Works: Troubleshooting Guide for General Protection Faults

The following information is a list of steps to troubleshoot general protection (GP) faults in Works for Windows.

File Descriptions

GDI.EXE: (Graphical Device Interface) Interface between Windows applications and graphical hardware devices (that is, video display cards and printers).

KRNL386.EXE: Handles memory management, loads and executes applications, and performs file input/output (I/O) through MS-DOS.

USER.EXE: Controls user input and output, including keyboard, mouse, sound driver, timer, and communication ports, and Windows management.

GP Fault Troubleshooting Steps

To troubleshoot GP faults, use the following steps:

1. Check for damaged files on your hard drive. If you are using MS-DOS version 6.2, exit from Windows 3.x and then type the following at the MS-DOS prompt and press ENTER:
   scandisk
   If you are using a version of MS-DOS earlier than version 6.2, exit from Windows 3.x, and then type the following at the MS-DOS prompt and press ENTER:
   chkdsk /f
   See your MS-DOS manual for details.
2. Make sure you have a VGA driver installed. To check this, choose Run from the File menu in Program Manager, and type:
   setup
   See your Windows 3.x manual for information about adding and changing drivers.
3. Do the following:
   1. If you are using Windows 3.x, use the following startup parameters. See below (3b) for parameters to use for Windows for Workgroups 3.11. Run Windows in standard mode by starting it with the WIN /S command at the MS-DOS command prompt. If standard mode is successful, try the following debug mode by typing the following at the MS-DOS command prompt: win /d:xvfs In this command, "x" excludes all of the adapter area from the range of memory that Windows scans to find unused space; "v" specifies that the ROM routine handles interrupts from the hard disk drive controller; "f" turns off 32-bit disk access; and "s" specifies that Windows should not use ROM address space between F000:0000 and 1 MB for a break point. If you are starting Windows in the above debug mode works, try using each parameter individually to narrow the testing scope (for example, use the win /d:x command). Add the following lines to the [386enh] section of the SYSTEM.INI file, depending on which parameter worked correctly:
      
      
      • If "x" worked: emmexclude=A000-FFFF
      • If "v" worked: VirtualHDIRQ=OFF
      • If "s" worked: SystemROMBreakpoint=OFF
      • If "f" worked: 32BitDiskAccess=FALSE
      
      
      The EMMEXCLUDE ("x") is a temporary solution. Check your hardware documentation to narrow the addressing.
   2. If you are using Windows for Workgroups 3.11, use the following startup parameters:
      
      Windows for Workgroups 3.11 does not support Windows in standard mode. Start Windows with the following parameters instead:
      win /d:tfc /n
      In this command, "t" loads Windows for Workgroups 3.11 without the enhanced mode drivers loaded from [386enh] section of the SYSTEM.INI file. Starting Windows for Workgroups with the WIN /D:T command is not a supported configuration. (It will not run virtual machines.) It is just used for troubleshooting virtual device driver (VxD)conflicts. You will notice that the 386 Enhanced icon is not available in Control Panel.
      
      NOTE: In Windows for Workgroups 3.11, MSD contains a new Windows button, which displays the path to the Windows SYSTEM subdirectories, and a list of external VxDs that are currently in use. VxDs in use are determined by reading the SYSTEM.INI file and then verifying that the file exists on the disk.
      
      Version and description information is displayed when available.
      
      The "f" parameter disables the 32 bit access; "c" disables the VFAT parameter; and "/n" loads Windows for Workroups 3.11 without any of the real or protected mode network components.
4. You should be using the following minimum configuration.
   1. CONFIG.SYS, AUTOEXEC.BAT, and WIN.INI settings:

             CONFIG.SYS     AUTOEXEC.BAT     WIN.INI
             ----------     ------------     -------
      
             HIMEM.SYS      SET TEMP=        ;load=
             files=50       PATH             ;run=
             buffers=30     PROMPT
             CD-ROM Driver  MSCDEX
      						

   2. Shell=PROGMAN.EXE
   3. Empty Startup Group
5. Your SYSTEM.INI settings should be:

          keyboard.drv=keyboard.drv
          system.drv=system.drv
          mouse.drv=mouse.drv
          display.drv=vga.drv
          comm.drv=comm.drv
   					

6. Make sure the Set Temp statement points to a logical and existing path.
7. Ensure the files are decompressed properly.
8. Re-expand possible corrupt files.
9. Install Windows on an uncompressed drive.
10. Check Available Memory (both Hard Drive and RAM).
11. Disable TrueType fonts.
12. Disable ATM and/or Facelift (or any Font Manager programs).
13. Disable your network (if you have one).
14. Make sure your working directory is in your AUTOEXEC.BAT path.
15. Verify that the WINDIR= line points to a logical Windows location

           WINDIR=<DRIVE>:\<WINDOWSDIR>
    						

    where <DRIVE> is the drive in which your Windows directory resides, and <WINDOWSDIR> is your Windows directory. For example:

           WINDIR=C:\WINDOWS
    					

16. Remove your mouse driver.
17. Remove any unnecessary hardware devices from SYSTEM.INI.
18. Rename the MSWORKS.INI (Works 2.0) or the MSWORKS3.INI (Works 3.0) file and restart Works. Works 2.0 and 3.0 will rebuild the .INI file when you restart the application. However, even though Works 2.0 and 3.0 will rebuild the .INI during startup, it may not replace all necessary information, such as the Wizard references.
19. Use MSD to check the BIOS.
20. Make sure the A20 Handler is enabled.
21. Use the xcopy and fc /b command (Only for CD-ROM and multimedia issues) to ensure the integrity of files copied from your CD-ROM drive to your hard drive.
    
    For more information about using the xcopy and fc /b command, please see the following article in the Home Multimedia section of the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    94653  (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/94653/EN-US/ ) Using FC.EXE to Verify CD-ROM File System Drivers
22. As a LAST resort:
    • Reinstall Windows in a NEW directory.
    • Reinstall Works for Windows in a NEW directory.