"iexplore.exe has generated errors .....problem mostly solved

[mariner]

and will be closed by Windows. You will need to restart the program. An error log is being created."

Yep, that's the message I get about once per day. And then Whack, IE generates a DrWatson error log and closes all windows.

I'm using Win2k,IE5.01 with 196RAM. This usually happens when I have a streaming stock ticker up and several other pages, some of which update automatically every 3-5 minutes.

The error log is huge; 1.1MB. In the log I find:

"Application exception occurred:
App: iexplore.exe (pid=512)
When: 11/1/2000 @ 09:46:14.609
Exception number: c0000005 (access violation)"

I can't find this referenced in the M$Knowledge Base. Anyone have any ideas?

 

[Brenda55]

Hi! You could try running the IE repair tool. You'll find that by clicking start > settings > control panel > add/remove programs > highlight Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 and Internet Tools > click on remove. Select the option to run the repair.

or

While connected, open Internet Explorer > click on Tools > Internet Explorer Repair Tool, follow the prompts.

or

In Windows System Information, you might find it under the Tools menu. This assumes Win2K has the same Win98 features.

and

Run Windows System File Checker, also found in Windows System Information. You might find some corrupt files there...

 

[mariner]

Thx for dropping by Brenda. Evidently 2k and 98 are different because I didn't find any of the "tools" you described. Anyone out there know for sure?

Problem still exists

I'm just sitting here waiting for IE to decide it's time to shut down

 

[mariner]

Anyone? :frown:

Last chance

I've seen this happen on 2 very different machines so maybe someone else has also seen it.

 

[Tominator]

I was getting that exact error with IE 5.5. I reinstalled from the MS update page and it solved the problem. W2k btw.

 

[mariner]

Hey, thx for the tip Tominator, I'll try that tonight.

 

[randypj]

Don't forget to save your stuff this time. I don't want no cryin' about "can't find my email".
--Randy

 

[mariner]

Looks like that was it Tominator. I've been running 4 stock streamers, 2 pages that update every 3-5 minutes and surfing - No Problems

Thanks for the tip!

And I didn't lose anything rpj

 

[mariner]

Well, I reinstalled ie5.5 and everything was OK for a few days. Then, when my daughter was checking her hotmail - Whack - it cut out again. Same message. I remember it did this to her before the reinstall also; but mostly when I was running those streamers. I have also had Download Accelerator do this 2 times (DAP.exe has generated errors ...). I keep checking my memory usage and it seldom uses all my physical ram - 196mb. I am running CPUIdle Pro and it hasn't reported excessive processor usage when the problem occurs; and my temps are OK. I'm running a BP6 with 2xC366@550, voodoo3, SB live value; but I don't think they are a problem.

Hey, it's not a very 'romantic' problem but it is a problem Anymore ideas??

 

[mariner]

OK, now it has happened on my work computer - a Dell OptiPlex :disgust: I have appended a small portion of the log generated a few minutes ago. This is similar to what my personal box generates but I see some processes running that I don't see on mine at home.

------------

Application exception occurred:
App: exe\iexplore.dbg (pid=87)
When: 12/5/2000 @ 11:8:27.517
Exception number: c0000005 (access violation)

*----> System Information <----*
Computer Name: FW-NBOYD
User Name: nboyd
Number of Processors: 1
Processor Type: x86 Family 6 Model 7 Stepping 2
Windows Version: 4.0
Current Build: 1381
Service Pack: 4
Current Type: Uniprocessor Free
Registered Organization: TPWD
Registered Owner: Norman Boyd

*----> Task List <----*
0 Idle.exe
2 System.exe
21 smss.exe
28 CSRSS.exe
35 WINLOGON.exe
41 SERVICES.exe
44 LSASS.exe
73 SPOOLSS.exe
74 NAVAPSVC.exe
93 NPSSVC.exe
108 RPCSS.exe
88 TAPISRV.exe
116 esserver.exe
123 PSTORES.exe
112 RASMAN.exe
129 mstask.exe
137 sens.exe
160 alertsvc.exe
179 NDDEAGNT.exe
124 explorer.exe
118 systray.exe
200 mswheel.exe
202 FINDFAST.exe
204 MSOFFICE.exe
206 navapw32.exe
148 OSA.exe
186 QUICK.exe
207 PFPPOP70.exe
218 msimn.exe
87 IEXPLORE.exe
247 RASMON.exe
351 DDHELP.exe
313 DRWTSN32.exe
0 _Total.exe
-------------------

