Microsoft KB Archive/114800

Troubleshooting GP Faults in Word 2.x and 6.0 for Windows

Q114800

2.00 2.00a 2.00a-CD 2.00b 2.00c 6.00 6.00a 6.00c WINDOWS kbusage kberrmsg kbtshoot

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Word for Windows, versions 2.0, 2.0a, 2.0a-CD, 2.0b, 2.0c, 6.0, 6.0a, 6.0c
Microsoft Windows versions 3.1, 3.11
Microsoft Windows for Workgroups versions 3.1, 3.11

SUMMARY

This document presents a systematic approach to eliminating general protection (GP) fault error messages in Word for Windows.

MORE INFORMATION

WHAT IS A GENERAL PROTECTION (GP) FAULT?

A GP fault signifies that something unexpected has happened within the Windows environment, typically an improper memory access. For example, an application or a Windows component might read or write to a memory location that has not been allocated to it (memory that it does not "own"), potentially overwriting and corrupting other program code in that area of memory.

For more specific information about troubleshooting system level General Protection Faults as well as a technical overview of the problem, refer to the Windows Application note "WW0524: Troubleshooting GP Faults (UAEs)".

For information on how to obtain this application note, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q95505 WW0524: Troubleshooting GP Faults (UAEs)

RESTARTING

Depending on the severity of a GP fault in Windows 3.1, you can press CTRL+ALT+DEL to display information concerning system integrity and the application that caused the fault. When you press CTRL+ALT+DEL after a less- severe fault occurs, the following message appears:

System has either become busy or has become unstable

Press any key to return to Windows and wait

Press CTRL+ALT+DEL again to restart your computer (all unsaved information will be lost)

If the system hangs because of a severe GP fault and you get this message, you can return to Windows and wait for the system to recover, but you will probably have to restart the computer. When you press CTRL+ALT+DEL after a more-severe fault occurs, the following message appears:

This Windows application has stopped responding to the system

Press ESC to cancel and return to Windows

Press ENTER to close this application (all unsaved information will be lost)

Press CTRL+ALT+DEL again to restart your computer (all unsaved information will be lost)

When you get this error message, you can usually press the ESC key to return to your application and save your work (if possible) or press the ENTER key to close the application and return to Windows; this is known as a local restart. Once you have saved your work or returned to Windows, quit Windows and restart your computer to prevent additional GP faults.

GETTING CLUES FROM THE ERROR MESSAGE

The first clue as to the cause of the GP fault is in the General Protection Fault message that is displayed. Note the module name that is displayed after you choose the Close button.

The first message will say:

An Error Has Occurred in Your Application

Choose the Close button, and another message will appear:

...General Protection Fault in Module <module name> at <memory address>...

Note the module name that is listed. If the module name is Winword.exe, then you must continue searching for the cause. Sometimes, the module name may be a printer driver file or a video driver file. Sometimes, removing and reinstalling the file mentioned corrects the problem. If this does not correct the problem, or if you are unsure as to what the file is, continue troubleshooting.

DETERMINING THE SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM

There are 4 circumstances in which General Protection Faults occur:

The problem seems to be related to opening or editing one particular document.
The problem occurs when starting Word.
The problem occurs randomly or when executing a particular command.
None of the above describes the problem.

Case 1

The problem seems to be related to opening or editing one particular document.

If the error message only occurs when working with a particular document, that file may be damaged or corrupt. For information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q87856 Troubleshooting Corrupted Documents in Word for Windows

Case 2

The problem occurs when starting Word.

Setting Word Back To The Default Settings

It is possible that the Word initialization file or the Normal template has become damaged. To correct this, follow these steps:

For Word 6.0

Note: Instructions for Word 2.x appear after the Word 6.0 instructions.

From the Windows Program Manager Main group, start File Manager.
On the left side of the window, double-click the Word for Windows folder.
On the right side of the window, click the WINWORD.OPT file once to select it.
From the File menu, choose Rename.
Rename the file to WINWORD.OLD (or some other name).
On the left side of the window, double-click the TEMPLATE directory.
On the right side of the Window, click the NORMAL.DOT file once to select it.
From the File menu, choose Rename.
Rename the file to NORMAL.OLD (or some other name).
Exit the File Manager, restart Word, and test the document. If the error still occurs, continue troubleshooting.

For Word 2.x

From the Windows Program Manager Main group, start File Manager.
On the left side of the window, double-click the Word for Windows folder.
On the right side of the window, click the WINWORD.INI file once to select it.
From the File menu, choose Rename.
Rename the file to WINWORD.OLD (or some other name).
On the right side of the window, click the NORMAL.DOT file once to select it.
From the File menu, choose Rename.
Rename the file to NORMAL.OLD (or some other name).
Exit the File Manager, restart Word, and test the document. If the error is still occurring, continue troubleshooting.

