RC2OLD

w98 se hangs and just stops. Ctrl alt delete doesn't work. then blue screen comes on and says: Warning: The system is either busy or has become unstable. You can wait and see if it becomes avail again or you can restart . bla bla, press any key to return to Windows and wait or
press ctrl alt delete to restart: press any key to continue. I hit enter button and display goes blank except for the time in the lower right in a white display, and the mouse arrow only. I hit ctrl alt delete and it restarts.

This keeps happenin usually once or twice per day (2 or 3 hrs use)

OldGrayGary

Hi Rc2old


See if the PC starts OK in Safe Mode. [Start tapping the F8 key as the system is powering up -- this should yield the boot menu: then choose Safe Mode from the list].

If the PC starts OK in Safe Mode, uninstall any program you may have installed just prior to your current trouble.

Also - scan for malware. If your Win9x PC has enough capability to run a UBCD4Win (Ultimate Boot Disk for Windows), create one - or have a friend with XP make one for you - and scan the PC when booted from that disk. It's antimalware tools are effective enough to do a fair cleaning. --- http://www.ubcd4win.com ---

If worse comes to worse, an in-place reinstall usually fixes most hard-to-decipher Win9x software trouble, but you'll have to update things afterwards.

Win9x hardware is generally beyond it's expected time-before-failure, so you can also run some diagnostics to make sure the basics are OK - hard drive, memory, bios settings & bios battery.

Best of luck
. . . Gary

RC2OLD

It started in Safe Mode. I lookd at programs and I don't remember what programs I installed before that started happening so I looked at some programs that I am not familiar with. For instance: "T weak UI" What is that? I clicked on it and it disappeared so I guess I removed it but I didn't uninstall it. So I don't know about that. Two other programs I am not sure of : "Sibelius Scorch (Active X Only)" What the h is that? then Everest Home Edition which I installed I believe from request by Tech Support Forum on a previous thread problem.

OldGrayGary

Hi again


I looked around, and it seems that "Sibelius Scorch" is a little ActiveX plug-in that lets you print sheet music from the Internet. If you, or another user of your PC, have visited a sheet-music site on the Internet, it's likely that you acquired the program during such a visit. It normally does not contain malware.

The Everest program is a handy utility that helps detect the hardware and software installed in a computer. It, too, should not be a problem.

I also took a look at your rebuilding thread, where your Windows-2000 installation's hard drive died, and you rebuilt using an older hard drive that already had an old Windows-98 installation on it. It seems that you then did a parallel install (though meaning to do a 'clean' install). The reason I'd guess you did a parallel install is that you have a Windows folder named "Windows.000". This naming convention usually occurs when Windows 98 Setup finds a "C:\Windows" folder already present on the hard drive. I imagine that if you look at the system folders on your hard drive using Windows Explorer, you will find two Windows folders, one named "Windows" and one named "Windows.000". It's a bit messy - and it's possible that it can lead to problems later on while trying to install programs.

I also see that you value using the PC for Internet access. This is tricky nowadays with Windows 98, since fewer and fewer vendors have antivirus/antispyware/firewall protection for that still support Win98. I you had access to the Windows 2000 installation CD from your previous installation -- that would be the better choice - for both security and for other program-compatibility reasons - than Windows 98. Windows 98 also has the trouble with resource-usage while multi-tasking that the Windows 2000/XP versions don't have. If you do happen to have your Windows 2000 CD around, I'd recommend "clean" installing that [to be thorough, since you've had malware issues in the past, you'd zero-write the hard drive, and then install Windows 2000, letting it format the disk with the NTFS file system during Setup).

If you don't have a Windows 2000 CD, you might want to consider re-doing your current Windows 98 installation. It would at least give you a fresh start.

If you must go online with Windows 98, I recommend doing so from behind a hardware firewall at the very least (most routers have one built-in, and enabled by default), and find a Windows-98 compatible antivirus program. You'll want to have between 384mb to 512mb to be able to run a software firewall and an antivirus in Windows 98, while still enjoying any reasonable performance [over 512mb of memory in Windows 98 requires a few system.ini entries to be added]. Due to the poor reasource usage, you'll likely need to avoid running the system for more than a day at a time, as it can become unresponsive at resources get too low. Simply shutting it down at night is a simple cure for that (saves a little energy, money, and carbon emissions, too).

