Help! Computer crashed

Hi All, I broke my friends computer today, and now I can't get it to work again. He has an old 233MMXpentium which I installed my old Monster 3D card in.(The hope was that at least his kid could play SOME games with the computer then.) His box already had a Diamond S3 2D card that is almost identical to to the one I used to run the 3D card with, so I figured everything would go smoothly. (First mistake) Well, everything went perfect until I rebooted the computer when Windows told me to. When Windows started up I got an error message saying this program has performed an illegal operation and must be closed. I hit ctrl-alt-del to re-boot and the close program box didn't have any programs listed in it. I tried re-booting in safe mode and the exact same thing happens. Thats as far as I can get with it. So far I've done the following: Swapped out all his RAM with the RAM that was in my old 233 machine (I did this because whenever I booted the computer sometimes it said he had 32Megs, and sometimes it said he had 48Megs. Now it always says 64Megs.) I also ran scandisk in DOS and found no problems. I'm at a loss for ideas, except for reformatting his hard drive and I'm reluctant to do that. For what its worth, the inside of his computer was absolutely filthy! Any help you guys can give me will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Gary Stephenson

Thanks Richard. I think I'll put his old RAM back in, but just his 16meg ones. (He had two 16's and two 8's, and I think the 8's are bad.) Keep your fingers crossed :-) Gary Stephenson Richard S Beckett wrote:

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> > x-no-archive: yes > > You may have a faulty or incompatible card or memory or something that buggers the whole thing up, so you need a logical approach that will identify the faulty or incompatible part. > > Options: > > Put it back how it was. Hopefully it will still run. > Then change things one at a time, checking that it still works each time. That way you may find the culprit. > > Alternatively: > Drop down to an absolute minimum of parts, and see if it works. If not change one part at a time, till it does. Then add one at a time checking it still runs, as above. > > R. > > "Gary Stephenson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > > Hi All, > > > > I broke my friends computer today, and now I can't get it to work again. > > He has an old 233MMXpentium which I installed my old Monster 3D card > > in.(The hope was that at least his kid could play SOME games with the > > computer then.) His box already had a Diamond S3 2D card that is almost > > identical to to the one I used to run the 3D card with, so I figured > > everything would go smoothly. (First mistake) Well, everything went > > perfect until I rebooted the computer when Windows told me to. > > > > When Windows started up I got an error message saying this program has > > performed an illegal operation and must be closed. I hit ctrl-alt-del to > > re-boot and the close program box didn't have any programs listed in it. > > I tried re-booting in safe mode and the exact same thing happens. Thats > > as far as I can get with it. > > > > So far I've done the following: > > Swapped out all his RAM with the RAM that was in my old 233 machine (I > > did this because whenever I booted the computer sometimes it said he had > > 32Megs, and sometimes it said he had 48Megs. Now it always says 64Megs.) > > I also ran scandisk in DOS and found no problems. > > > > I'm at a loss for ideas, except for reformatting his hard drive and I'm > > reluctant to do that. For what its worth, the inside of his computer was > > absolutely filthy! > > > > Any help you guys can give me will be greatly appreciated. > > > > Thanks, > > > > Gary Stephenson

If I remember correctly the Monster3d had some kind of conflict with certain s3 based cards and there is fix for it. http://www.sonicblue.com/support/diamond/default.asp?menu=support&submenu=Le gacy_Graphics&item=faqs&product=Monster_3D#11583 you can try this and see if it helps. Art "Gary Stephenson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

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> Hi All, > > I broke my friends computer today, and now I can't get it to work again. > He has an old 233MMXpentium which I installed my old Monster 3D card > in.(The hope was that at least his kid could play SOME games with the > computer then.) His box already had a Diamond S3 2D card that is almost > identical to to the one I used to run the 3D card with, so I figured > everything would go smoothly. (First mistake) Well, everything went > perfect until I rebooted the computer when Windows told me to. > > When Windows started up I got an error message saying this program has > performed an illegal operation and must be closed. I hit ctrl-alt-del to > re-boot and the close program box didn't have any programs listed in it. > I tried re-booting in safe mode and the exact same thing happens. Thats > as far as I can get with it. > > So far I've done the following: > Swapped out all his RAM with the RAM that was in my old 233 machine (I > did this because whenever I booted the computer sometimes it said he had > 32Megs, and sometimes it said he had 48Megs. Now it always says 64Megs.) > I also ran scandisk in DOS and found no problems. > > I'm at a loss for ideas, except for reformatting his hard drive and I'm > reluctant to do that. For what its worth, the inside of his computer was > absolutely filthy! > > Any help you guys can give me will be greatly appreciated. > > Thanks, > > Gary Stephenson