Checking the video driver

From the Windows Program Manager Main Group, choose the Windows Setup icon.
If the Display is set to VGA, continue with the next section of troubleshooting.
From the Options menu, choose Change System Settings.
From the Display list, choose VGA (not VGA 3.0).
Choose the OK Button.
Choose the Current Button (or insert the requested Windows disk in your floppy disk drive).
Choose the Restart Windows option.
Once Windows is restarted, start Word and see if the problem is corrected. If the problem is corrected, you may need to reinstall your video driver, or you may need to contact the manufacturer of the video driver for an update. If the problem is not corrected, continue on with the troubleshooting.

Checking the printer driver

From the Windows Program Manager Main Group, choose Control Panel.
Choose the Printers Icon.
If you are using a PostScript Printer, install the HP LaserJet III driver, or choose any non-PostScript printer and make it your default printer.

If you are not using a PostScript printer, install a PostScript printer driver (such as the Apple Laserwriter), or any PostScript printer and make it your default printer.

Start Word and see if the problem is corrected. If the problem is not corrected, continue with the troubleshooting. If the problem is corrected, you will need to delete the printer driver using the File Manager and reinstall the driver from your disks.

Checking for corrupt Autosave files

The Word for Windows AUTOSAVE feature can be used to create emergency backup copies of documents. Word will automatically try to load any Autosave documents when it starts. To see if this may be causing your problems:

Open File Manager.
Choose File\Search.
In the Search For box, type *.ASD.
Set the Start From box to C:\ (or whichever drive Word is installed on).
Check the "Search All Subdirectories" box, Click OK.
Delete any found Autosave files.

Checking the Word startup group (Word 6.0x only)

From the FILE menu in Program Manager, Choose Run.
Type <path to Winword directory>\WINWORD.EXE /a.
Click OK

Case 3

The problem occurs randomly or when executing a particular command.

In addition to the steps listed above for troubleshooting GPFs when starting Word, try the following steps.

Quick list of things to try

Run Windows in standard mode by typing "win /s" at the MS-DOS prompt.
Try using the Windows VGA driver.
Empty the Windows Startup Group.
Open the WIN.INI file and make sure the LOAD= and RUN= lines are blank.
Open the SYSTEM.INI file and verify that the SHELL= line in the [boot] section reads:
Go into the Windows Printer Control Panel and set the Generic Text Only printer driver as your default printer.

Clean out your AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files so they contain only the essentials to run Windows and Word:

           CONFIG.SYS                 AUTOEXEC.BAT
           ----------                 ------------

           files=60                   path c:\;c:\dos;c:\windows
           buffers=30                 prompt $p$g
           device=<path>\himem.sys    set temp=c:\temp
           stacks=9,256               c:\dos\SHARE.EXE /L:500 /F:5100

Also, be sure to include the device drivers needed for DoubleSpace (DBLSPACE.BIN and DBLSPACE.SYS) if you're using DoubleSpace, or the device drivers for any other disk compression utility or special hardware you might be using.

Rename your NORMAL.DOT and WINWORD.OPT (or WINWORD.INI for Word 2.0x) files to NORMAL.OLD and WINWORD.OLD, respectively.

More troubleshooting tips are listed in the remainder of this document if the problem has not been corrected.

Preparing to troubleshoot GP Faults

The procedures in the following sections provide proven ways to troubleshoot GP faults. Many of these troubleshooting steps require changes to system configuration files. These changes are not intended to be permanent; they should be used as techniques for isolating the conflict that caused the GP fault.

Before you begin making changes, you should back up your system files and make a startup disk (also known as system disk or boot disk). This gives you the ability to restart your computer and edit your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT files should any changes cause the system to hang. This also ensures that you can return to your original system configuration by restoring your original system files after you have determined the source of the problem.

The following procedure assumes you are using version 5.0 or later of MS-DOS.

To create a startup disk with the necessary files:

Insert a formatted disk in your floppy drive, type the following, and press ENTER:
Copy your AUTOEXEC.BAT, CONFIG.SYS, SYSTEM.INI, and WIN.INI files to the disk in drive A with the following commands:

copy c:\autoexec.bat a:

copy c:\config.sys a:
copy c:\windows\system.ini a:

copy c:\windows\win.ini a:

NOTE: If your Windows directory is on a drive other than C, substitute the appropriate drive letter for "c" in the above steps.

Configuring your system for a clean boot

Exit Windows and restart Windows.
From the Program Manager, choose Run from the File Menu.
In the command line, type sysedit and choose the OK button.

CAUTION!! THE FOLLOWING PROCEDURE MAY CAUSE SOME SYSTEMS TO BE UNABLE TO REBOOT!! Make sure you have followed the instructions in the above section "Preparing to Troubleshoot GP Faults". If you have any questions, contact Microsoft Product Support Services before proceeding. If you are running Windows or Word from a network server, or if you are running any type on disk compression, contact Microsoft Product Support Services for assistance.

