| General
windows questions |
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1. I've closed all of my programs, but Windows
reports that applications are still running? What
should I do to shut these applications down so
that I can run Scandisk?
Reader: When I run Scandisk on Windows
95, I see the following message:
"Scandisk has restarted 10 times, there may be
another program writing to this one, Please close
running programs." What does this mean? I have gone to
ctrl-alt-del and closed all programs except
Explorer and Systray, Do I need to do anything
else?
Computer Doctor: You may have other
programs that have been installed and activated
via your registry, .INI files, or Startup Folder.
In some cases it can be difficult to locate and
remove them all. Try uninstalling or disabling any
software that runs in the background like virus
scanners, any bots or programs that automatically
search the web or download things, any system
scanners, registry scanners, go-back programs,
Norton System Works, etc.
If all else fails you can run Scandisk from
Safe Mode. In many cases that is a better way to
run it anyway, although it is slower.
2. Since there's no CD driver on the Windows
95 boot disk, how do I access my CD-ROM drive
after I've formatted my drive?
Reader: I recently reformatted my hard
drive, then found out that Win95 doesn't put the
CDROM driver on the boot disc. After finding the
driver and adding it to my boot disc with what I
think are the appropriate lines in config.sys &
autoexec.bat, I still can't get my CDROM to run
the Win95 installation disc. When I try to switch
to the CDROM driveletter I continue to get
"invalid drive specification". What am I doing
wrong?
Computer Doctor: Page 803 in the 12th
edition of my book "Upgrading and Repairing PCs"
has the answer for you in detail. The short answer
is to add:
DEVICE=mycdrom.sys /D:MSCD001 to your CONFIG.SYS file and:
MSCDEX /D:MSCD001
to your autoexec.bat file. Substitute your
driver for "mycdrom.sys" and make sure that it and
MSCDEX.EXE are copied to the root directory of the
boot floppy.
Another solution is to use a Win98 startup
floppy. It will work perfectly with Win95 and has
generic CDROM drivers and proper configuration
statements already included on the disk by
default. If you can get a Windows 98 boot disk
from a friend or co-worker, this will make booting
with CD-ROM support much easier.
3. When installing Windows, I receive messages
reading that Windows has disabled direct access to
protect long file names. How do I override this
and finish installing Windows?
Reader: I'm installing a formatted hard
disk into my Pentium computer. When I try to run
the Windows 98 Setup program after booting from a
floppy, a BIOS alarm goes off and this message is
displayed:
"disk boot sector is to be modified Y/N"
I answer Y(es) but I cannot finish installing
Windows; the system halts after displaying the
following message:
"Windows has disabled direct access to protect
your long file names. To o/ride this protection,
see the LOCK/? command for more information. The
system has been halted." How can I override this
and finish installing Windows?
Computer Doctor: This problem is due to
your having boot sector virus protection enabled
in your BIOS Setup. This feature also stops
legitimate programs like the Windows Setup program
from changing the boot sector on your hard disk.
To disable this feature:
-
Turn the system on
-
Press the appropriate key during the POST to
access the BIOS Setup.
-
Locate the boot-sector virus protection
setting in the menus and set it to disabled.
-
Select save changes and exit and the
computer restarts
You should now be able to install Windows
without this problem. You can turn the protection
back on after Windows has been installed.
4. What is a general protection fault (GPF)?
Reader: What is a general protection
fault (GPF)?
Computer Doctor: GPFs are generally
caused by software bugs or corrupted files, but
they can also be caused by memory problems. They
are the result of invalid instructions being given
to the processor, which cause a violation of the
processors protected mode of operation.
A GPF means generally that a program (module
xxx.exe) has committed an error causing it to
access a location in memory which is outside of
it's allowed area. In other words, MOST of the
time these are software problems (bugs or
incompatibilities between different programs or
drivers), but they can also be caused by literally
ANY failing component in the system which can
corrupt data either in memory or being transferred
to or from it. This includes every single part in
the machine, in fact from a hardware perspective I
have found often that marginal power supplies are
the cause of a flaky system such as you describe.
