Odd problem since using IE...

A little background info:

A good neighbor of mine has a somewhat old Pentium 200MHz that she only uses to check her email and browse the web with every now and then. Since her internet service provider is AOL, that's what she uses to browse the web with. She tells me that today she decided to try Internet Explorer and has been having the following problems since:

Upon booting up the icons show up on her desktop while the taskbar is still loading, she gets a window stating that a illegal operation has occured and "Msgsrv32" needs to be closed. Once I click "close" the taskbar loads and another window pops up stating that a illegal operation has occured and "Mmtask" needs to be closed. Once I close this window I get the blue screen of death with the following error code: 0117:00005ECC

I have attempted to install and run Ad-Aware after closing the first "an illegal operation has occured" window and before closing the second window (which states that a illegal operation has occured with "Mmtask "). The first time I attempted to install it I received a message that some file cannot be found and the computer froze. After restarting, I finally succeeded in installing the program, but the problem is that when I try to run Ad-Aware I either get a message stating that some file has not been found or the computer freezes again.

I have also attempted to install and run AVG Anti-Virus. The installation went fine, but when I try to run the program it asks for my serial. I am pretty sure I have the correct serial (I have triple checked!) but every time I enter it it tells me that it is incorrect.

I have also discovered that "Msgsrv32" and "Mmtask" cannot be affected by spyware/viruses so I do not think installing Ad-Aware or an Anti-Virus program would be of much help.

I am stumped. My only suggestion would be to back everything up somehow before closing those "illegal operation" windows and reinstalling the OS, but that can't be the only way out, can it?

 

idyll--I think we need more information.

What icons?
Can you provide the error messages more exactly? ***
What did she do to run IE in the first place? Install anything? (AOL actually runs as a shell over IE, so she has been using a modified IE all along.)
Can she go back to just using AOL?
I know you doubt a scan with antivirus will help, but she has nothing to lose by running an online antivirus scan, such as Housecall
http://housecall.trendmicro.com/housecall/start_corp.asp
(When these problems are solved, she definitely should install and run an antivirus program in the future. Emails and the internet are full of viruses these days.)
I am not expert on Win95, but, unless she has been backing up the Registry from time to time (which I suspect is unlikely), I doubt there is a way of going back to an earlier version of the Registry.

***P.S. There are various possible problems with msgsrv32 and mmtask. That is why we need more info.
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=Msgsrv32
http://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&q=Mmtask

 

What icons?
Sorry I wasn't clear. The icons that she regularly has on the desktop (My Computer, Recycle Bin, etc.).

I will try to provide the error messages more exactly tomorrow as I was busy and haven't had the time to check up on everything today.

Her son was actually over and wanted to run IE instead of the default browser AOL uses. I'm not exactly sure why - maybe he needed to check a page that wouldn't display properly in AOL?

Can she go back to just using AOL?
She can use AOL before she closes the second "an illegal operation has occured" window (closing that window leads to the blue screen of death as mentioned previously). The computer is somewhat usable but it's annoying to get those two "an illegal operation has occured" windows every time you boot up.

I am going to attempt to install and run Norton Anti-Virus (since I've had no luck with AVG Anti-Virus) tomorrow.

I doubt she has been backing up the registry, but it's worth a shot to check.

I have also searched google trying to find others with a similar problem but haven't had much luck. Some websites suggest that Mmtask and Msgsrv32 are somehow related to the sound card and updating or reinstalling the sound card drivers might work. I may give that a try if all else fails..

I'll try a few of the things I mentioned and get back to you tomorrow. Thanks!

 

This person seems to be having a similar problem:

http://www.windowsbbs.com/showthread.php?t=12903

But I doubt the cpu or memory is a problem as these problems have started occuring since IE was first launched..

 

It could be that the installation of IE is corrupt. Do you happen to know which version you have there? BTW, the highest version you can have is 5.5 SP2.
Msgsrv32 Errors
Given the brief history I have read, there could be some sort of spyware running. It wouldn't hurt to put Spybot on and see what pops up. The link is below and it is free. Be sure to update it before it before you click on Check For Problems. Let it remove everything found.

 

I have just spent several hours at her house and have attempted to do the following...

Booting into safe mode and running Ad-Aware and AVG Anti-Virus: I had no trouble booting into safe mode but once I did I still received the illegal operation windows. When I closed them, however, I did not get the blue screen of death this time. I still could not run AVG Anti-Virus because it said my serial was incorrect, so I attempted to run it in Demo mode. Demo mode worked fine and AVG found 7 viruses, but every time I tried to do Delete, Repair, Move, or do anything at all with them I got an error!

When I attempted to run Ad-Aware, it told me that the file "WS2_32.DLL" is missing and the program could not open.

I have also tried Spybot, Hijack This, and CWShredder but all three of these programs told me that they could not open because "WS2_32.DLL" is missing.

Running Norton Anti-Virus: I could only find the latest version of this program, which, unfortunately, does not support Windows 95 .

Checking the hardware and drivers: There seem to be no hardware problems and all the drivers are working properly.

Next I tried to install Windows 95 on top of the current installation. When I tried to run any of the files off of the CD nothing happened and the window froze up. So I restarted and tried to install it before Windows launched with the boot disks to no avail.

Here are the details about the illegal operation:

"MSGSRV32 caused an invalid page fault in module IPHLPAPI.DLL at 0137:04c539d7
Registers:
(I didn't bother to write all of that down since it was too much..) "

I am going to try upgrade to Windows 2000 or do a clean install if it comes to worse. I really want to help her out but I don't know what to do

 

idyll--Do not know if this will solve everything, but it seems you will need it to go much further with Win95.
http://www.ascentive.com/support/new/trouble_ws2.phtml
(The important thing is the link to the MS Update for Winsock and possibly other updates she may not have ever done.)
P.S. Doing some Googling I find that there could be inconsistencies between the version of IPHLPAPI.DLL that Win95 uses and the version that AOL uses. Also that this could be a sign of a homepage hijacking by CoolWebSearch (specifically about:blank). Does you friend's PC show any sign of hijacking?

 

The file WS2_32.DLL may not be missing, it may be the wrong version. I would install the Windows Socket Update. There are two there near the bottom of the page, I would do them both. You may be interested in the 95 service pack download. This may be the only location where you can get critical updates for the 95 OS.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/
and the DUN 1.4a for 95
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q285189
Note, you may be prompted for the 95 CD when installing the 1.4 upgrade.

 

fellow sufferer

I have encountered exactly the same error.
It directly followed an attempted Browser Hijack (About Blank).
This was stopped because I run "Browser Hijack Blaster ", I also use WebWasher and SpyBot to try and keep things at bay.

The error is always there; but sometimes I can get past it OK and use the PC; othertimes it dies on me, also have problems shutting down and have to use the power switch.
I had the Winsock and Service Pack installed but I have run them again and it did not improve anything.
I found this board via Google whilst seeking help.
Next step will be to reinstall Windows95 and start again!
Aghhh!