what's a "windows protection error?" and how do I get rid of it??

[Spongo]

It's preventing me from booting up to windows.

Thanks all!

 

[CTR]

It's a generic error. Do you have a 3com NIC?

 

[Spongo]

Nope. It's a linksys nic.

 

[jeans2nd]

This is usually caused by a hardware problem - bad RAM, incorrect device drivers, failing card. Boot up into safe mode, and check device manager for any problems - you can see all devices in safe mode, which you can't otherwise. If you have recently installed a device, take it out and try again. Check your RAM sticks to see if any of them are bad. Make certain all your drivers are current. Make sure your BIOS is current - old BIOS causes these errors. Make sure all your BIOS settings are correct - power management not causing problems, PCI enabled (don't know how old your board is). Reinstalling Windows won't fix your problem, as you'll probably have the same hardware problem. Try this link Windows Protection Error

 

[CTR]

Most common thing that I've seen cause the Windows Protection Error is bad vxd's in the system.ini file. So it goes back to bad or outdated drivers. I've seen it temporarily fixed by adding himem.sys and emm386.exe no the config.sys file. The reason I asked about the 3com nic is that I saw this very frequently with some old 3com drivers a couple of years ago.

 

[Wik]

Are you overclocked?
This error will come up if you push your ram too far.

 

[Spongo]

Not overclocked. But I did just recently install a Turtle Beach Santa Cruz SC. I think I'll ininstall it and try again.

Thanks all for your input!

 

[UnixFreak]

I know how to get rid of Windows protection errors permanently heh heh

 

[Fardringle]

What CPU do you have, and what version of Windows? Windows95 (and possibly Windows98) has a problem with AMD CPU's faster than 350Mhz. If this fits your situation, you need to download the AMDK6UPD.EXE patch from either AMD's site or from Microsoft's 'bloatware' site to fix the problem..

 

[Spongo]

Celeron 600mhz - not oc-ed. I got rid of the error but now the system restarts itself on random occasions. I don't get it. The mobo is a Gigabyte 6vx7-4x.

 

[vfrjim]

Sounds like a famous, reinstall OS of 98, I'm glad to be Win2k.

Jim

 

[nullshark]

The Santa Cruz drivers for Win Me and Win 2K are flaky, as well. If you run Me, uninstall the drivers for it and install the 98 drivers (they work better). If you run 2K... well...
If you run 95 or 98, I'll butt out.

 

[The Wildcard]

I got this error after I installed SB Live! drivers for win98se AND I changed the startup sound from the default SB Live! lightning one to nothing.