"Gary Stephenson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > When Windows started up I got an error message saying this program has > performed an illegal operation and must be closed. I hit ctrl-alt-del to > re-boot and the close program box didn't have any programs listed in it. > I tried re-booting in safe mode and the exact same thing happens. Thats > as far as I can get with it. Was it "cmdinst.exe" that gave you the error? In that case, it is related to older drivers screwing with the plug 'n' play. Boot into safe mode and disable all the sound card, modem, video, etc drivers and then reinstroduce them one by one until you find the culprit. Then download a new driver for that piece of hardware HTH ~daxe

Art wrote:

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> > If I remember correctly the Monster3d had some kind of conflict with certain > s3 based cards and there is fix for it. > > http://www.sonicblue.com/support/diamond/default.asp?menu=support&submenu=Le > gacy_Graphics&item=faqs&product=Monster_3D#11583 > > you can try this and see if it helps. > > Art

Hmmm...now THATS interesting! I'll definately look into it. Thanks Art. Gary Stephenson

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> > "Gary Stephenson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... > > Hi All, > > > > I broke my friends computer today, and now I can't get it to work again. > > He has an old 233MMXpentium which I installed my old Monster 3D card > > in.(The hope was that at least his kid could play SOME games with the > > computer then.) His box already had a Diamond S3 2D card that is almost > > identical to to the one I used to run the 3D card with, so I figured > > everything would go smoothly. (First mistake) Well, everything went > > perfect until I rebooted the computer when Windows told me to. > > > > When Windows started up I got an error message saying this program has > > performed an illegal operation and must be closed. I hit ctrl-alt-del to > > re-boot and the close program box didn't have any programs listed in it. > > I tried re-booting in safe mode and the exact same thing happens. Thats > > as far as I can get with it. > > > > So far I've done the following: > > Swapped out all his RAM with the RAM that was in my old 233 machine (I > > did this because whenever I booted the computer sometimes it said he had > > 32Megs, and sometimes it said he had 48Megs. Now it always says 64Megs.) > > I also ran scandisk in DOS and found no problems. > > > > I'm at a loss for ideas, except for reformatting his hard drive and I'm > > reluctant to do that. For what its worth, the inside of his computer was > > absolutely filthy! > > > > Any help you guys can give me will be greatly appreciated. > > > > Thanks, > > > > Gary Stephenson

daxe wrote:

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> > "Gary Stephenson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > news:[email hidden]... > > > When Windows started up I got an error message saying this program has > > performed an illegal operation and must be closed. I hit ctrl-alt-del to > > re-boot and the close program box didn't have any programs listed in it. > > I tried re-booting in safe mode and the exact same thing happens. Thats > > as far as I can get with it. > > Was it "cmdinst.exe" that gave you the error? In that case, it is related > to older drivers screwing with the plug 'n' play. Boot into safe mode and > disable all the sound card, modem, video, etc drivers and then reinstroduce > them one by one until you find the culprit. Then download a new driver for > that piece of hardware > > HTH > > ~daxe

Thanks Daxe. Actually the error message comes up when Windows tries to load explorer.exe, and when I click on "close" the screen goes black and nothing else happens. As for booting up in safe mode, the exact same thing happens. (I forgot to mention that the computer has a first generation Windows 98 for an OS.) I'm wondering if maybe it was a virus that caused this. Gary Stephenson

Gary Stephenson wrote: > > Thanks Richard. I think I'll put his old RAM back in, but just his 16meg > ones. (He had two 16's and two 8's, and I think the 8's are bad.) > Keep your fingers crossed :-) Nevermind. That didn't work.