For a completely clean restart with Windows 2000:
1) Save any data from the current hard drive that you wish to keep.
2) Download Win2000 drivers for your system ahead of time. Save to a CD.
3) "Zero-write" the hard drive, using a utility from the hard drive manufacturer (a free download), or using a simple drive-eraser like Dariks Boot & Nuke -- or perhaps "killdisk" (Google will yield links).
4) Put the Windows 2000 CD in the CD-drive, and start Setup. It will detect that the hard drive needs to be formatted, and do that for you as part of Setup. Follow the prompts to finish.
5) Install any drivers Win2000 didn't already install during Setup (check in Device Manager & look for red Xs or yellow ?s - and install those drivers).
6) Install your protective programs (firewall, antivirus).
7) Update to Service Pack 4 for Windows 2000.
8) Visit Windows Update for any further updates (there will be plenty).

For a completely clean restart with Windows 98, follow the same steps as above, except that you will download and save Win98 drivers ahead of time. And you will have to create a DOS primary partition on the hard drive using FDISK before you can install Windows 98 (Windows 98 Setup can format the drive using the FAT32 file system as part of Setup, but the partition needs to be present first). FDISK instructions can be found online --- http://www.msdos.windowsreinstall.com/fdisk.htm --- (you'll be answering "Y" to the prompt "Enable Large Disk Support?").

I recommend staying with Windows 98 only if it is the "2nd Edition" (sometimes abbreviated "Win98se"), and if you lack a Win2000 or WinXP CD with valid license. Like your friend earlier mentioned, it's a little like running a 1950's automobile: it can be done, but it's a job for a dedicated hobbyist, and not for getting real work accomplished.

Linux is also a fine choice for older machines, and is available at no cost, as it is "open source" software.

Let us know if you have any other questions.
. . . Gary

RC2OLD

When I installed the W98SE on the new hard drive., I formatted it ..I've been trying some things by scanning the hard disk and such, running PC tools, etc and it didn't get any better but then I realized it was IE6 that was hanging so I went to Windows Update and loaded some critical updates for W98SE that I didn't think was avail . It seemed to help. I downloaded maybe 16 fixes mostly security problems.,etc We will see. So far it has only been a few hours but every thing is going fine right now. After a few days I will make another assessment. Appreciate your help

OldGrayGary

Hi again

Sounds like you've had some success. Don't forget to protect the PC while on the Internet with a good antivirus & a firewall. (Even after a clean install, infections can sneak back in when restoring data from backups, or from fresh attacks from the net).

A clean install should run quite well, though, offline. If it stutters or stops at all when offline, you'll want to check the hardware a little more.

We'll hope it's smooth sailing from here on out.
. . . Gary

RC2OLD

I definitely have some registry problems. I ran Registry Mechanic from PC Tools and also Registry Patrol and both found a bunch of problems in the registry but they cost $30 to purchase them. I may do that but wait for pay day. This is something that happens a lot. Look at this string of problems that is the details of a window that has popped up many times. it is a window that says: This program has caused an illigal operation, it will have to be shutdown". The details I copied to my mouse: Look at this and tell me what can I do about it. Will the registry cleaner companies fix this? Look:

IEXPLORE caused an exception 03H in module DDRAW.DLL at 017f:baaf7691.
Registers:
EAX=00001706 CS=017f EIP=baaf7691 EFLGS=00000202
EBX=00000000 SS=0187 ESP=0064886a EBP=006488b0
ECX=baaa1400 DS=0187 ESI=00000000 FS=3b57
EDX=00014787 ES=0187 EDI=00000000 GS=0000
Bytes at CS:EIP:
cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc cc
Stack dump:
baad3f1c 888c1706 30f50064 0001bff2 cc8e0000 80008195 88b00000 4a7c0064 0001bff8 17060000 4a5f0000 0001bff8 a0c20000 0001baab 3eb00000 0000baaa

OldGrayGary

Hi again


There used to be a Microsoft Knowledge Base article, KB303046 that dealt with an error message similiar to yours, but it doesn't seem to be available anymore on the Knowledge Base.

