Australian PC World - Hardware problems that break Windows

Hardware problems that break Windows

You may be able to help in solving the problem of why Windows 95 crashes? I have a Peripherals Plus Pentium 133-S PCI/ISA motherboard with 16Mb RAM, Creative 6x CD-ROM, 1080Mb Conner hard disk, and Diamond Stealth 64 2Mb VRAM video card.
My autoexec.bat has nothing in it and the config.sys only has the CD-ROM device driver. At present the only software on the system is Windows 95 (Version A) and Internet Explorer (Version 3.0) with Mail and News. I have re-installed Windows 95 so many times I have now lost count.
The system will stop with one of the following error messages: Invalid Page Fault (this is the most common and usually happens every time I use the computer), General Protection Fault, Stack Fault or Invalid Instruction.
And if this is not enough, the dreaded blue screen appears with A fatal exception 0E has occurred or An exception 0E has occurred and most times it relates to a VxD.
I have tried installing Service Pack One, but this has no effect on the problem. The more software I load the worse it becomes. Sometimes when starting Windows 95, himem.sys will not load.
I tried to install Office 97 and this failed every time I attempted it. I understand that some of these errors might relate to a problem with my RAM.
- Greg Baird

I think your understanding is correct. Most of the errors that Windows 95 generates are difficult to interpret. However, the fact that himem.sys has trouble loading on some occasions points to a RAM problem. The simplest way to test this is to replace your RAM. Alternatively, programs such Norton Utilities include software for testing memory. Your friendly computer supplier probably has such a utility and could run it on your computer.
Data is often accessed from the cache rather than from memory. Problems that look like RAM problems are sometimes the result of faulty caches. There are caches on the motherboard and the processor and these can be turned off in the system BIOS. This feature is usually under a section called BIOS Features Setup. CPU Internal Cache refers to the cache on the processor and External Cache refers to the one on the motherboard. Turning one or both off will slow you computer down dramatically. However, doing this should allow you to assess whether you have faulty caches and which cache is faulty. Fixing the problem then is a matter of replacing either the processor or the motherboard.
Another possible cause of the problem is overheating. Most processors will have a heat sink or a fan attached. On badly designed computers, and those whose motherboards have been upgraded, the fan may be placed where there is insufficient ventilation. Also, especially in the tower models, the fan can fall off the processor. Have a look inside your computer -- if all seems OK, turn the power on while the case is off to make sure the fan is actually running.
- Roy Chambers

Category: Hardware, Win95
Issue: Aug 1997
Pages: 167