are another common source of system crashes. If you're serious
about pursuing maximum system stability, get rid of them.
Conflicts can take the form of two modules each trying to use the same block of memory,
or two modules issuing mutually exclusive conflicting instructions to the operating system.
Crash protection programs such as "CrashGuard" usually do just the opposite of what they
are supposed to do. What they are best at is crashing your system. Windows doesn't need
them. Get rid of them.
One of the biggest and most easily fixed causes of general protection faults is having too
many unneeded protocols installed in the Dial-up Networking properties panel.. To check
for this, click Control Panel. Click "Network". You should see a list of installed network
components. If you have a regular ISP and you are using the Windows 95 TCP/IP
connection to the Internet, and you are not on a LAN you should have only three items
showing on that list.
* Client for Microsoft Networks
* Dial-Up Adapter
* TCP/IP
If you have AOL installed, you will also see "AOL Adapter". AOL being installed might also
decrease your TCP/IP reliability.
If you have Microsoft Personal Web Server, that will be there too.
If you see NetBEUI or IPX/SPX or anything else on the list, highlight it and click "Remove"
Write down the changes just in case.
Next, highlight TCP/IP, Click "Properties",
* Click the DNS Configuration tab.
* Click the box that says: "Disable DNS"
* Click the "WINS Configuration" tab
* Click "Disable WINS Resolution
* Click "OK"
Now reboot and put your system to the test. You may be amazed at the improvement.
There is one peculiar aspect of Win95 worth noting that can also cause the system to
crash. Windows normally controls it's disk cache automatically and determines the size of
it by the amount of available ram. If you have an usually large amount of RAM, say..over
48Mb, Windows may allocate too much ram to the cache. For reasons thusfar unexplained,
too large a cache can cause problems, including total system crashes. It may also be
responsible for sluggish overall system performance. This cache, called VCACHE, can be
controlled from SYSTEM.INI
This letter below is one from a previous posting:
I'm getting an unusual error while booting W95:
"a fatal exception 0E has occured at 0028:C002979A in VXD VCACHE(01) + 000003E2.
The current application will
be terminated "..etc . .but when I press a key to continue the whole system hangs,so all I
have to do is to reboot. It's not from corrupt files (I formmated my disk and set up
everything from scratch)
If all your peripherals have updated drivers with no conflicts on the motherboard,and
generally everything is just fine except for this -sickening- blue screen appearring with a
75% possibility every time you boot up. I suggested the following ..which has fixed this
problem:
Open SYSTEM.INI for editing. Look for the following section: [vcache]. Then add the
following two lines right below it. It should look like the following when done:
[VCACHE] FOR 16mg
MaxFileCache=4096
[vcache] FOR 32mg and so on
MaxFileCache=8192
These values represent the size of the cache, in KB The address that your system reports
the error sounds suspiciously like that belonging to video ram. As a first step, try disabling
the disk cache by setting both numbers to 0. Then try 1024, 2048, and 4096 to find which
works best. If you are using any memory managers such as QEMM386 or EMM386, try
disabling it.. They are not needed at all except for certain DOS programs. They might be
conflicting with a system device or Windows module.
Regards, Bud
http://www.geocities.com/~budallen/
About NAV: I'm not shure that NAV can find virus Win95.CIH (I can't find it in it's database). I know that AVP (www.avp.com) can do it, and some other special programmes (may be search in INet) can do it.
Somehow we're dancing around the problem here...what are the details of the Illegal ops message(s) that come up? It could be anything from a corrupt dll to a virus to user input error (no offense, just making a point. I personally don't like 3rd-party "fix-it" programs that run in the background...sometimes they cause more problems than they solve. Also, how big is your hard drive, and how full is it? You say you have a "buttload" of software. Do you have a bunch of stuff running in the background? (little icons in the system tray by the clock)..or a bunch of things that load at startup? Details like this will help us to come up with solutions.
Somehow we're dancing around the problem here...what are the details of the Illegal ops message(s) that come up? It could be anything from a corrupt dll to a virus to user input error (no offense, just making a point.) I personally don't like 3rd-party "fix-it" programs that run in the background...sometimes they cause more problems than they solve. Also, how big is your hard drive, and how full is it? You say you have a "buttload" of software. Do you have a bunch of stuff running in the background? (little icons in the system tray by the clock)..or a bunch of things that load at startup? Details like this will help us to come up with solutions.
You're right on track noFool,
I shou;ld go back to step one of troubleshooting.
