Cryptic Windows Error Message

[Lem]

The following is on Win98se, but there's not much activity in that
newsgroup, so I thought I'd try here.

I got the following error message:
Invalid VxD dynamic link call to device 3, service B. Your Windows
configuration is invalid. Run the Windows Setup program again to correct
this problem.

What is "device 3, service B"?

MSKB says that this is due to a bad system.ini file -- but the article
also says that you should be able to start in safe mode. I can't. This
is on an IBM laptop, so after recovering the data I wanted, I tried the
IBM magic restore utility, which is supposed to format C: and then
extract all the original s/w including Windows and apps. from a hidden
partition.

After several hours, I'm back in the same place, with the same error
message. So I think there's really some h/w problem. Does anyone have
a clue as to what this error message means?

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Not much activity in the Win98 groups? I somehow doubt that, as I know many
of the regulars. Suggest you retry there to get the proper advice.

You may want to read:

Error Message When You Start Computer in Normal Mode: Invalid VxD Dynamic
Link Call to Device 3, Service B
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=306482

Or, restore the registry. In Win98, scanreg/restore from the dos prompt will
restore a previous system.ini file.

To get to a command prompt, restart windows (or just boot the machine if
it's not on).

As soon as the memory count (POST sequence) ends and before windows begins
to load, depress and hold the <ctrl> key until a boot menu appears. This
take a bit of practice.

Use the arrow keys or number pad to select command prompt and <enter> (NOTE:
If it freezes at this point, just hit ctrl+alt+delete and try again).

At the C:\> prompt, type in: scanreg /restore

You will be presented with a list of 5 backups, select one from before the
problems occurred, but you should avoid using the oldest one if possible,
there is a known problem that may occur if you do, refer to:

"System Restore Operation Failed" Error When Restoring Registry [Q245412]
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=245412

When completed, the C:\> will reappear, type in: WIN to boot back to
windows.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[Lem]

Well there may be a lot of activity in the Win98 group, but there was no
response when I posted a message on this topic last week. As I said in
my original post, the KB article you cited describes the exact error
message I get, except the situation it describes is one where you can
start in Safe mode. I can't. And my system.ini file is not blank. Nor
did restoring the system.ini file (or the registry) from the rb*.cab
files help. And now that I've restored the disk from the hidden IBM
"restore" partition, there are no backup Win98 registries anyway.

The disturbing thing is that after the IBM restore utility re-formatted
the hard drive and resinstalled the ex-factory configuration, Windows
still gives the same error message.

Because it seems at least possible that there really is a hardware
problem, it would be nice to know what the error message really means,
so I can try to decide whether it's worth extracting about 2 MB of IBM
drivers and other IBM files from the hard drive, and then do a clean
install of XP, re-formatting as NTFS.

 

[Lem]

Not much activity in the Win98 groups? I somehow doubt that, as I know many
of the regulars. Suggest you retry there to get the proper advice.

You may want to read:

Error Message When You Start Computer in Normal Mode: Invalid VxD Dynamic
Link Call to Device 3, Service B
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=306482

Or, restore the registry. In Win98, scanreg/restore from the dos prompt will
restore a previous system.ini file.

To get to a command prompt, restart windows (or just boot the machine if
it's not on).

As soon as the memory count (POST sequence) ends and before windows begins
to load, depress and hold the <ctrl> key until a boot menu appears. This
take a bit of practice.

Use the arrow keys or number pad to select command prompt and <enter> (NOTE:
If it freezes at this point, just hit ctrl+alt+delete and try again).

At the C:\> prompt, type in: scanreg /restore

You will be presented with a list of 5 backups, select one from before the
problems occurred, but you should avoid using the oldest one if possible,
there is a known problem that may occur if you do, refer to:

"System Restore Operation Failed" Error When Restoring Registry [Q245412]
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=245412

When completed, the C:\> will reappear, type in: WIN to boot back to
windows.