GDI32.DLL freezes my IE all the time

[Matt]

Every time I use my computer, the icons start to look
messed up after a while, and when I try to use Internet
Explorer (or any other part of windows where icons show
up) it freezes the computer and says that there's an error
in GDI32.DLL. I then restart my computer and the icons are
back to normal and things work fine, and the process
eventually repeats itself. What's going on?

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP]

Every time I use my computer, the icons start to look
messed up after a while, and when I try to use Internet
Explorer (or any other part of windows where icons show
up) it freezes the computer and says that there's an error
in GDI32.DLL. I then restart my computer and the icons are
back to normal and things work fine, and the process
eventually repeats itself. What's going on?

A. See
Dealing with Unwanted Spyware, Parasites, Toolbars and Search Engines
http://mvps.org/winhelp2002/unwanted.htm

B. You may need new video drivers. Check the site for your video board
manufacturer. Meanwhile you can do the following:
1. Use the default mouse pointers.
2. Turn down your color depth. (Right click the desktop and choose
Properties | Appearance | Settings) Some people find that increasing color
depth helps.
3. Turn down your graphics hardware acceleration. (For Win 98, Start |
Settings | Control Panel | System | Performance | Graphics button) You will
see little, if any, performance degradation.
4. Turn off your desktop wallpaper.

If these make the problem go away you need new video drivers.

If you have an ATI video board, try adding these lines to System.ini

[display]
DevBMP=0 <--- That's a zero