1. Drag everything from your start menu to your desktop.
Startup Messages @ Things Running
Sometimes, WIN95 isntall doesnt recognize existing drivers and leaves them alone; thus
Leaving apps or Drivers Running. Here are some things you can check off the top. EDIT
then SAVE these files:
Config.sys - see if there is a reference to the driver.. if so.. type REM at the beginning of
the line
autoexec.bat - see if there is a reference to the driver.. if so.. type REM at the beginning of
the line
system.ini - do a FIND on the driver.. for all references , type a SEMI-COLON at the
beginning of the line
Shutdown the computer, restart..see if the error is gone.
Sometimes, OEM's have there own idea of startup files ( ACER is one ) The offending
driver might also be in these types of files.
Also, some older devices ( Sound/Video cards etc...) need these drivers. If WIN95
successfully boots, but some devices dont work, you may have to re-install the
drivers/software ( Always try and use WIN95 versions of the drivers/software..these
ususally can be found at the device maker's web site.) Also Check these places in your
registry
OTHER PLACES THAT CAUSE LOADING DEVICES:
NOTE: BACKUP YOUR REGISTRY BEFORE ENTERING AND CHANGING!!!
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Softwar
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Softwar
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Softwar
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Softwar
RunServicesOnce
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Softwar
Setup
If you have questions about your registry let me know.
OR Method 2:
(Software developers have a whole lotta nerve to assume this is a convenience. They
should ask first.) There are three places where you can try to stop this annoyance:
1. The Startup folder. This is the most obvious location for a program reference.
Right-mouse click on Start, select Open, double-click on Programs, then double-click on
Startup. If you see a shortcut to the annoying program inside, delete it.
Your WIN.INI file. Select Start, Run, type " sysedit " no qoutes and click on OK. Inside
the System Configuration Editor, make the WIN.INI window active and look for a "run="
or "load=" line under the [windows] section. Programs referred to on these lines load at
startup.
2. Remove the reference to the annoying program, and save your change. (If not, have
your local computer guru help you. WIN.INI is a very important file and should not be
messed with unless you know what you're doing.)
3. The Registry. Select Start, Run, type " regedit " no qoutes
and click on OK to open the Registry Editor. Navigate your way to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWAR
right pane, you'll find programs that load when Windows 95 starts. Right-mouse click on
the one giving you grief, select Delete, and close the Registry Editor. (As always, before
editing the Registry, back it up. One way is to zip your System.dat and User.dat files and
store them on a floppy disk.)
4. Check your autoexec.bat file to see if you have any loading calls there for the program.
Whichever method you used, restart Windows.
Regards, Bud
http://www.geocities.com/~budallen/
I shou;ld go back to step one of troubleshooting.
1. Drag everything from your start menu to your desktop.
Startup Messages @ Things Running
Sometimes, WIN95 isntall doesnt recognize existing drivers and leaves them alone; thus
Leaving apps or Drivers Running. Here are some things you can check off the top. EDIT
then SAVE these files:
Config.sys - see if there is a reference to the driver.. if so.. type REM at the beginning of
the line
autoexec.bat - see if there is a reference to the driver.. if so.. type REM at the beginning of
the line
system.ini - do a FIND on the driver.. for all references , type a SEMI-COLON at the
beginning of the line
Shutdown the computer, restart..see if the error is gone.
Sometimes, OEM's have there own idea of startup files ( ACER is one ) The offending
driver might also be in these types of files.
Also, some older devices ( Sound/Video cards etc...) need these drivers. If WIN95
successfully boots, but some devices dont work, you may have to re-install the
drivers/software ( Always try and use WIN95 versions of the drivers/software..these
ususally can be found at the device maker's web site.) Also Check these places in your
registry
OTHER PLACES THAT CAUSE LOADING DEVICES:
NOTE: BACKUP YOUR REGISTRY BEFORE ENTERING AND CHANGING!!!
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Softwar
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Softwar
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Softwar
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Softwar
RunServicesOnce
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Softwar
Setup
If you have questions about your registry let me know.
OR Method 2:
(Software developers have a whole lotta nerve to assume this is a convenience. They
should ask first.) There are three places where you can try to stop this annoyance:
1. The Startup folder. This is the most obvious location for a program reference.
Right-mouse click on Start, select Open, double-click on Programs, then double-click on
Startup. If you see a shortcut to the annoying program inside, delete it.
Your WIN.INI file. Select Start, Run, type " sysedit " no qoutes and click on OK. Inside
the System Configuration Editor, make the WIN.INI window active and look for a "run="
or "load=" line under the [windows] section. Programs referred to on these lines load at
startup.