If you are visiting a webpage that has an animated .gif image to display, IE needs to have the right version of DirectX installed, or a recent enough video driver, to display it correctly. Often updating DirectX and the video driver cure the problem.

Did you find out if you have two Windows folders anymore? (one C:\Windows and one C:\Windows.000). If you formatted the hard drive prior to the install, you should only have the one C:\Windows, unless you accidentally started over during the installation.

A good free Registry cleaner (and the only one I recommend using -- and even then only when advised to by a tech) is CCleaner. It's widely available - I find that download.com is a reliable & pest-free download site.

Do install all Critical Updates for Windows 98 that show up when you visit that Microsoft site -- you'll need them all.

Best of luck
. . . Gary

RC2OLD

Your second paragraph seems to be a pretty good recognition of what is happening when I open up any website with IE. Several areas that may have animation or videos trying to load in the site start flashing real fast so fast you can't see the pictures or the animation and things start jumping real fast and then the illigal operation window opens up.

also when I open up windows explorer there are on windows, there is only one file that contains all the files that windows has too numerous to copy or type here. There are two more. One shows only a temp file. the other FILE IS JUST LIKE THIS;
+windows
+options
+cabs=this file has a huge amount of driver files and other win98 files
+windows
+drivers
IA32
Itanium

OldGrayGary

Hi again


I was re-reading through this thread, and I was wondering if the machine is an older PC or a newer. For machines faster than 2ghz, there are known timing issues - seems to affect networking the most. [Often, during Setup, "ndis" errors will occur]. For such recent systems, Windows 98 can still be run in a virtual environment, such as VMWare or Virtual PC.

If this is an older PC, I'm a little surprised you'd have any Registry troubles at all with a clean install. If you were online for any extended period during the installation without an antivirus or firewall running, it's possible the system could have been compromised by a virus (in which case you could simply wipe the drive & try again).

If the machine seems to have errors that seem to occur somewhat randomly, check what you can of the hardware -- test the memory ( http://www.memtest.org ), hard drive ( http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287 ), and check the bios settings (& if an older PC, check the time/date in the Bios -- it might be time for a new CMOS battery).

Best of luck
. . . Gary

RC2OLD

Well this is an older PC for sure and I have W98SE on it. I also have PC tools Spyware Doctor and Registry Mechanic from PC Tools. and I run them every day and many times during the day especially when I have problems. I'm still having problems with IE6 SP and I'm trying to download updates for it. I'm also downloading Windows Update and this same critical security update 823559 installs but it never registers in my program files. It says installation is successful but it's not. because it keeps asking me to install again. ive installed it about 20 times i think

OldGrayGary

Hi again


That particular update was stubborn for quite a few systems. Try downloading it directly from the Microsoft download site, and installing it independently (not through Windows Update). That has worked for many systems in the past. Here's the direct download link --- http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/d...displaylang=en

Try using FireFox as an alternative browser - since you are limited to IE6 because you are running Windows 98, FireFox is the safer choice online. IE7 was a large improvement, as far as security, from IE6 -- but it's incompatible with Win9x/Me.

I'd still recommend some intensive malware scanning. A fresh install usually doesn't have any Registry issues at all. I don't use PC Tools, and I trust very few Registry cleanup tools [CCleaner is the only one I use anymore - and I only recommend it to forum members when the repair requires it. As the 'sticky' thread about these tools mentions, Registry cleanup tools can cause trouble if they remove necessary entries]. Most malware infests the Registry to a certain degree - so it seems that it's a step you certainly want to take in your current repair.

What antivirus/firewall are you using?

Best of luck
. . . Gary

RC2OLD

To answer your last question, I don't have a firewall except PC Tools Spyware Doctor. I looked for a firewall but to me they do just about what Spyware Doctor does so I don't know. I don't have an anti-virus either. PC Tools anti-virus version does not handle W98SE. I changed to Firefox though this morning and so far (last hour), I haven't had any illegal operations where it wants to shutdown. I'm hoping this will work. I tried downloading that security update like you suggested with that link but I couldn't get it done. I must be doing something wrong. I'm not that good when it comes to downloading stuff. I will try again though. Do you think I should get rid of PC Tools and get a firewall? I will look around and see if I can find one. I hate to waste the money I paid to PC Tools for the Spyware Doctor and Registry Mechanic but I am tired of fixing my computer, I want to actually use it like I'm supposed to. Surf the web without problems, you know.

