Seeking Help for a Computer Problem (Vanity)

AC's Cranky Dell | 11/22/03 | Self

[Alberta's Child]

Sorry for the vanity, but I'm looking for help with a computer problem that has come up in the last few days and appears to have gotten progressively worse.

After my computer is turned on and I am using it for five minutes or so, I get the dreaded "This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down" window. When I click on the "Details" icon in the error window, one of two problems is identified. The first one says something about "Exlorer has caused an invalid page fault, etc.", while the second one is as follows:

"DW caused an invalid page fault in module KERNEL32.DLL at 018f:bff88396." (I'm posting this one verbatim because it is on the screen right now!)

I lose all of my icons at the bottom of the screen and my background goes blank, but for some reason the application in which I am working still functions (the error window remains on the screen, though). It looks as if I cannot work in anything other than the applications that were open when the system crashed.

If anyone out there has any suggestions about how to deal with this, or if this problem is familiar to anyone out there, I would really appreciate any help you can offer.

I'll do my best to check messages here periodically. But I have to work around this stupid error window. LOL.

Thanks in advance for any advice, recommendations, etc.

[Alberta's Child]

Computer agony bump. LOL.

[Ex-Dem]

Error Message: "Explorer Caused an Invalid Page Fault in Module Kernel32.dll"

View products that this article applies to.

This article was previously published under Q187965

If this article does not describe the invalid page fault error message that you are receiving, view the following Microsoft Web site to view more articles that describe invalid page fault error messages in Internet Explorer:

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to start Internet Explorer or Outlook Express on a Windows 95 or Windows 98-based computer, your computer may stop responding (hang), and you may receive one of the following error messages:

Explorer caused an invalid page fault in module Kernel32.dll.

Commgr32 caused an invalid page fault in module Kernel32.dll.

Mprexe caused an invalid page fault in module Kernel32.dll.

Msgsrv32 caused an invalid page fault in module Kernel32.dll.

Iexplore caused an invalid page fault in module Kernel32.dll.

CAUSE

This behavior can occur if your password list (PWL) file is damaged.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, use the following steps:

1. Click Start, point to Find, and then click Files Or Folders.
2. In the Named box, type *.pwl, and then click Find Now.
3. In the list of found files, right-click each file, and then click Delete. Repeat step 3 until all of the .pwl files are deleted.
4. On the File menu, click Close.
5. Restart the computer. The password list files are re-created automatically when you log on to Windows.
6. Download the Mspwlupd.exe file from the following Microsoft Web site, and then double-click the file to run it.
   
   NOTE: You do not need to perform this step if you are running Windows 95 OSR2 or Windows 98.The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:
   

   Download Mspwlupd.exe now For additional information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

   119591 How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help to prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Internet Explorer 1.0 for Windows 95
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 2.0 for Windows 95
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 for Windows 95
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.01 for Windows 95
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.02 for Windows 95
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 for Windows 95
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 for Windows 95
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for Windows 95
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 for Windows 95
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.5 for Windows 95
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.x for Windows 95
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.x for Windows 95
• Microsoft Outlook Express 4.0 for Windows 95
• Microsoft Outlook Express 4.01 for Windows 95
• Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0 for Windows 95
• Microsoft Outlook Express 5.01 for Windows 95
• Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5 for Windows 95
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 for Windows 98
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.01 for Windows 98
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.0 for Windows 98
• Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 for Windows 98
• Microsoft Outlook Express 6.0 for Windows 98
• Microsoft Outlook Express 5.0 for Windows 98
• Microsoft Outlook Express 5.01 for Windows 98
• Microsoft Outlook Express 5.5 for Windows 98
• Microsoft Outlook Express 4.01 for Windows 98
• the operating system: Microsoft Windows 98

Last Reviewed:	9/16/2003 (5.0)
Keywords:	kbenv kberrmsg kbgraphxlinkcritical kbInvalidPageFault kbprb KB187965

[John Lenin]

Not enough info, what OS ? what program is it crashing on ?

[Fuzz]

Sounds like you may have the Blaster virus.

[Alberta's Child]

Thanks for the info! I'll look into this in more detail, but I will mention that the problem doesn't just arise in Windows Explorer -- it seems just as likely to occur in other applications like Excel or Word, too.

[Alberta's Child]

Windows 98 (the computer is about 3.5 years old). It appears to crash in a number of different applications, including Windows Explorer, Excel, Word, etc.

[Senator Pardek]

Read through this thread concerning probs with dw.exe.

[John Lenin]

Do this, type format c: at a command prompt and start over ...

[Psycho_Bunny]

Did you Google it?

The second return had some interesting info....Error.

[Alberta's Child]

I thought about a virus, but what makes this problem unusual is that it started occurring sporadically (every few days) a couple of weeks ago. Now it occurs every time I turn on the computer.

Any suggestions for verifying the Blaster diagnosis? Do I need a very current version of Norton Anti-Virus to deal with this?

[Ex-Dem]

OFF97: Invalid Page Fault When Attempting to Use Internet Functionality

View products that this article applies to.

This article was previously published under Q175976

WARNING:This information is preliminary and has not been confirmed or tested by Microsoft. Use only with discretion.

