Help! Computer help needed!

Factual Questions
1

Does anybody know what Windows program the file “mtrr.vdx” corresponds to?

My kernel fell apart and I had to reinstall Windows, as well as reconstruct many device drivers and exe’s. But now when Win 95 restarts, system.ini tells me it can’t run the program associated with mtrr.vdx, but it doesn’t tell me what program that is. So far I haven’t detected any faults in programs that would load during Win 95 startup.

Any information would be greatly appreciated…

“Where there is clarity, there is no choice. And where there is choice, there is misery. But then, why should I speak, since I know nothing?”

2

Virtual Device eXtension

If you can get into the Windows environment, then it’s not a “fatal” or pressing issue, and you have time to deal with the situation.

If your computer came with W95 installed on it, go through everything that came with it–all CD-ROMs, all floppy disks, all documentation. Don’t forget those goodies that you may have installed after the initial purchase of the computer (DVD ROM Drives, Sound Cards…you get the picture) and re-install those as well.

Now, what I’m going to say may not make sense, but trust me on this one: wait a little while before doing anything else, if the above doesn’t take care of the problem…boot the computer before every occasion of use, and when you’re through using it, turn it off (after shutting down the User Interface, of course). This allows the automated features of W95 to attempt to resolve the conflict without your having to do much more. A weeks worth of this should give W95 enough time to resolve things, if it’s going to ever do it.

While I don’t have specific information about the file you mentioned, it is possible that it is associated with an application that you use–in that case you’ll need to re-install the program from the original distribution media.

Once you have the problem out of the way, establish a routine of the following three actions:

  1. Run ScanDisk regularly.

  2. Run Defrag regularly.

  3. Backup your hard drive(s) regularly.

Additional tips:

Make sure that you have at least 32MB of system memory for Win95, and 64MB for Win 98.

Don’t allow free hard drive space to fall below 10% of the total drive capacity of the drive that actually contains the Windows Swap File. Delete unnecessary files from the drive, and purge internet caches frequently–I do this last part daily.

Don’t be paranoid about it, but DO run a virus scan on your system once in a while.

Don’t download files from the internet indiscriminately.

Don’t download e-mail attachments from individuals you don’t know personally.

Make sure that you have the latest revisions of all software drivers. Check manufacturers’ web sites for these.

Don’t allow multiple users to access your computer–use password protection of the boot process, if necessary. I recommend the boot protection offered by System Commander by VCom Software, Inc. Don’t rely on Windows passwords or ROM BIOS passwords–they’re too easy to bypass.

I wish you the best of luck in solving the problem and, if you need further assistance, send me an e-mail through PhastPhix@fcmail.com and I’ll dig a bit deeper for solutions for you–no charge.

–Kalél
Common ¢ for all ages…
Doncha just hate word problems?
“If it takes a four-month old woodpecker, with a rubber bill, 9 months and 13 days to peck a hole through a Cypress log that is big enough to make 117 shingles, and it takes 165 shingles to make a bundle worth 93¢, how long will it take a cross-eyed grasshopper, with a cork leg, to kick all the seeds out of a dill pickle?”

3

I would expect that this is the problem. Your system.ini has a reference to a file that has been deleted. If everything works, you just have a nuisance here, and not a technical problem. If you don’t have any clue as to what program this was associated with, and you are comfortable editing youe system.ini file, search your system.ini for mtrr.vdx and comment out the line that mentions that file. To comment out a line in system.ini, just put a semicolon at the beginning of the line.

You should be very cautious in editing the system.ini, as some mistakes could cause you to unable to get into Windows. If you aren’t comfortable with the idea of changing the file, don’t do it.

4

Aren’t these things fun.My computer at work, when new, spent a week looking for the printer.Then it suddenly found it. But occasionally it can’t find it.It has the stupid two directional cable to the printer.

5

There are great programs like Mejenix Fixit, which can scan the registry, etc, for links that aren’t. I found about 400 the first time I ran it.

You can do: Run:win.ini search for that file, sort of undelete it by putting a ‘;’ in front of it, I think, but back up win.ini first:

;path=dos

6

Thank you everyone for your help!

No luck yet finding a reference in any of the ini files, but I’m still diggin’.

Thanks again…

7

{{{You should be very cautious in editing the system.ini, as some mistakes could cause you to unable to get into Windows. }}}—Undead Dude

That’s pretty much the reason I didn’t mention that option, but since that’s been mentioned, you might try Regedit. Please be very careful though–the same warnings apply.

You can search the registry for occurances of the string mtrr.vdx, and determine the calling programs identity. At that point you can decide if you want to re-install the application or delete the references to the search key in the registry.

Make a back up copy of the registry before attempting this, and keep your Windows 95 startup disk handy.

{{{Once you have the problem out of the way, establish a routine of the following three actions:}}}—Me

What I had in mind, but neglected to mention is a weekly routine is desirable, but I’ve let it slip a couple of times–I’ve been lucky though.

{{{My computer at work, when new, spent a week looking for the printer. Then it suddenly found it. But occasionally it can’t find it.}}}—sunbear

Actually, this is more common than most folks would suspect, which is why I mentioned that it might be worthwhile to wait a bit before doing anything further. Sometimes Windows muddles through things for awhile, then stumbles across a solution.

I suppose the thing that I hate the most about Win9x (outside of its being a total pig) is the fact that it is unpredictable in cases like this.

BTW El Mariachi Loco: What brand of computer do you have?

That could make a difference in some of the actions you might take; i.e., some brands of computers have a diagnostic or backup partition, which may or may not be of assistance to you at this point…it never hurts to know though.

–Kalél
Common ¢ for all ages…
Doncha just hate word problems?
“If it takes a four-month old woodpecker, with a rubber bill, 9 months and 13 days to peck a hole through a Cypress log that is big enough to make 117 shingles, and it takes 165 shingles to make a bundle worth 93¢, how long will it take a cross-eyed grasshopper, with a cork leg, to kick all the seeds out of a dill pickle?”

8

Also, RUN:regedit search for the file reference, clear it out.

Windows keeps 6 backups of the registry but you can make another one.

9

OK, problem solved… mtrr.vxd is a file associated with DirectX game animations. Not sure what program was trying to load that one, since I didn’t even know I was running DirectX.

I found a web site that allowed me to download a copy of the vxd file, and windows runs fine now.

As far as I know I’ve been able to reinstall or replace all affected drivers, exe’s and dll’s, or at least get a different program to do the same job.

I hate Microsoft!!!

Thanks again for your help.