«Protection error» is primarily a memory management violation. A process executes with its own address space. Particular pages (range of virtual addresses) may or may not be assigned to the address space. The hardware triggers a fault on an attempt to reference an address not assigned to the address space. The OS then aborts the process, if this was a user-mode fault. If the bad access was in kernel mode code, then typically that is «not supposed to happen», and the only thing that can be aborted is the kernel — i.e., the system crashes.
Simplistic example: if your process has a virtual address range of 0 to 1000000, and it tries to read address 1005000, then that will result in an exception, and the OS will kill the process.
(This is overly simplified, since it ignores the mechanics of paged virtual memory, and how in some cases invalid addresses can be supplied, for example stack expansion).
There are other exceptions, such as the divide-by-zero case, that are also detected in hardware. Similarly, they might cause process termination or kernel crash, depending on where they happen.
Windows 9x, by virtue of its DOS-based heritage, did not have total separation between user and kernel, and it’s possible that some user-mode errors could render the system unstable enough to warrant a reboot.
Having said that, this is not exactly retro material: it’s how processor memory management still works. The OS sets up descriptions of the virtual address space for a process; the hardware detects accesses outside that assigned space; and the OS then responds to detected violations.
HomeVirtualizationHow to Fix Windows Protection Error on Windows 95 / 98 in VirtualBox and VMware Software
This article will examine how to fix the “Windows Protection Error” encountered when installing old Windows systems such as Windows 95, 98, or 2000 with Oracle VM VirtualBox or VMware Workstation virtualization program on a computer with a virtualization feature turned on.
How to Solve Windows Protection Error When Running Windows 95, 98, 2000, or ME with VirtualBox / VMware
With Oracle VM VirtualBox or VMware Workstation virtualization program, you may encounter Windows Protection Error while installing an old operating system, Win95, or other systems on your host computer, virtual machine, or later.
When you start the system immediately after installing Windows 95 or restart the virtual machine to finish the final stages of installation, you are likely to get an error “While initializing device OS: Windows Protection Error. You need to restart your computer.”
What Causes Protection Error?
Incompatible hardware drivers, wrong ISO files, unsupported hardware, or startup applications can usually cause a Protection Error.
- Virtual Machine Configuration: You may have needed to set the virtual hardware settings of your guest machine correctly to support an older operating system such as Windows 95. In particular, it can be caused by memory, processor count, or incorrect disk configuration.
- Memory Limitations: Since Win95 has a different structure from modern operating systems regarding memory management, the amount of memory you assign to your VM may prevent your system from running and cause a “Protection Error”.
- Virtual Disk Drive Issues: Older Windows systems use a different structure to recognize and manage hard disk drives. Therefore, driver incompatibilities or errors can prevent your system from working correctly.
- Hardware Incompatibilities: You may encounter problems such as hardware incompatibility, which is one of the essential items, and protection errors related to the hardware of your host computer. There may be differences in your physical PC with old or new technology. Therefore, some virtual machine software may have limitations in supporting and running older operating systems.
Based on our experience with Windows protection failure, for example, we encounter processor frequency errors when running Windows nostalgia systems on a computer with a new generation Intel processor. Some Patch software is available to fix such problems. On the contrary, you can run old systems more efficiently on a PC with a mid-generation processor, even without Patch software.
How to Troubleshoot Protection Errors in Windows Nostalgia Systems
Sometimes, when you experience running legacy systems, and even in Oracle software running on different computers, you can clear the protection fault simply by turning off the VT-x/AMD-V feature.
Step 1: Disable VT-X/AMD-V Feature
When installing Windows 95 in your VirtualBox or VMware software, one of the first things you should do when encountering a Protection Error like the image below is turn off the virtualization feature.
First, try to avoid getting this error by turning off the VT-x feature and completely shutting down your guest system. To do this, click X, select Power off the machine from the Close Virtual Machine window that opens, and click OK.
View the settings of your Windows guest machine and uncheck the Enable VT-x/AMD-V option from the Hardware Virtualization settings in the Acceleration tab in the right panel of the System section.
Step 2: Change the Memory Amount
Do not assign a size larger than the supported limit to your virtual system, as older Windows systems have limited memory. For example, a 4 GB RAM size may cause your VM not to work correctly. Therefore, the appropriate RAM size for older operating systems is 256 or 512 MB.
Step 3: Use Another ISO File
ISO files you can get from many websites on the Internet may need to be fixed. We highly recommend acquiring the installation media from a trustworthy source to ensure a secure installation process.
Step 4: Set USB Controller to 1.1
As mentioned earlier, it is essential to thoroughly examine the configuration of your virtual computer as it may not be fully compatible with contemporary technologies. For example, they do not support USB 3.0 as Microsoft developed the Windows 95 or 98 system years ago. We also recommend setting the USB version number to 1.1 on your VM.