It can also be caused by improper CMOS settings,
an IDE cable too long or of improper impedance,
mixing tin and gold contacts with memory modules,
failing or improperly specified memory modules,
electromagnetic interference (local radio
transmitters), electrical spikes or surges, ESD
events, overclocked systems, and too many other
potential causes to list them all.
Technically a GPF occurs when a value exceeding
the segment limit is used in the processor's CS,
DS, ES, FS, GS registers. This is a very common
bug in programs, usually caused by miscalculating
how much memory is required in an allocation. GPFs
are also caused by transferring program execution
to a segment that is not executable (for example,
jumping to a memory location that contains garbage
instead of valid instructions), or by attempting
to write to a read-only or a code segment, loading
a bad value into a segment register, or by using a
NULL pointer (a value of 0 is defined as a null
pointer). In protected mode, it is always invalid
to use a segment register that contains zero.
Bottom line, GPFs can be caused either by
defective or corrupt software or defective or
corrupt memory (hardware). If reloading the
suspected module does not solve the problem, then
I usually suspect either memory or some other
hardware in your system is bad, flaky or possibly
intermittent. If the GPF happens only with a
particular program or combination of programs,
check Microsoft's Knowledge Base
http://search.microsoft.com for the program
that is causing the GPF, as the Knowledge Base
often lists solutions.
5. Why does my printer work fine when printing
from DOS, but fail when printing from Windows?
Reader: When I print from DOS, there is
no problem, but when I try to print from Windows,
the printer doesn't work.
Computer Doctor: This indicates a
software problem, not a hardware problem. Since
you can print from DOS the port, cable, and
printer all must be working. The problem is with
Windows or your Windows printer drivers. Contact
the printer mfr. to see if there are updated
Windows drivers. Try reinstalling your printer
drivers or even Windows entirely.
Remember, replacing hardware won't solve a
software problem!
6. My computer won't shutdown or enter sleep
mode. What do I do?
Reader: My computer (which uses
Windows98) has begun refusing to shut down, or
enter sleep mode. No matter which mode I select,
the compter always returns to full boot-up, and
when left alone, no longer shuts itself down into
standby.
Computer Doctor: This is almost
certainly a software problem with ACPI (Advanced
Configuration Power Interface) which is a new
standard incorporated into Win98 as well as newer
systems. ACPI replaces the older APM (Advanced
Power Management) standard, taking over all power
related controls, as well as Plug and Play (PnP),
taking over control over system configuration as
well.
As ACPI is relatively new, many of the first
systems to support it in their BIOS had some bugs,
and MS has had a few problems in the Windows code
as well. The incorporation of ACPI in Win98 is why
so many systems needed BIOS updates to properly
run Win98. Additionally MS updated the ACPI
support in 98SE (Second Edition), and some systems
that worked fine with the original implementation
had problems with the ACPI updates.
If you have Windows 98SE, the first thing you
should do is check to be sure you have the latest
BIOS in your machine. Go to the manufacturer's web
site and download the latest BIOS version for your
system and install it on your system.
If this doesn't cure the problem then there is
a specific "shutdown supplement" fix for this
problem you can download from Microsoft. Here is
the description of the fix:
"The Windows 98 Second Edition Shutdown
Supplement addresses shutdown issues on systems
with specific hardware/software configurations
running Windows 98 Second Edition. These issues
include systems restarting when selecting shutdown
and systems hanging on shutdown."
You can download this fix from:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/downloads/contents/
WURecommended/S_WUFeatured/Win98SE/Default.asp.
You can find more information on
troubleshooting Win98 shutdown problems at:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q238/0/96.asp.
You might want to apply the rest of the Win98
updates you can download from:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows98/downloads/corporate.asp.
