Calling all windows 98 experts

azkiwi

Senior member
Oct 1, 2000
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I used to have a great stable system, when a keyboard short caused a huuuge crash. Now, several weeks later it is functioning about 85% as well as it used to.

My biggest problem is still frequent IE crashes. I went back from 5.5 to 5.0 (shipped with 98SE) and that has helped somewhat, but they still occur with ridiculous frequency. However the same crashes sometimes occur in other programs too.

All the crashes are basically GPFs causing page faults in Kernel32.dll, Wininet.dll, mfc42.dll, which from what I have found elsewhere are key files in the GUI shell.

I have searched the MS knowledge base, implemented some of the 'fixes', repaired IE 5.5 several times before going back to 5.0, and re-installed windows a couple of times!

I have tried regclean.exe and Fix-it Utilities 3.0 a couple of times - the last time; Fix-it made over 500 changes to the registry (!!!) causing more than a few failed starts before a windows re-install. I pretty much knew it was gonna happen, but had so little left to lose thought it was worth a shot... Generally, registry cleaning has made things worse not better.

Which leads me to question #1; Can the registry get so hopelessly bogged with changes that it ceases to function correctly? I have been avoiding a re-format because of the huge work that entails and the myriad customizations, drivers etc that are so hard to get back again. I have a LOT of stuff on-board since this is a work unit - about 5GB in programs which are on a separate drive but many of which, these days, seem to require re-installation after a new OS.

Scandisk and Disk Fixer (Fix-it) regularly turn up dish errors (mostly x-linked files, no bad sectors) that probably just come from the stack faults. My anti-virus says I have none.

So, how do you deal with persistent re-occuring crashes? SInce all the hardware was fine before, I'm pretty sure its not a hardware issue. after a couple of re-installs I suppose drivers are a possibility. More and more it just looks like terminal Registry-bloat.

ANY ideas certainly welcome!

Athlon Classic 800
o/c to 950 or running at default doesn't seem to change the error rate
Abit KA-7
128MB RAM
98SE
 

Slikkster

Diamond Member
Apr 29, 2000
3,141
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I'd be inclined to look at what else is running when these crashes occur, and start troubleshooting by temporarily disabling these programs and surfing to see how things go. tedious, but methodical.
 

BadThad

Lifer
Feb 22, 2000
12,099
47
91
1) The first thing I would do is check all the hardware. Open the case and FULLY unplug all components and reinsert them. DON'T just "make sure their tight". Trust me, I have seen some strange things. Most importantly, remove the ram chips and reinsert. Didn't work? ...step 2.

2) Now things start to get desparate. Make sure you have ALL of your latest hardware drivers handy. Open up REGEDIT and navigate to the HKEY_Local_machine key and DELETE the ENUM. This key contains ALL of windows hardware information...and I mean ALL. On restart, windows will detect and reinstall all of your drivers. You might just get lucky and fix the problem, although I really don't think hardware is your problem. Nonetheless, it's worth a try before step 3.

3) Format and reinstall everything. Considering the number of hours you spend trouble-shooting, normally it's a LOT faster just to start from scratch. I've repaired a lot of PC's, and this is by-far the easiest route to stability in the majority of cases. Considering the frustration you've been caused, this would be my choice.

To answer your question, YES, the reg can become hopelessly corrupted. Especially after reading what you've done to this point. Welcome to dll hell, they are the MOST frequent cause of crashes. Seems to me your diagnosis is correct, serious registry bloat.

I really think the root of your problem is a loaded system, how long have you been using this system?

One more possiblity is a failing hard disk. What kind of hard drive is this? You should download the manufacturers drive dianostics program and let it analyze the drive. I've seen error like this on failing drives.

The possiblities are endless...LOL.

Good Luck! :D

[edit] As usual, slik makes a good point. Run MSCONFIG and disable anything you don't really need from startup. It may also be a good excercise to see how the system behaves in safemode.[/edit]
 

azkiwi

Senior member
Oct 1, 2000
812
0
71
I would say the only thing running now that wasn't running before is the anti-virus - in this case AVG 6.0. I was getting fax errors (Winfax 10) but that is one program that insists on a re-install after just about any error, so I canned that until everything is straightened out.

Normally the TSR's look like this;

Eudora Pro
Explorer
Deskmenu
Systray
Memturbo
Avgcc32 (antivirus control center)
Avgserv9 (anti-virus scanner)
Rnaapp ( modem connection)


and that's usually it. I may have Word, Dreamweaver or PaintShop running from time to time, but not enough to get a correlation.
 

azkiwi

Senior member
Oct 1, 2000
812
0
71
>1) The first thing I would do is check all the hardware.

I think at this point I can rule out hardware - though some contact points might be wearing thin from multiple reinsertions :(

>2) Make sure you have ALL of your latest hardware drivers handy.

OK I guess that is my next best shot - though I don't think its hardware either. I've had the system about 9 mo's but it is an upgrade from 95B. However I have a vague recollection that since I purposely installed the OS on a separate drive I did start with as little of the previous Windows as I could. Its been so long its all a bit fuzzy..

The boot drive is an IBM 20GB maybe 9 mos old, the program drive is IBM 13.8GB about 2 yrs old (both 5400rpm I think), data drive is an HP SCSI 1.9GB - must be 6 yrs old by now, sure was cool when I bought it!

BTW saw your website - a nice public service!


Thanks.
 

Nih

Senior member
Sep 3, 2000
334
0
0
Let me take a guess.
If you've got an ATI video card, it's the ATI video card *(drivers/DX)
 

azkiwi

Senior member
Oct 1, 2000
812
0
71
Nih - thanks for guessing, but its a Voodoo3. It was a bear to install first time around (probably operator error), but has given me no trouble since. At least I don't think it has..
 

Nih

Senior member
Sep 3, 2000
334
0
0
I've had the mfc42.dll error pop up before.
I reinstalled video and tv tuner drivers (both were ati) and it corrected it.
 

Slikkster

Diamond Member
Apr 29, 2000
3,141
0
0
After looking at what you've done, I would take another look at the wininet.dll fix from Microsoft. This error is apparently almost always due to your history/cache/temporary files folders being corrupted somehow.
I have no doubt this would contribute to other errors as well with IE.


I'd follow the instructions on this one and give it a try:


Wininet.dll errors in IE and how to fix


Here's an index of IE Page Fault issues in the MS Knowledge Base. Notice the catchy title when you click on the link. :)

IE Page Fault troubleshooting
 

azkiwi

Senior member
Oct 1, 2000
812
0
71
The latest round of crashes is following the same pattern - most everything is linked to the Explorer/ GUI shell.

Dreamweaver crashed ~ mfc42.dll (this is not a DW file, so not an file conflict issue)
Then FTP Pro ~ kernel32.dll
then Explorer ~ krnl386.dll
IE crashed ~ wininet.dll

Question: can I isolate this part of the registry for a wipeout and re-install? A complete re-format seems pointless in that it looks les and less like a hardware issue, and more a Windows / Explorer issue.

BTW I followed the instructions on "Wininet.dll errors in IE and how to fix" - after rebooting I still have history files although they are all jumbled and not accessible. I had found a similar link for IE 5.5 and had similar results.

If I re-format my windows drive, can someone remind me what files must remain in order for my (genuine)98SE upgrade CD to work?

Thanks again to all responding!!