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Windows Error Messages

Don Bradbury looks at the arcane language of Windows fault reports

No matter which flavour of Windows you use, at some time or another you’re likely to see error messages thrown up by the system. Not always particularly helpful to the novice, nor even to the experienced, these messages are nevertheless intended to spell out some weakness or conflict you’ve encountered or managed to contrive.

An errant driver, a corrupted system file, or just two applications trying to live in the same piece of computer real estate. Any of these, among many others, are possible causes of these messages. Here’s what they mean, and what you might try to overcome them.

Illegal Operation

Not all software is written with the expertise we might expect. A badly behaving program, one that over-writes one of the critical Windows DLL (Dynamic Link Library) files for example, can bring the computer to a grinding halt and throw up this not very helpful message.

Well, you can try closing the program that was running when the message popped up, if necessary using the Ctrl/Alt/Del key combination to summon the Task Manager where you can click on the program in the list and then the <End Task> button.

With some applications you might have to wait half a minute or so for Windows to recognize what it is you’re trying to do before the application closes. Then, re-start Windows (Start/Shutdown/Restart) and try re-loading the application. If the error persists, contact the publisher and keep your fingers crossed that they’ll admit liability and do something about it.

You might find, for instance, that the problem is recognized and that the publisher has issued an ‘updated’ driver that sorts out the problem. Sometimes the description ‘updated’ is little better than a euphemism meaning one which actually works, probably because the previous one was rushed out in order to beat the competition.

General Protection Fault

The ‘Blue Screen Of Death’ (BSOD)will be familiar to all Windows users. General Protection faults are the result of a program attempting to use a computer resource that isn’t available or doesn’t exist on your system.

Whatever the report may say about identifying the cause of the failure, GPFs are often terminal in terms of your continuing to work. You can try closing the program (Ctrl/Alt/Del again if necessary) and then re-starting Windows.

If that doesn’t help, try uninstalling the application, preferably with the aid of any uninstall facility the program’s publisher may provide, or failing that, the Windows Add/Remove applet. Then re-install the program again. That sometimes sorts out the difficulty, but if it doesn’t, again seek the guidance of the publisher.

Some PC users swear by software that’s intended to jump in and prevent clashes like this, but other users simply swear at the blocking program, which they may believe causes more harm than good. We’ve never found them particularly helpful, frankly, though doubtless they do work sometimes.

Page Fault

This is a fairly common problem which indicates that two applications are each trying to access the same part of your computer’s resources. You can try restarting Windows and then the two programs, but don’t hold your breath. If that doesn’t help, try uninstalling the applications and then reloading them.

In all of these situations, remember to make a note of the full message, including any under the ‘Details’ tab, so that you can read it out to the support helpline folks who may or may not be able to help. You’ll generally find that they each blame the other - or Windows - for the problem, but you should make the approach or they’ll never know about the difficulties.

Fatal Exception

Almost certainly indicating another ‘dead duck’ in terms of your rescuing the situation and continuing work, a Fatal Exception message probably indicates that you need to switch off the computer, wait a few seconds before switching back on again (to ensure the PC’s memory is completely flushed), and then restart Windows.

This will detect a bad shutdown process and run Scandisk automatically. Don’t, by the way, be tempted to bypass this running of Scandisk (it is possible). It’s a useful safeguard against corrupted folders, and a good check on system integrity, which Windows needs to do before continuing.

In conclusion

Don’t forget the point we made last time, that switching off your computer, waiting a few seconds, and then switching it back on again for Windows to have a good look at the situation, is a must-try last resort to fixing some of these problems.

Windows’ Scandisk and Defrag are also useful tools for sorting out basic system inefficiency, but in the end, if you make no headway, do consider alternative software that does much the same thing as the program giving the problem. It just might help; you never know with Windows!