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> > Gary Stephenson > > Richard S Beckett wrote: > > > > x-no-archive: yes > > > > You may have a faulty or incompatible card or memory or something that buggers the whole thing up, so you need a logical approach that will identify the faulty or incompatible part. > > > > Options: > > > > Put it back how it was. Hopefully it will still run. > > Then change things one at a time, checking that it still works each time. That way you may find the culprit. > > > > Alternatively: > > Drop down to an absolute minimum of parts, and see if it works. If not change one part at a time, till it does. Then add one at a time checking it still runs, as above. > > > > R. > > > > "Gary Stephenson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > > > Hi All, > > > > > > I broke my friends computer today, and now I can't get it to work again. > > > He has an old 233MMXpentium which I installed my old Monster 3D card > > > in.(The hope was that at least his kid could play SOME games with the > > > computer then.) His box already had a Diamond S3 2D card that is almost > > > identical to to the one I used to run the 3D card with, so I figured > > > everything would go smoothly. (First mistake) Well, everything went > > > perfect until I rebooted the computer when Windows told me to. > > > > > > When Windows started up I got an error message saying this program has > > > performed an illegal operation and must be closed. I hit ctrl-alt-del to > > > re-boot and the close program box didn't have any programs listed in it. > > > I tried re-booting in safe mode and the exact same thing happens. Thats > > > as far as I can get with it. > > > > > > So far I've done the following: > > > Swapped out all his RAM with the RAM that was in my old 233 machine (I > > > did this because whenever I booted the computer sometimes it said he had > > > 32Megs, and sometimes it said he had 48Megs. Now it always says 64Megs.) > > > I also ran scandisk in DOS and found no problems. > > > > > > I'm at a loss for ideas, except for reformatting his hard drive and I'm > > > reluctant to do that. For what its worth, the inside of his computer was > > > absolutely filthy! > > > > > > Any help you guys can give me will be greatly appreciated. > > > > > > Thanks, > > > > > > Gary Stephenson

I hear that Gary Stephenson virus is going around.... Sorry couldn't resist, reading back to the priginal posts, I don't seem to see posted what you did to break it in the first place, your post seems to say I broke it and here's what I've tried to fix it, but how did you break it? -- Biz "Don't touch that please, your primitive intellect wouldn't understand alloys and compositions and,......things with molecular structures,....and the....." - Ash Gary Stephenson <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:[email hidden]... > daxe wrote: > > > > "Gary Stephenson" <[email hidden]> wrote in message > > news:[email hidden]... > > > > > When Windows started up I got an error message saying this program has > > > performed an illegal operation and must be closed. I hit ctrl-alt-del to > > > re-boot and the close program box didn't have any programs listed in it. > > > I tried re-booting in safe mode and the exact same thing happens. Thats > > > as far as I can get with it. > > > > Was it "cmdinst.exe" that gave you the error? In that case, it is related > > to older drivers screwing with the plug 'n' play. Boot into safe mode and > > disable all the sound card, modem, video, etc drivers and then reinstroduce > > them one by one until you find the culprit. Then download a new driver for > > that piece of hardware > > > > HTH > > > > ~daxe > > Thanks Daxe. Actually the error message comes up when Windows tries to > load explorer.exe, and when I click on "close" the screen goes black and > nothing else happens. As for booting up in safe mode, the exact same > thing happens. (I forgot to mention that the computer has a first > generation Windows 98 for an OS.) I'm wondering if maybe it was a virus > that caused this. > > Gary Stephenson

Biz wrote: > > I hear that Gary Stephenson virus is going around.... That's not a virus...just my bad karma. I ooze the stuff. > > Sorry couldn't resist, reading back to the priginal posts, I don't seem to see posted what you did > to break it in the first place, your post seems to say I broke it and here's what I've tried to fix > it, but how did you break it? I installed an old Monster3D card in an old computer. The installation went off without a hitch, but when I did the final reboot...KABOOM! Thing blew up in my face. Actually, when I did the final reboot is when I got the explorer error message, and then I couldn't reboot in safe mode to uninstall the card. I was using the 3D card in conjunction with a Diamond Video 2D card, so I figured there wouldn't be any compatibility problems. I used that 3D card with my old 2D card in three different computers and never had a problem. Oh well, I solved the problem today! I reformatted his HD :-) The thing runs like a top now. He only had a 3gig HD, so he didn't lose too much. I installed F1RS and did a couple of laps at Melbourne to make sure the Monster card still works. No problems there, although my keyboard driving skills have deteriorated considerably. Many thanks to all who offered suggestions of help. Gary Stephenson