Error Won't Go Away

[RSLancastr]

Sorry for the vagueness in the question, but here goes...

A couple of months back, in an emergency, I installed a very (15 years or so) old version of IBM's Client Access suite on my PC, which is running Win XP Home Edition.

Client Access is basically a 5250 Terminal Emulation program, which I need for work. I didn't have a recent copy of it, but needed to install THAT NIGHT, so I made do with the ancient, Win95 one.

Well, the program worked, but afterwards, every time I sign on, I get the old "Recovered from a horrible error - Send a Report to Microsoft?" window.

If I click "Don't send", the same window comes up again, ad infinitum.

If I click on "Send", I eventually get to an HTML page telling me that there is a problem with my video driver, and that I should either A) Download the latest version of the video driver or B) Turn off hardware excelleration on my Screen properties.

Well, I HAVE the latest version of the (Invidia) video driver. I still get the message. Turning off hardware excelleration stops the message, but I of course have to turn it back on to run games and such. And the message then comes back up.

When I got the latest version of Client Access, I uninstalled the old one. I still got the same error. I then installed the new one, hoping it would somehow fix the problem - no.

The other users on my PC do not get this message, unless they have administrator authority.

One of the techies at work (who installs this all the time) said he was not familiar with the problem, but thinks that perhaps it is a bad registry entry from the old version that the uninstall did not clean up.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? Counterspells?

[Stainless_Steel_Rat]

Use XP's restore function to a time before you installed the old version?
You won't lose files, but it should restore the registry to how it was before the install.

Of course it will mess up any other programs you've installed since then.

Or you might right click on the .exe file, select properties, then go into the compatability tab. In there, select run in compatability mode, and place checkmarks in the 3 display setting boxes. This could help solve the issue.

Good luck

SSR

[Zep]

Bob, try this: Set your monitor to 640x480, 256 colours, before you run the app. See if it complains then.

I have a similar problem with a few very old Windows programs - seems they check the video resolution and colour-depth because they needed a certain setting to display properly (hard-coded, I guess). The thing is, their internal logic makes the assumption that if these settings are not met it was because they are LOWER than what they needed, not higher. The apps are so old that today's high-res SVGA had not been heard of.

Worth a shot...

[RSLancastr]

SSR, Zep: Thanks for the suggestions.

Something which might not have been clear from th OP: The 5250 emulation itself works just fine, and doesn't even generate the error when it is run.

The error happens when I sign on to my PC, not the emulated session. I figure it must be some support program or driver which the install of the emulation software put into my startup.

Looking at the Startup tab in MSConfig, I see four likely entries: cwbsvstr, cwbinhlp, cwbckver and cwbwlwiz. I'm considering deleting those registry entries.

[RSLancastr]

I removed those registry entries.

The error went away, and the 5250 emulator works fine without them.

Thanks again!

[Zep]

Oh, THOSE ones! Of course! It was obvious wasn't it! :nope: ;)

[RSLancastr]

Gaaaaaah!!!

I removed those registry entries, rebooted, and everything was fine.

But after ANOTHER reboot, the error message is back.

I thought perhaps the registry entries werwe back, but no.

:(

[Zep]

It's probably just bitching that you aren't using an IBM ThinkPad...

[russell_morris]

Have you tried setting the program up to run in XP's "compatibility mode" yet?

If not, right click on the shortcut for the program (or the .exe itself), and choose 'Properties'. Then click on the 'Compatibility' tab.

Check the 'Run this program in compatibility mode for:' checkbox and select the version of the OS that this guy originally shipped for. Since it appears that you're getting some sort of error relating to your video driver as well, you might want to fiddle with the 'Display settings' checkboxes as well.

Edited to add: If there is more than one exe for this emulator for some reason, the you'd probably want to do the above for each one of them.

[RayG]

If you can live without it, just disable the error reporting (http://www.petri.co.il/disable_error_reporting_in_windows_xp_2003.htm).

RayG

[RSLancastr]

Have you tried setting the program up to run in XP's "compatibility mode" yet?Not yet.

Part of the problem is, I don't even know what program is causing the error. It is something in the Windows startup. There are more than ninety .exe files in the folder containing the emulator software.

Is there is any way of determining which one is generating the error?