7. In Windows9x, what does the system
resources x% free (in system resources tab of the
System Properties) represent?
Reader: In Windows9x, what does the
system resources x% free (in system resources tab
of the System Properties) represent? Can I
increase the amount of free resources?
Computer Doctor: Windows maintains
regions of memory called "heaps" used by the
graphics device interface (GDI) and USER system
components. These heaps store information
allocated when an application calls a Windows
function. The amount of space available in these
two heaps is identified as a percentage of system
resources that are free under System Properties,
Performance, System Resources.
Note that this percentage of System Resources
shown as free has little or nothing to do with how
much actual RAM memory you have free, only with
how much space is free in the GDI and USER heap
areas maintained by Windows. Typically, the more
programs running in memory or the more graphic
icons on-screen or in a program menu, the lower
your free system resources percentages will be.
When they drop too low, you can have system
crashes.
For more information on this subject, I suggest
reading the "Performance Tuning" section of the
Windows 95 or Windows 98 Resource Kits. These are
published books which you can purchase but they
are also included free on the Win9x CDROMs. Search
for the file "win95rk.hlp" on the Windows 95 CD,
or "rk98book.chm" on the Windows 98 CD. When you
find the appropriate file for your Windows
version, click on it to display.
Windows 9x also offers both a simple "Resource
Meter" and a more comprehensive "System Monitor"
application, which offer more detailed information
on these and other system resources. These
applications are found under Start, Programs,
Accessories, System Tools. They are documented in
the Windows on-line Help, as well as in the
Resource Kits mentioned above.
8. How do I boot from a floppy instead of my
hard drive?
Reader: How do I boot from the Windows
98 Startup disk? I made one during installation,
but when I put the disk into the A: drive and
restart the computer, the computer boots from C:
drive instead of from the floppy.
Computer Doctor: Most systems have a
boot menu screen in the BIOS Setup for setting
bootup features and the boot sequence. Turn on
your system and when prompted, hit the appropriate
key to enter your BIOS Setup menu. Go to the boot
menu page and change the boot sequence to specify
the floppy drive first and hard disk second. Save
and exit the BIOS Setup.
The next time your system boots, it should
check the floppy first. If the boot sequence had
been set correctly all along, then your startup
disk has been corrupted; you'll need to get
another.
9. My video card driver causes fatal exception
errors, but the standard VGA 16-color driver works
fine. How do I get the correct driver to work on
my system?
Reader: I think I have problems with my
Windows display driver. When I run the system
using the standard VGA 16-color driver, it works
fine, but when I use the driver made for my video
card, I'll get Fatal Exception Errors. I need to
use high-color or true-color display modes, so I
need to keep using the driver made for my video
card, but until I get a new driver, can I avoid
these errors?
Computer Doctor: You can adjust the
performance of the display driver by opening the
Performance tab of the System properties sheet in
Windows. Click the Graphics button and adjust the
slider one click at a time from Full to Basic (two
clicks to the left). This will allow some
acceleration with your current video driver but
will disable the most typical causes of problems.
Then, download a new video card driver from the
video card vendor.
10. How do I get around a Windows Protection
Error when starting my system?
Reader: I installed a new motherboard
in my PC so I could use a much faster CPU. When I
start up the system it finds the video card,
checks the memory and displays the Starting Win 95
screen. When the startup is almost finished I see
a "windows protection error" message and I must
restart my computer. Any suggestions?
Computer Doctor: This is typically
caused by upgrading the motherboard and trying to
use the previous Windows setup on the same hard
drive without completely reinstalling Windows from
scratch. Anytime you upgrade a motherboard, I
recommend you wipe the hard drive clean and
reinstall Windows from scratch to the freshly
formatted drive.
Why take this extra step? During the
installation process, many drivers related to the
specific motherboard and chipset are installed,
and the best way to change these is to reinstall
from scratch anytime the board is changed with a
different one.