RC2OLD

I finally downloaded the security update file for windows. I was looking in my programs to see if it was in there. I didn't find it there. I went to start and then FIND and found it in my windows file. Some of the other updates like that are listed in my programs though. Kind of strange.

RC2OLD

I went to CCleaner website and I'm convinced I should have gone with this cleaner instead of Registry Mechanic but I paid $12.97 for it. I need to ask about some of the antivirus software that also contains spyware, adware If I get one will it conflict with Spyware Doctor. I'm afraid I will get conflicting software which I think killed my last hard drive.

OldGrayGary

Hi again


Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you --- it's a busy time of year!

Internet Safety
It is getting harder to secure Windows 9x/Me on the Internet lately, because fewer security programs are available that still support that platform. Unlike other types of programs, security programs have to constantly stay up-to-date to be able to both detect and destroy threats, as well as resist attacks from them. [You'll notice that I often recommend using a lite Linux distribution to solve this problem on older machines: 1) use Linux when Internet access is desired 2) use Win9x/Me for older Windows programs and games --- a Windows/Linux dual-boot is a reasonably inexpensive solution to security for older systems].

Win9x/Me's poor use of system resources also complicates things: it is difficult to run a Win9x/Me system with real-time antivirus protection and a full strength firewall for long continuous stretches of time --- unless the system is shutdown/restarted roughly every 24hours or so, things tend to freeze up. [This can, of course, be somewhat dealt with by simply restarting the PC daily - or more often, when necessary].

Linux LiveCD
To test-run Linux (without having to install anything), try creating a Linux Live CD . . . Knoppix is a good choice as a trial --- http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html --- It would be best if your older PC has over 256mb of system memory (for somewhat comfortable performance), but Knoppix can run on as little as a 486 with 128mb of memory [even less, if the office programs aren't needed].

Linux installed onto hard drive
A good light version of Linux for older machines is Xubuntu (a lighter variation of Ubuntu) --- http://www.ubuntu.com/products/whatisubuntu/xubuntu --- [Note that Knoppix, too, can be installed onto the hard drive, and is also a good choice]
The full Ubuntu is even easier to use, and offers much more built-in software, but generally needs 384mb or better system memory and 4gb of hard drive space --- http://www.ubuntu.com/products/WhatI...desktopedition ---

The Dual-Boot option
If the hard drive is big enough, having both Linux and Win98 is possible. The ethernet adapter(s) can be disabled on the Win98 side, so that all Internet access occurs in Linux. (Safe Internet access in Linux // old Windows software/games run in Win98)
_________________

A great advantage of the dual boot, by the way, is that if you disable Internet access in Win98, you don't have to have real-time antivirus protection running constantly ... and the old programs and games tend to run a little snappier as a result. Most Linux versions have a software firewall enabled by default, and these tend to use very little system resources. Linux itself, along with much of the software written for it (Open Office, FireFox, etc.) is open-source software: and is distributed free-of-charge.
__________________

If you must access the Internet from a Win9x/Me system...

1) Run only one real-time antivirus/antispyware program. [You can use other antivirus/antimalware scanners if they are started manually, and if they do not include real-time protection].
2) Run only one software firewall.
3) "For best results" - it's good to have a hardware firewall performing the NAT functions (this helps to hide your computer from unwanted access by other computers on the Internet) [Most broadband "modems" have hardware firewalls "built-in"] .
4) Restart the system at least once a day (or simply shutdown/power off when not in use) -- to avoid resource-issue lockups.
5) Only use IE6 for Windows Updates. For all other Internet access, use Firefox, Opera, or some other alternate browser -- and keep that browser fully updated.


Best of luck
. . . Gary

RC2OLD

I will keep all this in mind but I'm not one to understand all this. I do know I like Firefox. I haven't had any problems since I started running it. I also still run Spyware Doctor and Registry Mechanic every day and I restart a lot. sometimes 3 or 4 times a day because of the errors found. (Some errors can't be repaired until the next startup, it says sometimes) so I don't take any chances. I restart it asap.
So Linux is another OS? I have 254 mb ram and a 30gb hd using only about 1.9gb. I will do some searching into what you said and see what I can find