Usually when it does this only the offending application is shut down (i.e. IE, Paint, etc) while the remainder of my open apps are left alone. What portion of this log do I use to track the problem down? There is much more to the log that I have not included. The DrWatson help files put labels on each part of the error log but don't explain how to solve the problem or even where to look. And, I know, I know, only SP4, but it's a work puter and I ain't got a lot of time to mess with it (except today ).

 

[dexmanone]

OK, someone out there knows whats up. I have the same prob, IE5.5. I get it when closing. I also run several at the same time. I don't notice a pattern. I close by clicking the X, figured maybe that's it. It only happens when I close, not in middle of something.

Come on, somebody.........

 

[mariner]

Hey dexmanone, does your error log look similar to the one above?

 

[jaywallen]

Hi, mariner!

Okay, I found the thread.

I don't think I have any specific answers. There are probably several different issues at work to cause various apps, including iexplore.exe, to close in this manner. The best I can do is make some observations about related matters.

The access violation is an exception error generated by the UnhandledExceptionFilter when an application can't handle an internal error caused by a write attempt to read-only memory or a pointer pointing to inaccessible memory. Shutting down the application is the way the OS protects itself from an application error that the application itself can't handle. The error log generated by Dr. Watson is not going to be of much use to us (or at least me), I think, without the resources to debug the application that experienced the error. But errors logged in the Event Viewer's Applications and Systems tabs could be very useful here. I'd suggest looking in there to see if you can find such errors occurring at the times when IE has taken its dives.

In general, I have seen a LOT of messages about this particular type of exception error with Internet Explorer. I think that IE 5.x makes aggressive use of DirectX and COM. I think that some Web pages really give the system a workout. It looks to me as though some of these problems are caused by &quot;bad&quot; Web pages, some by bugs in Internet Explorer, and some by sub-par video drivers.

A funny thing here: I have seen a very few of these errors on my own notebook, running W2K Pro with SP1, Office 2000 components with SR-1 and SP2, and IE 5.5 SP1. I decided to install the little error reporting tool that sends error logs to Microsoft on my machine. Since I installed the reporting tool there have been absolutely no errors.

If you can find related error messages in the Event Viewer, please post them. Other than going along those lines, I'm not sure I know what to suggest other than the usual advice about being sure that video drivers and system file complement are up to snuff.

In point of fact these little application failures usually don't have much impact on system reliability or usefulness. Many people choose to reduce the time consumed by the Dr. Watson dump by opening Dr. Watson and unchecking all of the options. Some even turn off the dump in the registry.

BTW, I noticed that FindFast and OSA9.EXE are running in the services list you posted. Is that a matter of conscious volition on your part?

I'll be hanging around. (I'm not good for much of anything else!)

Regards,
Jim

 

[mariner]

Hey jaywallen, glad you could follow the bread crumbs to this thread

I've been to the Event Viewer and could find no errors logged at the time IE cut out.

I have not installed SP1 for win2k because some members have reported having trouble after doing so. I have relatively up-to-date Voodoo3 drivers through the driver update function accessed via the Display Properties dialog box. But I went ahead and re-updated those via the 3dfxgamers site. &quot;Old&quot; driver was 5.0.2195.017. &quot;New&quot; one is 5.0.2195.232. So I guess only time will tell now.

And these &quot;little application failures&quot;, as you call 'em, wreak havoc when I have several streaming stock tickers open and am monitoring the stock market. The error closes all open IE windows - sometimes as many as 10.

I have been overclocking but I unclocked this evening.

As far as the OSA and FindFast processes that you saw, they are default. I close them when I think of it, but usually not. If you can tell me how to prevent them from starting in the first place I would like that. I used to use a little app called StartUp Cop to control what started up but I don't think it controlled those 2.

 

[mariner]

AARRRGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Now it happened with only 2 windows open and no streamers, just loading 1 page :disgust:

So I'm overclocked again 2xC366@550 with an upgraded video driver.