Step 5: Reduce Virtual Disk Size
Older systems of Windows need less disk space because the system files are relatively scarce. So it’s unreasonable for you to configure a disk size of 100GB for an older system. You may also get the Windows Protection Error due to these situations. If you prepare a new Windows 95 in the Virtual PC wizard, set the disk size to 1 or 2 GB to avoid errors.
Step 6: Disable All 32-bit Protect-Mode Disk Drives
Even if you have installed your system, protection failure may occur occasionally. Still, another method that can be tried to eliminate this problem; is to enable the “Disable all 32-bit protect-mode disk drivers” option.
To enable this option, open System Properties / Performance / File System settings and select “Disable all 32-bit protect-mode disk drivers” in the Troubleshooting tab of the File System Properties window and save the settings.
Related Articles
♦ How to Install VirtualBox on Windows 10
♦ Creating a Virtual Machine on VirtualBox
♦ How to Install Windows 8.x on VirtualBox
♦ How to Install Windows 7 on VirtualBox
♦ Updating VirtualBox
TolgaBagci
Hello, I’m Tolga! I am a computer specialist who has been specializing in computer technologies for about 20 years. I provide solutions to problems encountered in many areas such as hardware, system, network, virtualization, server systems, and operating systems, and create relevant content on my website by explaining how to solve these problems. My goal is to be a reliable source of expert, quality, and trustworthy solutions for your computer problems. By following innovations and using the latest technologies, I aim to be successful in my job and provide you with the best service. Don’t hesitate to contact me for any questions or curiosity about technology. Have a nice day, stay up to date 
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Overcome common Windows 98 protection error challenges
This article explains what causes a Windows protection error, and some things that you can do to fix the error. Included is a fix for a common Windows protection error that occurs when using a parallel port Zip drive along with certain printer types.
Until Windows XP was released, I’d always thought that Windows 98 was one of the best versions of Windows ever created. Even so, Windows 98 did have its problems. Among the more difficult problems to troubleshoot were Windows protection errors. In this article, I’ll explain what Windows protection errors are, and I’ll discuss some steps that you can take to resolve them. I’ll then explain the solution to one of the most common types of Windows protection errors, the protection error that results when some types of Zip drives are used with certain types of printers.
The reasons for Windows protection errors
Windows protection errors typically manifest themselves during startup with a message saying, “While Initializing device_name a Windows protection error occurred,” or you may simply see a generic message saying “Windows protection error.” The generic Windows protection error message can occur during system startup or shutdown. So what causes these mysterious error messages?
There are actually quite a few different things that can cause Windows protection errors. According to Microsoft Knowledge Base article number 149962, Windows protection errors can be caused by any of the following conditions:
- If a real-mode driver and a protected-mode driver are in conflict.
- If the registry is damaged.
- If either the Win.com file or the Command.com file are infected with a virus, or if either of the files are damaged.
- If a protected-mode driver is loaded from the System.ini file and the driver is already initialized.
- If there is a physical input/output (I/O) address conflict or a RAM address conflict.
- If there are incorrect complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) settings for a built-in peripheral device (such as cache settings, CPU timing, hard disks, and so on).
- If the Plug and Play feature of the computer’s basic input/output system (BIOS) isn’t working correctly.
- If the computer contains a malfunctioning cache or malfunctioning memory.
- If the computer’s motherboard isn’t working properly.
- If you installed Microsoft Office 97 and you’re using the Novell Client 32 software.
Common fixes
Now that you know what causes Windows protection errors, the real question is what you can do about them. I recommend beginning the repair process by booting the machine into Safe Mode. If the machine boots correctly in Safe Mode, then your problem is related to a driver file. You can then use the Windows Device Manager to disable all of the devices on your system that aren’t absolutely essential. Reboot the system normally and the system should function correctly. To determine the culprit, reenable one device at a time, rebooting between each. By using the process of elimination, you can determine which device is causing the problem.
If the system boots in Safe Mode but won’t boot in normal mode, regardless of which drivers have been disabled, then the problem is likely software related. For example, in the list above, you can see that a Windows Protection error can occur if Microsoft Office 97 and Novell’s Client 32 for NetWare are installed on the same machine. Therefore, try uninstalling these applications to see if the problem goes away. If the problem goes away, reinstall your applications to see if any one application triggers the error.
If the system still doesn’t boot correctly in Safe Mode, then a driver probably isn’t to blame. You more likely have a corrupted low-level system file, or you might have a virus. Another possibility is a serious hardware problem. In such a case, I recommend reinstalling Windows to see if the problem goes away, and scanning for viruses.