Be sure to add the DOS CD-ROM device drivers to
your Windows startup disk (if you use Windows 95).
If you are using Windows 98, its startup disk
already has the CD-ROM drivers, and it also works
very well to start a Windows 95 installation.
11. How do I stop files shown in bootlog.txt
from starting up?
Reader: I am trying to fix my computer
and have encountered something called the IOS. Do
you know what this is and what it does? Could it
cause a Windows protection error? Also when I make
a bootlog.txt, how would I stop some of the things
shown in the log from loading?
Computer Doctor: If you want to stop
loading a particular file, you can rename the file
and it won't be recognized on the next boot. You
can also try hitting the F8 key on the next boot
when it says "Starting Windows 9x" in the upper
left hand part of the screen (you have two seconds
to comply), which will take you to the Windows
startup menu. At that menu you can select
"Step-by-step confirmation" which will enable you
to dynamically bypass certain startup events and
programs.
12. Can setver.exe cause a Windows Protection
Error?
Reader: What does setver.exe do and
could it cause a Windows Protection Error?
Computer Doctor: SETVER is designed to
"fool" DOS command line programs into believing
that a specific version of DOS is running. For
example the DOS that comes with Windows 95
identifies itself as version 7.0. Most older DOS
command line programs first check the version they
are running under, and will often refuse to run
under a DOS version newer than when the program
was released. Using SETVER, one can fool this
program into believing that DOS 6.0, 5.0 or
earlier is running, and the version check will
then pass, allowing the program to run.
SETVER does not cause protection errors (I am
running it right now under Win95B), and you don't
need it to load UNLESS you like using lots of
older DOS command line programs like I do. Note
that SETVER will allow you to run older programs
that CAN cause protection errors, disk corruption,
etc., so be careful about what older programs you
run.
Reader: I am looking for a Diagnostics
program that I could load onto a laptop which
would then be connected to a failing system via
direct cable connection (printer or com port or
modem). Do you know of any program that will help
me?
Computer Doctor: There are some
diagnostics which allow you to run them remotely,
but only after first loading the software on the
failing system prior. Some vendors install this on
the systems they sell, and then if a customer
later has a problem, they can call the system via
modem and run the diagnostics remotely. Note that
this is better for solving software problems than
true hardware problems, as most true hardware
diagnostics must be run from a boot floppy under
DOS.
When I service systems, I use a laptop to make
backups of the failing system hard drive for data
recovery and restoration purposes. I also use the
laptop as a storehouse of my many different
utility and diagnostics programs, as well as a
technical library of information (ie the
MicroHouse utility). I can simply format floppies
and copy the utilities I wish to use on them in my
laptop, and then run those disks on the suspect
system.
14. How do I get Windows to recognize my 3.1
GB hard drive as such, not 2.1?
Reader: I recently purchased a
second-hand PC which came with no software. Before
and after I installed my copy of Windows 95 from
my previous PC onto this computer, the BIOS setup
confirmed that the hard drive has a 3.1GB storage
capacity.
However, after I loaded Windows 95 and checked my
hard drive properties, Windows 95 informs me that
it is only a 2.1GB hard drive! The cover of the
hard drive confirms that it is 3.1GB. It is a
Caviar 33100 HD, with 6136 cylinders/16 hds/63 spt
= 3166.7KB. What could the problem be, and how can
I rectify it?
Computer Doctor: Windows 95 and Windows 95a
have a 2.1GB limit per drive letter. If you want
to use the rest of the drive's capacity, you need
to run Fdisk and create an extended partition and
set up a logical drive D: inside the extended
partition. Windows 95B and above will support hard
drives up to the limit of the BIOS on your system
as a single drive letter because they use the
newer FAT32 file system. Unfortunately there is no
upgrade available from 95a to 95B. I recommend you
purchase Win98SE, since it is the best general OS
upgrade for systems currently running Windows 95.