Temporarily disable all command lines relating to device drivers and terminate-and-stay-resident programs (TSRs) that are not required to start your system. These may include virus-detection programs, disk- imaging programs, undelete utilities, caching programs, CD-ROM drivers, multimedia drivers, terminal-emulation software, and so on.

To disable a line in the AUTOEXEC.BAT or CONFIG.SYS file, position your cursor at the start of the line and type REM followed by a space.

Caution: Before modifying these files, make sure you don't disable lines pertaining to other hardware-specific device drivers, such as disk- compression utilities, extended memory boards, third-party disk- partitioning programs, and so on. If you don't know the purpose of a line in your CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT file, do not disable it. The following drivers may be required to start the computer or to access your hard disk:

Disable command lines or type them in, so that the unREMed lines in the AUTOEXEC.BAT look like this:
Click on the CONFIG.SYS window to bring it to the front.
Disable lines or type them in, so that the unREMed lines in the CONFIG.SYS look like this:
Click on the WIN.INI window to bring it to the front.
Place a semicolon (;) at the beginning of the line that starts with Load=. This disables any programs that are started before Windows starts.
Place a semicolon (;) at the beginning of the line that starts with Run=. This disables any programs that are started before Windows starts.
From the File menu for the System Configuration Editor, choose Exit. Windows prompts you to save changes to the modified files. Choose Yes to save the changes.
From the Program Manager, choose Exit from the File menu to quit Windows.
Once you are at the MS-DOS command prompt, restart (reboot) your system by pressing CTRL+ALT+DEL (or choose the RESET button on your machine).
After the machine reboots, enter Windows, start Word, and see if the problem is corrected.

If the previous procedure corrects the problem, the problem is related to one of the drivers or TSR programs that you temporarily disabled. To identify which line is loading the TSR program or device driver that causes the error, restore the disabled lines one by one until the problem reoccurs. If the problem is not corrected, continue troubleshooting.

Case 4

None of the above steps resolve the problem.

If none of the above troubleshooting techniques are effective in eliminating the General Protection Fault, it may become necessary to reinstall Windows and Word in a new, clean directory.

Correcting damaged Windows files

The following procedure will allow you to update Windows files that may have become damaged without losing your custom Windows settings. To do this, you will install Windows to a new directory and then copy the new files back to the old Windows installation, retaining the old Windows customized settings:

Quit Windows and return to the MS-DOS command prompt.
Place Windows Disk 1 in drive A or B, as appropriate.
Type a:\setup or b:\setup and press ENTER.
Install Windows to a directory called NEWWIN31, and select the VGA video driver. When asked to update the AUTOEXEC.BAT and CONFIG.SYS files, choose "Do Not Update."
Once the new instance of Windows is installed, choose Exit Windows from the File menu to return to the MS-DOS command prompt.
Type the following commands at the MS-DOS command prompt, pressing ENTER after each line:

COPY C:\NEWWIN31\*.EXE C:\WINDOWS

COPY C:\NEWWIN31\*.DLL C:\WINDOWS
COPY C:\NEWWIN31\SYSTEM\*.* C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
CD C:\WINDOWS

WIN

This will start the original instance of Windows.
Start Word and see if the problem is corrected. If the problem is corrected, delete the NEWWIN31 directory and all of its subdirectories. If the problem is not corrected, continue troubleshooting.

Installing Word under the new installation of Windows

In this procedure, you will take the old instance of Windows off the PATH statement and replace it with a new installation of Windows. You will then install Word under the new installation of Windows.

Quit Windows to return to the MS-DOS command prompt.
Type the following line and press ENTER:
Change this line

path=c:\;c:\dos;c:\windows

to this:
From the File menu, choose Exit and save changes.
Reboot the computer.
Start the new installation of Windows by typing win.
From the Program Manager File menu, choose Run.
Insert your Word Setup disk (Disk 1) into drive A or B.
Type a:\setup or b:\setup.
Continue with the Word installation.
Once Word is installed, quit Windows and restart windows.
Start Word and see if the problem is corrected. If the problem is corrected, you will need to reinstall your software under the new installation of Windows.

If the problem is not corrected, you may have damaged Word disks. Contact Microsoft Product Support Services for information on receiving new disks.

Once the software is installed, and all of your custom changes are made, you can delete the original installation of Windows. If the problem reoccurs after installing all of your software, then the problem is being caused by one of the installed programs. You will need to repeat the installation of Windows and Word to a new directory, and add your other software back, one program at a time. After each program is installed, check to see if the problem with Word reoccurs. When the problem reoccurs, you have isolated the software that is causing the problem. Contact the manufacturer of the software or Microsoft Product Support Services for additional instructions.

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