[RSLancastr]

If you can live without it, just disable the error reporting (http://www.petri.co.il/disable_error_reporting_in_windows_xp_2003.htm).Th anks for the suggestion.

I did what the link said (disable the reporting, select "But notify me when there's a probem), and I still get the error. It just doesn't give me the option to send an error report. And when I click "Close," the error simply comes up again.

By the way, something which seems to confirm Zep's earlier theory:

When the error happens, now I just drag it off the screen. But when I load a game program which resets the screen resolution to 800x600, the error message repositions to the center of the screen.

HOWEVER, if I click the Close/Don'tSend button while the screen is in 800x600, the error message does not return, even when I exit the game and the screen is reset to 1024x768.

[Zep]

Hmmm. Rob, try setting to 800x600 BEFORE you fire up the app. See if that makes it any happier. Or at least less verbose.

Incidentally, I have since found the app that behaved similarly - Just Grandma and Me (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000030EY6/103-5572895-1527021?n=229534) (Living Books). One of Zeplette's from when she was a youngster! ;)

Also I once had details of a method of making an app start cause a necessary screen resolution change, and restore default on completion, but have since lost that info...bugger. Haven't investigated this since...because I never had to!

[RSLancastr]

Hmmm. Rob, try setting to 800x600 BEFORE you fire up the app. See if that makes it any happier. Or at least less verbose.Again Zep - I don't "fire up the app! It is something whixh is auto-loading wgeb I log in to WINDOWS. It is evidently something in the startup. (Win.ini, etc.)

The only way to go into 800x600 "before firing it up" would be to make 800x600 my default screen resolution, which I don't want to do.

[a_unique_person]

What is the actual error message. It should be telling you the module/program/dll that is causing the fault. You can find it in the 'details' link of the pop message.

[RSLancastr]

Thanks, AUP, but there is no "details" link that I can see.

The original message says this:

The system has recovered from a serious error.The link below it says "To see what data this error report contains, click here."

Clicking that link shows the following:

Error Signature:

BCCode : 9f BCP1 : 00000500 BCP2 : 00000002 BCP3 : 85F22318
BCP4 : 867AAE00 OSVer : 5_1_2600 SP : 2_0 Product : 768_1If, instead of clicking on that libnk, I click "Send error report", the following web page is shown:

http://oca.microsoft.com/en/response.aspx?SGD=805cb4fa-b260-4a17-a4f9-f5019f34ec8c&SID=11.

Does any of this answer your question?

[russell_morris]

Thanks, AUP, but there is no "details" link that I can see.

The original message says this:

The link below it says "To see what data this error report contains, click here."

Clicking that link shows the following:

If, instead of clicking on that libnk, I click "Send error report", the following web page is shown:

(URL snipped)

Does any of this answer your question?
From that, I'd be willing to bet that the error is occurring as you shut down your machine - not as you start it up. I say this because that error message refers to a "stop" error - one that the OS isn't going to recover from.

Was this software written for Windows originally? If not, it's attempting to interact with and control the graphics card explicitly, which may be a bit dicey at this point considering how far graphics cards have evolved, and the fact that Windows hides the guts and only emulates access to it for old programs that try to use it directly.

Look in your Start Up folder, and mark any IBM Client-Access related .exes for compatibility with the oldest version of Windows listed ('95, I think). Make sure to include the options about display settings as well.

[a_unique_person]

Thanks, AUP, but there is no "details" link that I can see.

The original message says this:

The link below it says "To see what data this error report contains, click here."

Clicking that link shows the following:

If, instead of clicking on that libnk, I click "Send error report", the following web page is shown:

http://oca.microsoft.com/en/response.aspx?SGD=805cb4fa-b260-4a17-a4f9-f5019f34ec8c&SID=11.

Does any of this answer your question?

Seem to recall there is a 'hyperlink' you can click on when this form opens up. You have to drill down a couple of levels to get to the real information.

[a_unique_person]

Also look up the "Event Viewer". You should find an entry in that with some details. It is in the control panel, under Administrative Tools. They are listed in order of time.

[RSLancastr]

Well, without my having done anything further, the error messages have stopped.

Thanks for all the positive vibes you sent mey way, which evidently caused my PC to spontaneously heal itself.

[Zep]

Oogedy-boogedy!