2. Remove the reference to the annoying program, and save your change. (If not, have
your local computer guru help you. WIN.INI is a very important file and should not be
messed with unless you know what you're doing.)
3. The Registry. Select Start, Run, type " regedit " no qoutes
and click on OK to open the Registry Editor. Navigate your way to
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWAR
right pane, you'll find programs that load when Windows 95 starts. Right-mouse click on
the one giving you grief, select Delete, and close the Registry Editor. (As always, before
editing the Registry, back it up. One way is to zip your System.dat and User.dat files and
store them on a floppy disk.)
4. Check your autoexec.bat file to see if you have any loading calls there for the program.
Whichever method you used, restart Windows.
Regards, Bud
http://www.geocities.com/~budallen/
I am going to assume that you have scaned the system for a virus..Right? there is a new one out called (win_vir)do that first and then uninstall Nuts & Bolts..and anyother program such as firstaid for win..and if yoiu are running norton antivirus unload that also...Nuts& bolts was created for win95 and makes several call statments in the win98 api... after you unload all this software try to recreate the problem..Please write down the error message..
Sideline,
The long answers are usually proven solutions that I made a record of and stored on my site.
Guess I'm stealing from myself::))
Regards, Bud
http://www.geocities.com/~budallen/
The long answers are usually proven solutions that I made a record of and stored on my site.
Guess I'm stealing from myself::))
Regards, Bud
http://www.geocities.com/~budallen/
ASKER
Fixed the problem...
OK everyone, this is what happened. First, there was a message about my Vmm32 not being found, I tried to deal with that problem. My trying to deal with this problem led to the illegal operation problem... NOW here's the part to REMEMBER...
TO PEOPLE WITH UMAX SCANNERS....
"Vmm32.vxd missing or unable to load" is a problem caused by UMAX scanners!! My UMAX software creates a screwey line in the system.ini file. (The site has a downloadable patch for this). I downloaded the patch, reinstalled the scanner's software, installed the patch.
MOST IMPORTANT SCREW UP fixer....
In order for the bugs to go away completely, I had to UNINSTALL Nuts&Bolts, Nortan Antivirus, and Hurricane BEFORE reinstalling Win98 over itself again. These programs were keeping important system files from being (like VMM32 and Master Boot files). The reinstall was a success.
To Norton AntiVirus Owners, ALWAYS DISABLE NAV before installing new software!!!! Disable it from the ACTUAL program; not from the autoprotect icon in the system tray. NAV, apparently, prohibits the necessary modifications to various system files.
THANKS TO ALL for your willingness to help!!!! I haven't even checked this site for your answers because MY COMPUTER WAS DOWN (being mauled over desperately ...by me)!!!
OK everyone, this is what happened. First, there was a message about my Vmm32 not being found, I tried to deal with that problem. My trying to deal with this problem led to the illegal operation problem... NOW here's the part to REMEMBER...
TO PEOPLE WITH UMAX SCANNERS....
"Vmm32.vxd missing or unable to load" is a problem caused by UMAX scanners!! My UMAX software creates a screwey line in the system.ini file. (The site has a downloadable patch for this). I downloaded the patch, reinstalled the scanner's software, installed the patch.
MOST IMPORTANT SCREW UP fixer....
In order for the bugs to go away completely, I had to UNINSTALL Nuts&Bolts, Nortan Antivirus, and Hurricane BEFORE reinstalling Win98 over itself again. These programs were keeping important system files from being (like VMM32 and Master Boot files). The reinstall was a success.
To Norton AntiVirus Owners, ALWAYS DISABLE NAV before installing new software!!!! Disable it from the ACTUAL program; not from the autoprotect icon in the system tray. NAV, apparently, prohibits the necessary modifications to various system files.
THANKS TO ALL for your willingness to help!!!! I haven't even checked this site for your answers because MY COMPUTER WAS DOWN (being mauled over desperately ...by me)!!!
ASKER
Smeebud...
Thanks man. By the way, WHAT SITE? Didn't you say you have a Web site?
Thanks man. By the way, WHAT SITE? Didn't you say you have a Web site?
Yep, take a look.
http://www.geocities.com/~budallen/
What address are you talking about. I forgot?
Regards, Bud
http://www.geocities.com/~budallen/
http://www.geocities.com/~budallen/
What address are you talking about. I forgot?
Regards, Bud
http://www.geocities.com/~budallen/
To all: I'm glad I read all the responses. I've had a bunch of calls regarding system problems after UMAX scanners have been installed (usually, with the proprietary SCSI, but on occasion parallels as well). This is one more to add to the list.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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