Does anyone think that win2kSP1 will help (or hurt)?

Can a real slow connection - ~25Kbs - cause this sort of thing?

Any ideas dexmanone?

 

[jaywallen]

Hi, mariner!

Okay, first things first. If you need to have multiple IE windows open and don't want to lose them all when you run into one of the application exceptions, use the Ctrl-N key combination to open each new window. That forces Internet Explorer to run each new window as a separate process. (There is a setting for this in the Internet Options dialog's Advanced tab, but it doesn't FORCE the issue. If you hit Ctrl-N you get a new process, period.) Doing this will at least limit the damage done by an application exception to the loss of one instance of IE.

I know the application Startup Cop, and I think it's a very nice application for use in Windows 9X. I would suggest using Startup Control Panel for handling non-service startup processes in W2K, unless ZDNet has updated Startup Cop for use under W2K. The utility is available here, and it is freeware. I think it's quite a bit more elegant and effective than Startup Cop and MSCONFIG for the purpose of controlling startup processes. Startup Control Panel comes in two versions, an executable and a Control Panel applet (the one I use).

The OSA9.EXE and FindFast stuff gets re-instated by Microsoft Office every chance it gets, usually when you're changing the configuration of your Office configuration or updating with a service release / service pack. The best way to kill OSA9.EXE is to remove it from where it's starting up. (That can be one of several places, so Startup Control Panel can be helpful in locating and whacking it.) FindFast requires special consideration. The reason for this is that the Office apps are HARD-CODED to use existing FastFind indices. So if you just whack FindFast, but don't get rid of the indices, you wind up with Office apps checking the outdated left-over indices before they check with Explorer. So, you go into the Control Panel, open the FindFast applet, select each index and use the File menu to stop it, then delete each index afterward (from within the FindFast applet). After doing that, you can uninstall FindFast using Office setup if you wish. (I will be reactivated every time you update your Office installation, so you'll get used to doing this.) It's a totally bogus utility for the vast majority of users, and a stupid default for Microsoft to choose. The little OSA9.EXE thing doesn't really sag a system anywhere near as much as FindFast, so I guess it doesn't hurt to leave it running if you feel that it speeds the opening of Office apps. (I think that's its sole purpose. I can't see ANY difference on my systems.)

BTW, over-clocking can definitely contribute to your access violation woes if they're being caused by a device driver issue. I imagine you already knew that since you've tried de-clocking.

Hope some of this info is helpful.

Regards,
Jim

 

[randypj]

jaywallen--very nice input. Neat about the CTL-N combo. Thanks.

FindFast was a real pisser for me at first. It defaults to run every 2 hours. Unbelievable. Talk about going out of my mind when I found my hard drive going lickety-split every two hours. This was when Office 97 (I think) first came out. I had to look through 4 books to figure out what was going on. I actually thought I might have had a virus. Unbelievable that M$FT sticks this on people, doesn't present the option to not install it, then sets the default at 2 hours. And this was when I had a 486.

Sorry for the rant. mariner, considering it is happening on more than one pc, I would start thinking that it might be your bodily electrical charge. You might consider getting yourself degaussed.
--Randy

 

[jaywallen]

randypj,

You're welcome. I hope the Ctrl-N trick will help mariner to not lose all of his IE windows when a process decides to call it quits. Sounds like he's a major league day trader.

Speaking of which, how does one go about degaussing a day trader???

<gd&amp;r>

Regards,
Jim

 

[mariner]

<< degaussing a day trader >>



Very funny! Ha Ha. I'm laughing guys

Good info jaywallen! I do use the Ctrl-N technique quite a bit (I'm typing this in one of those windows); but I didn't know it would start a new process. So, I can't say for certain, but I would bet that I had at least one Ctrl-N window open at least one of those times when it shut me down. And every time it has shut me down, it shut all IE windows down. I will watch for this from now on and be sure to always have a Ctrl-N window open. By the way, I Ctrl-N opened several of the windows I am currently viewing but I only find one instance of ieexplore.exe on the Processes tab of Task Mgr - is it the Applications tab you were referring to? - I find several instances there.

