Help, NDETECT error

[Lee Schierer]

This problem just started last week. I had not installed anythning or removed anything from my computer. I'm running windows 98 . It started by getting an error message on startup that says "NDETECT caused and invalid page fault in module Kernel32.dll at 017f:bffc06af." when my computer rebooted. Now it is repeating the error when I try ot open other applications such as AutoCad lite, Adobe. None of my MS software (Word, Excel, etc) seems to be affected. I am running Norton Systems Works Professional 2001.

I went tot he Norton Knowledge base and found a similar fault, but that created other problems when I tried their fix. Since it appears to be a Norton problem, I tried to go to the control panel and "add/remove programs" to remove Norton, but when it opens, it says do you want to uninstall Netscape 7.1 I get the same thing if I click on uninstall Netscape 7.1 which is right next to Norton. I definitely do not want to uninstall Netscape as that is my email client.

When I go to Norton Systems Works through the Programs menu, there is an unistall button there as well, but when I click on it, it again asks if I want to uninstall Netscape 7.1

If I can't uninstall Systems works, can I run the install program agian and fix things??

Any ideas from the computer gurus out there?

[Ken Garlock]

or I guess it should be the girl that you brought. :D

First thing is to go to the Microsoft website, and get all the maintenance which applies to your windows 98. Microsoft wrote the POS, and they, not the Norton people, are the people with the answers. Apply all fixes that are not new enhancements like media player 9(?), etc. Some people don't trust M/S updates, that is a bunch of bovine excretion. It is in M/S best interest to fix their problems.

Second, and more importantly, get yourself to your nearest software store and buy Windows XP Home Edition. There are a lot of people who claim that you should do a clean install(format your disk), on the other hand, I have been doing version updates on top of the old windows and everything works just fine.

Third, buy a copy of Windows XP home edition.

BTW, get Windows XP, you will have to sooner or later.

I hope you get my drift :D

[John Miliunas]

Lee, the VERY first thing I would do is backup any and all important data! This should supersede *anything* else you attempt! I can't stress that enough. Ken is right about going up to XP, but if I recall, you're not necessarily in the position to do so right now. Also, I'll have to disagree with Ken about the MS thing being the culprit. I think you're on the right track with Symantec. Sadly, my experience with Symantec has NOT been stellar, other than Norton Anti-Virus. As far as I'm concerned, they can take their "System Works", "Norton Utilities" and even their "Personal Firewall" and stick them whe....Well, you know!

Anyhow, that's just what I've encountered personally and out in the field. Seeing as to how you've already tried blowing away Sys Works and it's not letting you, go ahead and try the reinstall. I have a hunch, though, that may not do the trick. Give it a shot. Are you aware of any Norton updates (besided Anti-Virus definitions) which may have been downloaded since or about the time this started to happen? If so, that in itslef may have caused the anomaly and may not be reversable.

Try reinstalling and see what happens. If that still doesn't do it, I have another "trick" up my sleeve we can try and I already know you've got enough computer savvy to pull it off. :D If that doesn't do it, a reinstall of 98 may be in order. If you install "over the top" of itself, you don't lose programs and such. Still, a PITA and let's hope we don't have to go there.

I'll be a bit busy in the shop for a while yet, but will check back later. Keep us posted. Good luck! :cool:

[Lee Schierer]

I have kept windows 98 up to date as best I can. Recently when I tried going to the windows web site, it said:

Windows Update has encountered an error and cannot display the requested page. Select from any of the following pages for information about Windows Update services, or send us your feedback

I suspected this was MS telling me they are no longer supporting this product, but could be a symptom of a deeper problem.

Wish I could upgrade to a newer operating system, but this computer doesn't belong to me and I don't have complete say on what we get and don't get to buy.

My biggest concern is deleteing Netscape and losing all the addresses I have and saved e-mails that are important to me.

[Jim Becker]

I suspected this was MS telling me they are no longer supporting this product, but could be a symptom of a deeper problem.

There is a news item out as of yesterday that MS is now going to continue "support" (as it were...) for Win98 until June 1996 because, (paraphrased) "...there are so many people in third world countries using Win98 that didn't know that support was going to end..." Interesting point of view from our friends out on the north-west coast...

[Lee Schierer]

Okay, I reinstalled Norton System Works and now the error reads:

EXPLORER caused an invalid page fault in
module KERNEL32.DLL at 017f:bffc06af.
Registers:
EAX=00000000 CS=017f EIP=bffc06af EFLGS=00010202
EBX=00000007 SS=0187 ESP=0059d5e4 EBP=0059d5f0
ECX=00000007 DS=0187 ESI=751e8399 FS=31a7
EDX=bffc9a74 ES=0187 EDI=0059d7b7 GS=0fb6
Bytes at CS:EIP:
f3 a6 8a 46 ff 33 c9 3a 47 ff 77 04 74 04 49 49

I still can't get the windows update page to work either.

