Microsoft KB Archive/160800

"Fatal Exception Error" with Iomega IDE Zip Drives

Q160800

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows 95
Microsoft Windows 95 OEM Service Release, version 2.0

SYMPTOMS

When you are using an Intel motherboard with an AMI/Intel BIOS or an Iomega IDE Zip drive installed on the secondary IDE channel, you may receive a "Fatal Exception Error" error message when you start the computer without a disk in the Zip drive or you eject the disk from the Zip drive.

CAUSE

This problem can occur if the following conditions exist:

The computer has an IDE removable drive that uses Media Status Notification (the Iomega IDE Zip drive is one such drive).
The computer's BIOS unmasks the PIC for the IRQ on the controller on which the drive is located.
The drive is accessed with no disk in the drive.
The BIOS touches the Alt Status register when an interrupt is vectored to it.

When these conditions exist, an interrupt may be reflected to the BIOS, which can cause a fault.

RESOLUTION

A supported fix is now available from Microsoft, but it is only intended to correct the problem described in this article and should be applied only to systems experiencing this specific problem.

To resolve this problem immediately, download the fix as instructed below or contact Microsoft Product Support Services to obtain the fix. For a complete list of Microsoft Product Support Services phone numbers and information on support costs, please go to the following address on the World Wide Web:

http://support.microsoft.com/directory/overview.asp

NOTE: In special cases, charges that are normally incurred for support calls may be canceled, if a Microsoft Support Professional determines that a specific update will resolve your problem. Normal support costs will apply to additional support questions and issues that do not qualify for the specific update in question.

The following file is available for download from the Microsoft Download Center:

Download Remideup.exe now]

For additional information about how to download Microsoft Support files, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q119591 How to Obtain Microsoft Support Files from Online Services

Microsoft used the most current virus detection software available on the date of posting to scan this file for viruses. Once posted, the file is housed on secure servers that prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

The following files are installed by Remideup.exe:

   File name     Version    Date/Time       Size    Destination folder
   ------------------------------------------------------------------------
   Esdi_506.pdr  4.00.1116  8/25/97 11:16a  24,426  Windows\System\Iosubsys
   Voltrack.vxd  4.00.954   3/6/96 9:54a    18,518  Windows\System\Iosubsys

NOTE: The Voltrack.vxd file is installed on Windows 95 computers only. This file is not installed on computers running OSR2. This issue is resolved in Microsoft Windows 98.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed at the beginning of this article.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information about issues resolved by updates to this component, please see the following articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

Q171353 Computer with Ultra DMA IDE Controller May Hang

Q161642 Auto Insert Notification May Prevent Automatic Suspend

Q154976 Error Message Running Jet Database Engine Stress Test

Q154436 Errors Accessing Hard Disk with Spin-Down Enabled

Q154435 Windows 95 IDE Support for SMART, DMA, and ATAPI Tape Drives

Q153471 Problems with Removable IDE Drives in Windows 95

Additional query words:

Keywords : kberrmsg kbhw osr2 win95 kbgraphxlinkcritical
Issue type : kbprb
Technology : kbWin95search kbOPKSearch kbWin95