*sigh* Windows Protection Error...

[darkeneddays]

Ok,I dug up this old K6-2 350 and I'm trying to make it work so I can give it to a friend(web browser). Anyways,whenever I boot the PC I get the "Windows Protection Error....You Must Restart Your System". Since the thing was so old anyways,I decided to format it and reinstall Win98se.After the format,I get the same thing.It happens about a minute after the desktop has loaded. However,when I boot in Safe Mode all is well so I'm thinking it's a driver issue.
I take out the old ISA soundcard,USB Host and modem.Restart normally....same thing.I put the parts back in one by one...same thing(except the soundcard no longer shows in device manager). So what else can I do? I read a microsoft article about how to troubleshoot it but it was a very long and tedious process.Is there a way to see what file or driver is causing this to happen?
Any help is appreciated
Thanks.

 

[kd7fhd]

I know this used to be a problem: MSKB

don't know if the fix will help you or not, but it's worth a shot.

Rick

 

[darkeneddays]

Thanks but I'm using 98se and the article says:

The information in this article applies to:
Microsoft Windows 95
Microsoft Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2
Microsoft Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2.1
Microsoft Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2.5

Last ditch effort I may try it anyways

 

[SwampsterFL]

It sounds like a driver problem to me.

Boot to Safe Mode and change the Display Adapter to generic VGA and see if it will boot all the way into Normal Mode. This is the most likely thing to go wrong. If that allows you to boot, then go and get the latest driver for your card.

 

[darkeneddays]

The card is an old ATI Rage XL. It was already set to "Standard VGA". I was going to install the drivers via Safe Mode but I can't access the cd-rom from there.
I took all the cards out again and tried to boot normally and I either get the Protection Error or the system freezes up and the HDD grinds away infinitly.

Any other tips?

 

[SwampsterFL]

In addition to changing the video driver, it may be necessary to uninstall the previous driver via Add/Remove Programs. Many of the newer ATI drivers require this, and this one may also.

Download the latest driver into another system and expand it into a folder over there and copy it to a series of floppies. Note that you may not need to copy all the sub-folders as they may refer to operating systems other than what you are using. This will reduce the number of floppies needed.

By copying these files into a folder on the 350's HDD, you will then be able to access it via Safe Mode.

Less likely, but always a possibility, are the motherboard drivers you are using. Are they the latest available for this motherboard? Also, you might want to download a HDD testing utility from the maker of your drive. Usually, they can be put on a bootable floppy and fun from there.

If you have Norton Utilities, then copy NDD.EXE onto a bootable floppy and run it from there. THere may be a problem with the drive and the files contained in that defective area are needed by Normal Mode, but not Safe Mode.

 

[darkeneddays]

All drivers are Win98se default drivers.It is freshly formatted and I never got a chance to install updated drivers due to the "protection error". I'll try to do the floppy install though...

 

[Ape]

It sounds like the DIMM and Mobo dont like each other. I has a similay problem will a Celeron 400 system and when I switched the DIMM problem was solved. Ape Out.

 

[darkeneddays]

Alright...
I tried using another stick of RAM...."WPE"
Tried with another video card...."WPE"

As a last ditch effort I went into the BIOS to see if there was something set incorrectly there.Nothing looked out of place but I changed "Plug and Play OS" to "Yes".

PC has been on for 15 minutes now and it hasn't given that error.Was able to install the video card drivers fine. What exactly does this option do? Make the OS set IRQs as opposed to the BIOS?

So far so good...thanks for all the help thus far...


EDIT: Open mouth,insert foot. 2 seconds after I posted went to the machine,moved the mouse and got the damn WPE again. Only thing left to blame is the HDD or motherboard(Cant see the CDROM or Power Supply causing this)

 

[DAPUNISHER]

What board?

 

[Tannah]

Don't be so quick to rule out the power supply.. Ive seen Powersupply cook ram and in turn cause BSOD.

you could try reinstalling with somthing like Win2k, its a bit more anal about faults in the hardware, but it might help you figure out the problem..

try using this program to test the memory http://www.docmemory.com/

 

[darkeneddays]

Originally posted by: DAPUNISHER
What board?

Ummm I think it's a Soyo SY-5EH5