GPF in Win98se involving GDI.exe, please advise.

Hello all,
I have a very distubing issue with my relatively new installation of Win98se.
I have recently installed Win98se. Imeediately after installtion I went to MS update page for Win98, and downloaded the critical updates that apply to Win98se as well...
There a around 3 or 4 updates thatI installed. I do not remember which ones they were though.
Then I installed Office 2K and last I also updated my IE to version 5.5 SP2.
That is when all the problems surfaced. The problem is that out of nowhere I get BSOD's, I get the white warning message (with Ignore and Close options) prompting of problem with GDI.exe file.
This can happen anywhere, anytime, from browsing file explorer, to copying s file to basically anything.
I read somewhere that it can be due to a missing or misplaced Fonts directory, but no, it is there.
I would like to know whether this situation is fixable or do I have to reinstall Win98se in order to fix this?

Thanks in advance.

 

Hello liorde, Welcome to the board
Was this a W98 upgrade or clean install? If upgrade, there could be things leftover from previous OS.

There are a number of issues that can cause this.
GDI Error page I don't know if any of these will point you in the right direction.

Why not IE 6.0

 

Reply...

Hi and thanks for the quick reply.
I have not installed IE6, since it does not offer an uninstall option, so if something goes wrong with it, then I cannot repair it.
I also heard that Win98se does not handle with IE6, so I decided to go for 5.5 SP2. You dont think it is a good choice? Should I try 5.01SP2? What do you think?

This installtion of Win98se was from scratch over a formatted partition. It is not the first time that I am installing like this, but it is the first time that I am attempting to be "smarter" and update the Win98se installation. I never bothered to do it. I am sure that all this problem I am facing has something to do with a wrong update file. Maybe due to language version of my Win98se. My Win98se is hebrew enabled. Maybe due to wrong order of updates, I dont know?
You guys think that Win98se handles well with IE6+SP1?

Please advise...

 

I don't know about the uninstall, but I'm running W98 SE with IE 6.0.

I don't know either

I had an issue at school last year that required IE 6.0 for students to communicate over the net. Might have nothing to do with this, just a brain cramp.
I'm sure someone on the board does Hang in there and I'm sure someone will figure out a fix for you

 

liorde,

If you used Windows Update and only got 3 or 4 updates, then Microsoft is seriously shortchanging you. There are many, many updates and bug fixes that Windows 98 2nd edition needs to function smoothly with modern software. Many are on the Security Updates cd that Microsoft will send you for free. I thought Windows Update installs these, as I just got the cd because I am on dial-up and don't like waiting!

There are others that Windows Update doesn't bother with, but also help (like the latest WDM Audio fixes, the updated USB compatibility software, the version of Notepad on Me and XP, etc, etc. I used to put these on manually from all the updates I burned to cd, but there is now a much easier way. Exuberent Software has a download called Windows 98 2nd Edition SP1. It is a zipped file that will automagically install all Windows Updates except for the 2 recent ones (this month's IE and Outlook Express updates).

Use the latest IE. IESP1 fixed the problems that IE 6 initially had with 98. What I do when I reinstall:
1. Remove all hardware except for the Video card, Monitor, Mouse and Keyboard. Boot up with your Startup Disc and FDISK your partition off and on, and, after rebooting, format. Reboot.

2. Install Windows.

3. Uncheck "Run Welcome To Windows at startup." Close it, reboot.

4. Change the regional setting for the dates to M,D,YYYY.

5. Change the Power options to Always On, Never, Never, Never.

6. Change the type of computer to Network Server.

7. In Device Mgr, set the cd drive letters to start and end with the letter you want. Same window's, turn DMA on for your cd and HD's. Reboot.

8. Install your motherboard chipset drivers. Reboot. Install Direct X 9.0c (I would download the redist file from Microsoft before you do any of this.)

9. Install your video card drivers. Reboot.

10. Install that Windows 98 2nd Edition SP1 program from Exuberant Software. Reboot. I now install IESP1, WMP7.1, WMP7BonusPack,WMEncoder7.1, WorksSuite2001, OfficeSP2, WMP9. But if you don't have that stuff (you only need WMEncoder 7.1 if you're gonna use ATI MMC) don't worry.

11. Install your sound card and modem. Reboot.

12. Install a firewall (ZoneAlarm is good.) Reboot.

13. Run New Connection Wizard, get on the net, run Welcome to Windows to register. Go immediately to Windows Update and only install IESP1. Reboot.

14. Go to Windows Update and install WMP 9 only. Reboot. If you use Intellitype or Intellipoint, install that. Reboot.

15. Go to Windows Update and install all critical security updates. Reboot.

16. Go to Windows Update and install that 1 stupid critical update that fixes the browsing that an older update breaks. Reboot.

17. Go to Windows Update and install all Windows 98 and Windows 98 2nd ed. recommended updates except for critical update notification, Dot Net ****, and the language stuff (except for Hebrew, since you need that). Reboot.

18. Install whatever word processing program you use. Reboot. If it's Office stuff (like Word), go to office update and install whatever it finds.

19. Install your DVD software, reboot, install your cd burning software, reboot, update it, reboot.

20. Install your Virus-Scanner. Reboot.

Assuming you've set up your display and audio the way you like, you will now have everything XP users have except zillions of background processes no one understands and you'll crash once in a while. (More so than on XP, but not as much as having old OS files that are 7 years old. The updates do help.)

Oh, I would go to system file checker, set it to search for changed and deleted files, run it (checking on - only this time - to update all changed and deleted files). This way, when you install programs you can use it to make sure an old program didn't replace newer files with it's old version.

Just a suggestion!