"While initializing device shell: Cannot find or load a required file krnl386.exe" error message when you start your Windows 98-based computer (197685)
The information in this article applies to:
This article was previously published under Q197685 SYMPTOMS
When you start your computer, you may receive the following error message:
While initializing device shell:
Cannot find or load a required file krnl386.exe
press any key to continue.
After you receive this error message, your computer may stop responding
(hang).
CAUSE
This issue can occur if your computer has damaged or incorrectly
configured hardware, or damaged or missing system files.
RESOLUTION
To resolve this issue, perform the following steps in order, testing after
each step to determine if the issue is resolved, and if it is not,
continue to the next step:
- Try to start your computer in Safe Mode. To do so, restart your
computer, press and hold CTRL, and then choose Safe Mode from the
Startup Menu.
NOTE: If you can not start your computer in Safe mode, skip to step 6.
- View Device Manager to look for driver conflicts. For information about
how to do so, see the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article:
ARTICLE-ID: 133240
TITLE : Troubleshooting Device Conflicts with Device Manager
- Determine if your computer has an interrupt request (IRQ) Steering
conflict. To do so, disable IRQ steering, and then test to determine if
the issue is resolved. For information about how to disable IRQ
steering, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge
Base:
ARTICLE-ID: 182628
TITLE : How to Disable PCI Bus IRQ Steering in Windows
NOTE: If this does not resolve the issue, re-enable IRQ steering. For
information about how to do so, refer to the article listed in step 3.
- Restart your computer. If your computer starts without error messages,
your computer's Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) may be generating
incorrect information about hardware IRQ settings. To resolve this
issue, contact the manufacturer of your computer's motherboard to
inquire about the availability of a fix for this issue. If your
computer starts with error messages, continue to step 5.
- Determine if your computer has a Bus Mastering problem. To do so, use
the following steps:
- In Device Manager, double-click the Hard Disk Controllers branch to
expand it, and see if you have a Bus Mastering controller installed.
If you have a Bus Mastering controller installed, continue to step
B. If you do not have a Bus Mastering controller installed, perform
the troubleshooting steps in the following article in the Microsoft
Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: 188867
TITLE : Troubleshooting Windows 98 Startup Problems - Click your Bus Mastering controller, and then click Properties.
Click the Driver tab, click Update Driver, follow the instructions
on the screen until you are prompted to chose either "Search for a
better driver...", or "Display a list of all the drivers...", and
then choose "Display a list of all the drivers...".
- Click Next. Replace your Bus Mastering controller with a Standard
IDE Controller. To do so, if a Standard IDE Controller is available
on the list of compatible hardware, click it, and then click Next.
Note that you can use any of the Standard IDE devices on the list of
compatible hardware in place of your Bus Mastering controller. If a
Standard IDE Controller is not available on the list of compatible
hardware, contact the manufacturer of your computer for further
assistance.
- If steps 3-5 help to determine that IRQ Steering or Bus Mastering is
the cause of this issue, contact the manufacturer of your computer to
inquire about the availability of a BIOS update or fix that provides
full support for IRQ steering or Bus Mastering. If steps 3-5 do not
help to determine that IRQ Steering or Bus Mastering is the cause of
this issue, continue to step 7.
- Your issue could be related to problems with your hardware or system
files. To continue troubleshooting this issue, see the following
article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
ARTICLE-ID: 188867
TITLE : Troubleshooting Windows 98 Startup Problems
Modification Type: | Minor | Last Reviewed: | 12/16/2004 |
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Keywords: | kberrmsg kbprb KB197685 |
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