[FREECELL] error message

When opening the FREECELL program, I receive this error message:" FREECELL CAUSED A GENERAL FAULT PROTECTION IN MODULE :CARDS.DLL "
I re-installed Win98 but I received the same error message.

Jerry

 

You may wish to use windowsbbs.com search feature and check the archives of past posts on this issue. It is common and known and seen here frequently. I would ordinarily do this for ya' but I'm just a wee bit busy at moment. If after doing this and you still haven't found the solution, let me know and I or another will get it for you.

Wow, reinstalling win98 just to have freecell is pretty drastic. The problem more than likely is with something you have running in the background that does not get along with Freecell. Freecell, Solitaire and other win games are infamous for being fussy when it comes to getting along with processes, programs or applications running in background. To expand on the issue, there are even particular known processes that must be "task ended" before trying to play these games. It's been a while but I believe there have also been windows updates that deal with an issue or two that can interfere with these games, not 100% sure though as I said it's been a while. In any case these and other topics related to Freecell, Solitaire etc. (Windows system "Games ") are in the Archives. By the way they can be installed and uninstalled via the win98xx cd via the Control Panel>Add/Remove Programs>Windows Setup tab icon or they can even be downloaded from the net, should the need arise but I strongly suspect the problem is with another process you have running at the same time as you are trying to play Freecell.

Here's one (this is only one among many):
FREECELL caused a General Protection Fault in module CARDS.DLL at 0002:00003077
CAUSE
This problem can occur with English and non-English language versions of Windows 98 and Windows 98 Second Edition, and the English-language version of Windows Me if Ctfmon.exe is running. Ctfmon.exe runs if you have installed Microsoft Office XP with the Office Shared Features/Alternative User Input feature. FreeCell (Freecell.exe) and Solitaire (Sol.exe) do not provide sufficient stack space to accommodate the needs of Ctfmon.exe.

WORKAROUND
To work around this problem, prevent Ctfmon.exe from running. For information about how to prevent Ctfmon.exe from running, please see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:
282599 OFFXP: What Is CTFMON and What Does It Do?

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;304402

or this:
http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=1146