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 Whenever you click the 'details' button of the Windows error message box, it is likely that you will read the following:
[File/Program] caused an invalid page fault in module kernel32.dll
...etc. (Dr. Watson will tell you that the application has 'exceeded a temporary memory area'). Kernel32.dll, located in Windows/System, is very well known by those who are regularly confronted with a hung application.
The first possibility is that these invalid page faults are caused by 'a known issue' (usually concerning the application that causes the fault over and over again), and in that case there may be a definite solution. If you haven't already done so, you should check MS Personal Online Support, where you can find articles offering you solutions for very specific problems with kernel32.dll. Don't forget: most kernel32.dll errors are NOT caused by a corruption of the kernel32.dll module. If it's always the same program or application that causes the invalid page fault, you should do something about that program or application (e.g. uninstall and reinstall) and not concern yourself with kernel32.dll. The second possibility is that multiple files and programs causes this invalid page fault and that you can only get around the problem by pressing ctrl-alt-del or pushing the reset button. In that case, you are in serious trouble... And this trouble is the subject of this article.
'Serious trouble' means: not being able to solve the problem, whatever you do. Around the world there are problably thousands of people that have called down a curse upon Bill Gates because of kernel32.dll. They try reinstalling Windows, mostly losing all their data, and sometimes get the same error messages during setup (which could be caused by a very specific problem). Up untill now, no one has seemed to be able to pinpoint the exact cause of the problem. It could be anything really, from badly working CPU-fans to dust and cigarette smoke. Chances are that it's a hardware problem, perhaps a memory problem. Not uninstalling programs properly can mess up the system pretty badly too.
In just a few cases it's Windows that actually causes these errors, but you could say Windows is the culprit, because it's very sensitive to the specifics of certain hardware configurations. (Maybe another operating system is more comfortable with your hardware. If you wanna know how to try this out without making a definitive choice, read about it in our Tools article.)
 Before we go over the possible solutions, there are a few things that you should not do if you are in 'serious trouble'.
1) Don't download upgrades of Windows95 or 98 or their applications, whether from the Internet or from a cd. Whatever the cause, these kind of upgrades can seriously worsen the problem. Especially Internet browsers seem to be prone to multiply the invalid page faults, and the newer the version, the more they crash.
2) Don't install new programs unless you really have to. Installing programs often cause invalid page faults.
3) Allow us to repeat the common knowledge that the more applications you run at a time, the sooner the system is likely to crash. The nature of dll-files is such that they are called upon by several programs and applications, sometimes at once.
The fastest way to a solution could be provided by Windows itself: be sure to check out the Troubleshooting Wizards and the Windows utilities.
Now we will sum up some of the possibilities to contain and get around the problem. Some will make more difference than others, but reading about them will hopefully give you some insight into your own particular problem (if you wanna go drastic, buy a Mac, or, if you're sure your hardware is o.k., get Linux). But once again: if it's always the same file/program/application that causes the trouble, kernel32.dll is probably innocent. |
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