I'll check out Startup Ctrl Panel, sounds good. I was running Start Up cop on NT - wouldn't it run on win2k?

OK, I've deleted the 2 indices FindFast had listed. Now, about killing FF - when you say &quot;using office setup&quot; are you referring to the setup program on the CD or is there a setup file on my HDD left over from the original installation? (and the sad part is, I'm not any better at investing than at debugging 'puter problems)

Yeah, I was aware that OC'ing wouldn't be received well all the time by all the processes. That's usually the first thing I try. Which leads me to a thought (yeah, rpj, I have 'em now and then). What happens if the AGPCLK is set wrong? Will it still boot? I don't think I have ever done that, but .....



<< bodily electrical charge >>

Yeah, could be rpj; I have been told I am too negative

 

[mariner]

Well, as soon as I posted my reply it shut me down - all windows, including 3-4 Ctrl-N windows:disgust:

I am getting more than a little peeved about this:|

 

[jaywallen]

Hi, mariner.

Bummer! But I have an idea.

There are two &quot;separate process&quot; issues (that I know of) that relate to Explorer and Internet Explorer. Both of these issues have some effect on the stability of the Desktop and open instances of Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer.

First of all, do you have Active Desktop (part and parcel of Desktop Update) installed on your system? If so, is your Desktop set to &quot;Show Web Content&quot;?

I need you to look at two keys in your Registry.

For this key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main

is there a REG_DWORD value with a value of &quot;0&quot; (zero)?

For this key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurentVersion\Explorer

is there a REG_DWORD value of &quot;1&quot; (one)?

Please don't change either value yet.

I would like to know if you have manually edited your registry before, and, if so, did you use regedit.exe or regedt32.exe?

Also, would you mind answering the following questions just so I'm sure just where your system status is?

How was W2K installed on the system? (to a freshly formatted disk, over one of the release candidates, over NT4?)

Has W2K SP1 been applied?

What is your LONG version number for IE? (the one in Help | About)

How was IE 5.5 originally installed? (over 5.01, beta 5.5?)

Has SP1 for IE 5.5 been applied?

Do you have Microsoft Office 2000 (or components thereof) installed on this system? If so, where on the time line was it installed with respect to IE 5.5 and any service packs applied thereunto?

I think that's all I need to know for now. I did look back through messages to try to find information, but we have been talking (AFAIK) about both a work computer and a home computer, and the information is spread out over at least two message threads, if not more. A summary might be helpful to my poor old brain.

Regards,
Jim

 

[jaywallen]

mariner,

Yikes, I just saw that I didn't look closely enough. If you're using IE 5.01 (and apparently you are) have you applied SP1? All the same questions apply to order of installation, etc.

Sorry for the brain fart!

regards,
Jim

 

[mariner]

jaywallen, sorry I was away today - some time sensitive stuff to take care of.

I will answer your questions below in <> brackets after each question. Thanks for all your efforts in this matter. Your great

First of all, do you have Active Desktop (part and parcel of Desktop Update) installed on your system? If so, is your Desktop set to &quot;Show Web Content&quot;?

<yes, I think I have the active desktop stuff and no, I do not have my desktop set to show web content. I didn't actually download Act Desktop by itself. I think it just came with IE or win2k>

For this key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main

is there a REG_DWORD value with a value of &quot;0&quot; (zero)?

<Yes, there are 6 REG_DWORDs with the value of 1>

For this key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurentVersion\Explorer

is there a REG_DWORD value of &quot;1&quot; (one)?

<No, there are none with the value of 1; but there are many other folders below the Explorer folder. I don't think you meant for me to open those folders and look did you?>

Please don't change either value yet.

<nothing changed>

I would like to know if you have manually edited your registry before, and, if so, did you use regedit.exe or regedt32.exe?

<yes, using regedit in the Start->Run box>

Also, would you mind answering the following questions just so I'm sure just where your system status is?

How was W2K installed on the system? (to a freshly formatted disk, over one of the release candidates, over NT4?)

<I installed 2k to a freshly partitioned and formated HDD>

Has W2K SP1 been applied?

<I have not yet installed win2k SP1>

What is your LONG version number for IE? (the one in Help | About)

<IE5.50.4522.1800>

How was IE 5.5 originally installed? (over 5.01, beta 5.5?)

