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Windows Error Messages

by Lee Alexander

I usually find the error messages received from a misbehaved application in the Windows operating system more puzzling than the error itself. I was therefore happy to read that I was by no means alone with this impression. The October issue of Smart Computing magazine has a few articles on the subject and I will try to cover some high spots.

The first thing to realize is that the messages are created by programmers – human beings – and therefore not infallible. As programs are developed, intuition plays a big part in what a programmer (or more likely, a programming team) will include along the way. Obvious mistakes at points in the program, such as requesting a non-existent file, are fairly standard and a message, “File not found,” is appropriate and informative. The message,”Rundll32 caused a general protection fault in krnl386.exe,” is a horse of a different color. Is rundll32 a child of krnl386 or an evil twin? What did rundll32 do to crash the system? You and almost everybody else will never know especially if restarting the computer makes it function normally. Windows' GPF (General Protection Fault) messages are particularly difficult to fathom as they are generated from deep with the OS (operating System). Typically, error messages generated by applications are more comprehensible. For example, asking Excel to do a data sort while sitting in an empty cell will generate the message, “No list was found. Select a single cell within your list, and then click the command again.” Plain language and instructions on how to proceed make this “Error” more meaningful than “Module 999XYZ not available,” or something like it.

Error messages upon start up can be especially perplexing. If you have done a recent upgrade to a new Windows OS, a common problem is the upgrades' failure to delete or overwrite an old configuration file. In the case of Win 95/98/ME, if you are able to use a start up disk or boot into Safe Mode, look for the file Win.com in the boot drive's root directory (usually C:\) and delete it. Upon re-boot, Windows will find the file missing and recreate it with the correct new data. None of the error messages accompanying this problem tell you of this solution.

Examples of Error Messages and recommended procedures:

“This program has performed an illegal operation …,”   if you have the choice of shutting down the program or continuing, shut it down. Continuing after an error has a high probability of more errors with an unstable application. Personally, I go a step farther and restart the computer before continuing.

“…invalid page fault…”   this is a problem with memory, either RAM (Random Access Memory) or virtual memory, the swap file on your hard disk. Many times increasing the size of virtual memory will take care of the problem.

“…general protection fault…”   repeated instances of this error messages could be attributable to a faulty or outmoded hardware driver. Visit the hardware vendor's web site to download the latest drivers. Another common cause is trying to run too many applications simultaneously. If shutting down all but one program eliminates the error, you have found the cause.

“…unable to locate [DLL or EXE]”   .dll (dynamic link library) and .exe (executable) files are often shared among applications. Uninstalling a program, either via its Uninstall facility or the Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs, can mistakenly delete shared entities. If you can identify the missing dll, try the web site www.dll-files.com and www.webattack.com/help/missingfiles.html. Generally the files go in C:\WINDOWS, C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM or C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 folders. You can put the file in all three folders if you are unsure of the destination.

“…error accessing the Registry…”   this is a real problem and usually requires restoring the Registry from a back up copy. The latter versions of Windows OS's have a Scanreg.exe. With the switch /FIX, the program will try to correct improper entries. For ME and XP, System Restore can sometimes save the day.

We will wrap this up with some common Internet errors:

“4xx…"   usually a mistyped URL (Uniform Resource Locator) or e-address. However, it could be that the site is down for maintenance or a like circumstance – try again at a later time.

“5xx…”   the problem is with the web site, not your end of the communication. Can try again, sometimes within a minute.

“Too many users.”   don't you wish all error messages were like this?

“TCP error…”     The technology of the Internet depends upon two protocols – TCP/IP - rules for receiving and transmitting data. TCP stands for Transmission Control Protocol and IP for Internet Protocol. Data are broken into packets (segments of a transmission) and assigned headers for destination addresses and content. Arriving at their destination, the packets are re-assembled to the format of the original message. This error tells you the transmission was unsuccessful. It could be something as simple as a noisy phone line or complex involving the fiber optic connection to servers. Just resend your message.

“Failed DNS Lookup”     DNS is the Domain Name System. This allows for “friendly” addressing, using plain language instead of the true IP address, a series of four digits separated by periods. Don't you agree that it is a lot easier to remember www.maconusersgroup.org than 216.71.175.211?

“Helper application not found” or “Viewer not found”   there are instances where your browser, on its own, may not recognize or be able to display a file. For example, .PDF's (Adobe's Portable Document Format) is used by the IRS to make their tax forms tamperproof for downloading. In order to view these files you must have Adobe's Acrobat Reader. The reader is freeware and is available from many sources. Of late, applications are composing their on-line manuals in PDF and many installation CD's now include a copy of the reader.

Writing and interpreting error messages is as much art as technology. Programmers hate to do it and often technical writers are called in “after the fact” to author the less than explicit text.

If, at times, you think the message is incomprehensible, well, maybe it is.