SYMPTOMS

When you attempt to use any of the Web features in the Microsoft Office programs listed at the beginning of this article, and Microsoft Internet Explorer is installed, you may receive an error message similar to one of the following

Program name caused an invalid page fault in module SHDOCVW.DLL at address 014f:71528dd.

Program name caused an invalid page fault in module GDI32.DLL at address 014f:bff349d9.

Program name caused an invalid page fault in module KERNEL32.DLL at address 014f:bff786a6.

Program name caused an invalid page fault in module MSO97.DLL at address 014f:30702681

where Program name is the name of the Microsoft Office program you are using.

CAUSE

This behavior may occur when one of the following conditions is true:

• One or more cache files in the Temporary Internet Files folder are damaged.
  
  
• The History folder or the cache folders used by Internet Explorer are damaged.
  
  
• The index files used to track the contents of the History or cache folders are damaged.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this behavior, use one of the following methods.

Method 1: Delete and Re-register the Temporary Internet Files Folder

To delete and re-register the Temporary Internet Files folder, follow these steps:

1. Click Start, point to Programs, and then click MS-DOS Prompt.
2. Type the following line

   deltree "c:\windows\Temporary Internet Files" where windows is the folder where you installed Windows. Be sure to include the quotation marks. When you are prompted to confirm the deletion, press Y, and then press ENTER.

3. Type exit, and then press ENTER.
4. Click Start, and then click Run.
5. In the Open box, type regsvr32 cachevu.dll, and then click OK.
   
   This step registers the deleted Temporary Internet Files folder again.

Method 2: Empty the Internet Explorer History and Cache Folders

To empty the History and cache folders used by Microsoft Internet Explorer, follow these steps:

1. In Internet Explorer, click Options on the View menu.
2. Click the Navigation tab, click Clear History under History, and then click Yes in the dialog box that appears.
3. Click the Advanced tab, click Settings under Temporary Internet Files, click Empty Folder, and then click Yes in the dialog box that appears.
   
   After you perform this step, check to see whether the issue is resolved. If it has not been resolved, continue to step 4.
4. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel. In Control Panel, double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon.
5. Click Internet Explorer 3.0 in the list of installed programs, and then click Add/Remove.
6. After you remove Internet Explorer 3.0 or 3.01, restart the computer. When you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press F8, and then click Command Prompt Only on the Startup menu.
7. Type the following commands, pressing ENTER after each command.

   cd \windows
   smartdrv
   deltree "Temporary Internet Files"
   deltree history
   cd system
   ren mshtml.dll mshtml.old
   ren shdocvw.dll shdocvw.old
   ren inetcfg.dll inetcfg.old
   ren actxprxy.dll actxprxy.old
   ren wininet.dll wininet.old
   ren cachevu.dll cachevu.old
   ren inetcpl.cpl inetcpl.old
   ren shlwapi.dll shlwapi.old
   ren url.dll url.old
   ren urlmon.dll urlmon.old
   ren wsock32n.dll wsock32n.old
   NOTE: When you press ENTER after typing each of the following deltree commands, you should be prompted to confirm that you want to delete the folder. If you are not prompted, you may have typed the command incorrectly.
   
   

8. Press CTRL+ALT+DELETE to restart your computer and restart Windows in normal mode.

MORE INFORMATION

You may see these error messages when you attempt to use the Web toolbar, insert hyperlinks in a document, open or link to Web files, or click hyperlinks in a document.

The information in this article applies to:

• Microsoft Office 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Word 97 for Windows
• Microsoft PowerPoint 97 for Windows
• Microsoft Access 97

Last Reviewed:	5/23/2003 (2.0)
Keywords:	kberrmsg kbprb KB175976

[Psycho_Bunny]

It sounds nothing like any of the blaster worms I've seen.

[Aliska]

Don't do a format c as that will wipe out your hard drive.

That post should be removed.

[Psycho_Bunny]

Here is the McAfee Stinger program used for checking for Blaster and most all of it's offspring.

[Alberta's Child]

There's some interestin information in that link. I'm going to try a couple of the things they suggest, but to do so I have to turn off the computer and re-start it (I don't have any Windows functions at my disposal). If you don't see me here on FR until Monday, you'll know I'm having some serious trouble. LOL.

[John Lenin]

I had a similar problem like that with Win98 and never could get rid of it. Since explorer is the most important program to the operating system if it's not working right your pc is about useless. Could be a virus or it could be the registry is totally messed up and unless you are a windows guru it will take you a long time to figure it out. It is best to spilt your harddrive in two and keep your files backed up on the d drive so you can wipe the c drive and reinstall the os with ease.

[Fuzz]

My father had the exact problem with the computer rebooting constantly and it was the blaster virus, or one very similar that was out at the same time. If it wasn't the blaster, my apologies, a quick google search should answer that question. I'm in the middle of a poker game at the moment though and am posting in between hands. :)

The problem with these worms was usually associated with XP though and not 98, so that may not be the problem afterall. The rebooting would usually happen when connecting to the net via a dial up connection, again with XP.

When I finish my poker game, I'll do a bit more research.

[PAR35]

You might try downloading Mozilla or Netscape and see if the problem repeats whey you use that browser only. If the problem doesn't appear, then you have a workaround.

[carpio]

BTTT