<I updated IE5.0 with 5.5 + SP1 + Internet Tools>

Has SP1 for IE 5.5 been applied?

<yes, it came with my last update. I updated a second time when Tominator indicated that had stoped this problem on his system - it didn't stop my problem though>

Do you have Microsoft Office 2000 (or components thereof) installed on this system? If so, where on the time line was it installed with respect to IE 5.5 and any service packs applied thereunto?

<I have Office 97 which was installed before IE5.50 SP1

 

[jaywallen]

Hi, mariner!

Jeez, I've been really stupid. I need to rephrase some of those questions because I wasn't precise enough in wording them. I was thinking the right thing, but I wasn't typing all of it.

With respect to my questions about registry values, I didn't specify the NAMES of the REG_DWORDs whose values I wanted you to check! DOH! So...

For HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

is there a REG_DWORD value named DesktopProcess? If so, what is its value?

For HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main

is there a REG_DWORD value named AllowWindowReuse? If so, what is its value?

Now, with respect to editing the registry...

There are two registry editors that you can use. It's my understanding that, in most cases, regedit.exe should NOT be used to edit the registry on an NT machine. Regedt32.exe is supposed to be less likely to corrupt the registry during an edit, and it uses a sort of limited purpose wizard to help the user in creation of new values or editing of current ones. Unfortunately, regedt32.exe is more difficult to use when you're searching for settings. It's search function only deals with one hive at a time. It also sometimes fails to even show registry entries that are corrupt. And that is where regedit.exe comes in. It will usually show registry entries regardless of their validity, so sometimes it's the only choice for getting rid of corrupt entries. But researching with the search function and deleting corrupt entries are the only purposes for which I use regedit.exe these days. These recommendations about the proper uses of regedit.exe and regedt32.exe are made by Jerold Schulman of JSI, Inc.. He runs a Web site that is well-respected as a source of NT / W2K tips and hacks, in the form of an online searchable database (http://www.jsiinc.com/).

With respect to the W2K installation...

Have you considered applying SP1? You might go to the Microsoft Windows 2000 SP1 Download Page and read some of the linked MSKB articles to see if any of the fixes apply to your system. I have seen lots of problems fixed by SP1 for W2K. I have also seen messages in which people claimed that it had caused them troubles, but I've never witnessed such a case myself. I've applied it to every system over which I hold sway, a very wide variety of machines, without a single resulting issue.

Couple of quick questions in addition...

Is Office 97 working okay?

Is your Add / Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel functioning properly? Does it show IE and Office? Is the repair function available in the IE entry?

I'm sorry for screwing up on the questions. What I'm getting at with the registry keys is that there are a couple of things you might be able to do to improve the stability of iexplore.exe, or at least to reduce the chance of a error in a single window causing all of them to crash.

Regards,
Jim

 

[mariner]

Hey jaywallen. I'll answer your questions like before, in <> brackets below. And, by the way, 2 more details. I have had WinWord.exe and Paint.exe also close windows down on my home and work machines. And, the last time IE did it (just a few minutes ago) no box poped up to tell me of the error - I think this has happened before also.

Thanks for the jsi link. Looks interesting and will take a little while to go thru.
----------------------

For HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer

is there a REG_DWORD value named DesktopProcess? If so, what is its value?

<No but there are many folders and one named DeskTopStreamMRU - it has no such REG_WORD in it though>

For HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Main

is there a REG_DWORD value named AllowWindowReuse? If so, what is its value?

<Yes and the value is 0x00000001 (1)>

With respect to the W2K installation...

<Yes, I have considered SP1 and in light of your input and my problems I'll go ahead and do it tonight or in the morn>

Couple of quick questions in addition...

Is Office 97 working okay?

<With the exception of the WinWord shut down it seem OK. But I've had those shutdowns at work on my Dell also. The only 3 things the machines have in common are: IE5.5, Office 97 and the webpages I visit.>

Is your Add / Remove Programs applet in the Control Panel functioning properly? Does it show IE and Office? Is the repair function available in the IE entry?

<Seems to be OK. It lists both apps but I don't see the option to repair. Maybe this is only activated when it detects something wrong with the app??>