[Jim Becker]

Lee, you may be getting into a "Catch 22" situation--some file or files are corrupted on your machine, either because of some application damaging them or maybe even a hardware problem. It could also be a DLL that got overwritten by an older version. If you have not done so, make sure you have all your data and documents backed up as to my mind, you're looking closer and closer to having to have to do a complete reinstall of the system. While you can try a "reload/repair" of the OS (I think you can do this from the Control Panel, but it's been a long time since I worked with Win98) it may still require reloading your applications to get them properly registered. When confronted with this situation in the past, I usualy chose to just blow it away and reload everything from scratch after doing a good HD reformat. With Win98 I did that about every 9 months on the machines I had to clean them up from "wierdo" problems. No fun...

[John Miliunas]

Well, like the guy a few posts up said, "...backup any and all important data!" I concur with Jim B totally on this one. I purposely "scheduled" clean installs on 98 boxes every 8-12 months. Back up all of your Netscape stuff, too, and you can transfer it back afterwords.

I would go ahead and try the W98 install "on top" of itself (after backing up data!). If it's a pooched *.dll, that should replace it. There is another method, which I alluded to yesterday, that you may want to consider.

After backing up data, (have I mentioned that's VERY important?), boot up the machine and, as soon as it gets done showing your BIOS information, start hitting the "f8" key to get you into the Windows boot options menu. Boot to a command prompt. At the "C" prompt, type: "scanreg /restore" (sans quotes). Type it exactly like that, with the space between and before the "switch". Hit "enter". What you should get is a choice of 5 (or 7, I forget) registry dates for you to pick from. Pick one previous to the date that these problems started and elect to "restore" the system to that date. It will guide you through the process (really, really simple, actually). What it's doing is restoring the registry to a previously recorded, working registry. See if that doesn't turn the trick for you.

A couple caveats with this process: 1) Any software installed after the selected date will need to be re-installed. 2) If the restore bombs out, you're SOL. On the other hand, it would also be a real good indication that something is majorly wrong with the system and give you a pretty definitive answer that a complete wipe/install is in order.

Good luck and keep us posted. :cool:

[Ken Garlock]

..........Also, I'll have to disagree with Ken about the MS thing being the culprit.

Hi John, I can see from the way I said it that you could conclude that M/S was the culprit. What I really meant was that without current maintenance on your OS, you were playing in a muddy field; and perhaps getting up to date will fix the problem.

I do have a problem with the Symantec people also :( I have my W2K installed on the "D:" drive.(Windows 9x on the c: drive) I bought and tried to install the Norton anti-virus pgm. However, for some reason the geniuses at Symantec have hard-coded the c: drive into the program, and hence will will not work. I opened a trouble ticket with them, and after a couple rounds they essentially told me where to find sympathy in the dictionary :rolleyes: I guess they had never heard of the system variable %SystemRoot%.

Oh well, I just went to the McAfee Anti-virus product, it seems to work just fine and automatically keeps itself up to date. :)

[Don Abele]

Lee, I've been working with systems for a long time and can tell you from my experience that the only thing that may fix your problem is a clean install of the operating system and then all other programs.

It sounds like what the others have said, a system file has become corrupted, for what ever reason. If it's an older system, I'd suspect a bad sector on the hard drive (which is why I always recommend a full format prior to reloading). Exporting your favorites and e-mail through Netscape is easy and should really be done frequently (along with backing up important data). Be sure to back it up to a reliable drive and if it's really important, do it to two different sources (I have a back-up drive and also burn the back-ups to CD's).

As Jim said, Microsoft will continue to support 98 until 2006 (not 1996 Jim :p ) so nothing to worry about there, though it looks like they will only be providing security updates.

Good luck and keep us posted of the outcome.

Be well,

Doc

[Brad Schafer]

lee - the IPF is happening at the same physical address (irrespective of program). this sounds like one of three things to me:

a) bad memory
b) malware (my money lies here)
c) corrupt file (easiest fix)

before i went to all the trouble of a reinstall, i'd virus check the bee-jaybers outta the thing.

then i'd snarf a copy of kernel32.dll from another (known good) box and replace the existing file.

this smells funny,


b

[Jim Becker]

As Jim said, Microsoft will continue to support 98 until 2006 (not 1996 Jim )

Oy Veh! At least I got the last of the four numbers right in the date! Sorry, Lee... :rolleyes:

[Byron Trantham]

Oy Veh! At least I got the last of the four numbers right in the date! Sorry, Lee... :rolleyes:

Jim, there is not problem. Most of out here see 12 1/2" as 21 1/2" or 31 as 13, so 1996 is easily recognized as 2006! :D

[Lee Schierer]

Well, I tried everything anyone could come up with and could not get things to run right. So......I formatted the hard drive and reinstalled everything from scratch. Including new drivers for all the devices. So far so good. I still have one or two programs to load back in.

[Mike Cutler]

WOW!! You guys are GOOD! I may never go to www.annoyances.org again. I'll come here first. If SWMBO lets me near the PC again I'm going to follow some of those paths just for fun and the learning experience. I hate to bash products online, but I've personally never had much long term success with Symantec products either. They've given me too much trouble on our PC and our Mac's. Good Luck with your "puter problem Lee. Reloading everything, and getting all the necessary updates is a pain.