15. My laptop has big problems on startup...
Reader: When I start my laptop Toshiba
2065CDS, with Windows 98 OS, a blue screen
appears:
Fatal Exception OE at 0028:C005929 in VXD
VMCPD(01) + 000007d9 press any key
Computer Doctor: First make sure you are
running the latest BIOS for that system, which is
version 7.80. If not download:
ACPI Flash BIOS version 7.80 for Satellite
2060/2065 (2868)
from Toshiba and install. You can get these
files from the Toshiba support center at
http://www.pcsupport.toshiba.com. From there
select "Tech Support Center and follow the prompts
to get the file list specific to your system.
After downloading and installing the latest BIOS,
you'll also want to download the following updated
drivers:
If the system came with a Recovery CD, then
I'd try to load that. If not, then reformat the
hard drive, load Win98 from scratch, and then
immediately load the drivers listed above, I
recommend you load them in the order I listed. If
this doesn't work then the motherboard or other
internal component is probably defective and
you'll probably have to take it in for service.
For Toshiba service see the options on their
support webpage or call 1-800-457-7777.
Toshiba TBios driver for Win95/98/NT/2000
-Windows 95/98 Display Driver for S3 ViRGE/MX
-Toshiba Windows 98 Utilities for Satellite
2060/2065
-Windows 98 V.90 Modem Driver for Toshiba 56K
Internal
-Windows 95/98 Sound Driver for ESS ES1978 (10762)
16. How do I customize the System Properties
of PC?
Reader: When you view the System
properties, you see the System, registered to,
computer and the OEM design information. Is there
a way to change the OEM design? Or is there a way
to enter your own design? Since I'm the 'OEM' (I
built this system), I'd like to customize this if
I can.
Computer Doctor: The OEM logo and "Support
Information" button under the System Properties
box are controlled by 2 files in the
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory that you can modify.
The image is stored in OEMLOGO.BMP. It is a
180x114 bitmap; up to 24-bit color can be used.
Larger images will be cropped to fit, and smaller
images will be centered in the space allowed.
The Support Information is contained in
OEMINFO.INI, which is a standard text file. If
this file exists, the "Support Information" button
and 2 lines of text will be visible in the
properties box. Click on the button and the rest
of the information contained in the text file will
show up.
Each line of displayed text must start with a
variable, and there are two sections with headings
in brackets. Here is an example:
[General]
Manufacturer=Cletus's Kustom Computers
Model=Pentium 10 Deeeluxe
I don't know how many lines you can add, but
all lines need a LineX= variable as a start. If
both of the customized files are saved in
C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM they will automatically be used
the next time you open System Properties.
[Support Information]
Line1=If you're having problems with the system,
Line2=
Line3= READ THE MANUAL!
Line4=
Line5=Because Tech Support is like, closed or
something...
Line6=
Line7= Our Motto: Quality is Job 2 (or 3, or was
it 4?)
17. How do I stop all applications from
running to allow Disk Defragmenter to run?
Reader: I have a problem with disk
Defrag for Windows 9x. Defrag starts, then keeps
restarting. Something in the background is running
and I don't know what it is. I've tried disabling
antivirus, etc. and even reloaded my operating
system, but it still does the same thing. Any
suggestions?
Computer Doctor: That's a normal situation
with Defrag. If you are patient (really patient)
and just walk away, it should eventually finish.
If you aren't, then you have two solutions. One is
to read and follow the tips at
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q186/9/78.ASP.
This tip suggests that if you run Defrag in safe
mode, it should work more quickly.
A better recommendation is to dump Defrag and get
something better designed and more suited to the
job, like VOPT from Golden Bow.
http://www.vopt.com.
VOPT is perhaps the best and fastest defragmenter
on the market. I highly recommend it! Also, the
one that comes with the Norton Utilities and
Norton SystemWorks isn't bad either
http://www.symantec.com.
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