General Protection Fault Error Message Opening Control Panel

ID: Q193882

The information in this article applies to:

SYMPTOMS

When you open Control Panel, you may receive the either of the following error messages:

EXPLORER caused a general protection fault in module qtw16.cpl at <address>
-OR-
EXPLORER caused a general protection fault in module qtw32.cpl at <address>
After you receive one of these error messages, your computer may stop responding (hang). This may also occur in Safe mode.


CAUSE

This behavior can occur if one or more Apple QuickTime for Windows files are missing or damaged.


RESOLUTION

To resolve this behavior, remove QuickTime for Windows. To do so, follow these steps:

  1. Restart the computer. For Windows 95, when you see the "Starting Windows 95" message, press the F8 key, and then choose Safe Mode Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu.

    For Windows 98, press and hold down the CTRL key after your computer completes the Power On Self Test (POST), and then choose Safe Mode Command Prompt Only from the Startup menu. For more information about Windows 98 startup, see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
    ARTICLE-ID: Q178548
    TITLE : No "Starting Windows 98" Message at Startup


  2. At the command prompt, type the following commands, pressing ENTER after each command:
    cd\windows\system
    ren qtw16.cpl qtw16.xxx
    ren qtw32.cpl qtw32.xxx


  3. Restart your computer normally.


  4. Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Add/Remove Programs.


  5. On the Install/Uninstall tab, click QuickTime For Windows, and then click Add/Remove.


NOTE: To view QuickTime files, you must reinstall QuickTime for Windows. For information about how to do so, contact Apple Technical Support.


MORE INFORMATION

QuickTime is manufactured by Apple Computer Corporation, a vendor independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding this product's performance or reliability.

For information about how to contact Apple Computer Corporation, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

ARTICLE-ID: Q65416
TITLE : Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K


Additional query words: hangs freeze freezes lock locks up 


Keywords          : kb3rdparty kberrmsg win95 win98 
Version           : WINDOWS:95
Platform          : WINDOWS 
Issue type        : kbprb

Last Reviewed: May 4, 1999