The Iomega issue
If you’ve attached a parallel port version of an Iomega Zip drive to your system, you might suddenly start experiencing Windows protection errors. This particular Windows protection error is caused by the way that the Zip drive attempts to share the machine’s parallel port. When Iomega originally introduced the parallel port based Zip drives, printers that required bi-directional parallel port support either did not exist or were not widely used. Therefore, when you attach a printer that requires bi-directional parallel port support—such as the Hewlett-Packard 4000 and 8000 or the Epson Stylus Color 640—to a Zip drive that was never intended to work with such a printer, Windows doesn’t know how to handle the conflict and thus generates a Windows protection error.
There are a couple of different tricks that you can use to overcome this particular Windows protection error. The first such technique is to disable bi-directional printer support in the machine’s CMOS. The technique for doing so varies from computer to computer, but on a machine with an Intel Pentium 4 motherboard, you must press the F1 key during the early stages of the boot process to load the BIOS Setup Utility. Once this utility loads, select the Peripheral Configuration option from the Advanced menu. Now, locate the Parallel Port option on the Peripheral Configuration screen. You can use this section to change the parallel port’s mode from Bi-Directional to either EPP or ECP. Although there’s an option for Output Only, you don’t want to use this option, because doing so would prevent the Zip drive from functioning correctly.
An alternative fix
Another way that you can fix the problem is to disable bi-directional printing support through Windows rather than through the CMOS. To do so, click the Start button, and then select the Printers command from the Settings menu. When you do, you’ll see the Printers window, which should display an icon for each printer that’s installed on the system. Right-click the icon that represents the printer attached to your system’s parallel port, and then select the Properties command from the resulting shortcut menu. When you do, you’ll see the printer’s properties sheet. Next, select the properties sheet’s Details tab. Finally, select the Disable Bi-Directional Support For This Printer option, and then click OK twice to close all of the open Windows.
Upgrading is the ultimate fix
Finally, the best way to fix a Windows protection error is to simply upgrade the operating system to Windows 2000 or Windows XP. This is obviously the most effective fix because Windows protection errors occur only in Windows 95, 98, and ME. If the problem is related to a conflict between a real-mode and a protected-mode driver, an operating system upgrade will correct the problem because Windows 2000 and XP don’t use real-mode drivers. Upgrading the operating system will likely correct other types of Windows protection errors too, such as those caused by damaged files or by an invalid registry entry.
Keep in mind that upgrading the operating system won’t replace every type of Windows Protection error. For example, errors caused by the CMOS or BIOS are independent of the operating system and will likely cause problems regardless of what operating system the machine is running. While it’s true that Windows protection errors don’t exist in Windows 2000 or XP, you may find that your Windows protection error has been replaced with the Blue Screen of Death.
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Microsoft
When installing Windows 98 (First Edition/RTM/4.10.1998) and the various Memphis Beta builds, you may receive the following error:
While initializing device NDIS:
Windows Protection Error. You need to restart your computer.
This error is related to processor speed and is covered in this MSKB article:
Q312108
A HotFix was issued for Windows 98, 312108USA8.EXE, which can be found here:
312108USA8.EXE
The HotFix contains an updated NDIS.VXD, version 4.10.2000.
This guide will enable you to quickly resolve this problem and get on with installing your Windows 98/Memphis system.
There are two methods for addressing this error, either correcting it after you have encountered it, or anticipating it and applying this fix before installation.
To fix the error after you have encountered it:
Download the 312108USA8.EXE HotFix linked above.
Use WinZip, WinRAR, 7Zip, etc to extract the file NDIS.VXD contained inside.
Place the extracted NDIS.VXD in the C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\ folder of your 98/Memphis installation, either overwriting the older NDIS.VXD or rename the older one to something else, say NDIS.OLD.
Reboot your system and everything should continue normally.
To anticipate the error and correct it before running SETUP:
Download and extract the updated NDIS.VXD same as above.
Place the extracted NDIS.VXD in your \WIN98 setup folder with the 98 SETUP.EXE, WIN98_xx.CAB’s, etc.
Windows 98/Memphis SETUP will automatically use the updated file rather than extract the older version from the CABs.
This has been tested so far with these versions (all I have at the moment):
Windows 98 Final/RTM 4.10.1998
Windows 98 Memphis Build 4.10.1900
Windows 98 Memphis Build 4.10.1702
Windows 98 Memphis Build 4.10.1691
Windows 98 Memphis Build 4.10.1681
Windows 98 Memphis Build 4.10.1658
Windows 98 Memphis Build 4.10.1650
Windows 98 Memphis Build 4.10.1629
I will add more versions that are tested working when I have more to test or feedback on other versions. If you test this with another version, please post your results here.
Note:
This error also affects Windows 95. For a Windows 95 solution, see this:
http://www.msfn.org/board/topic/141402- … it-broken/