WD2000: Error Message When You Print a Document: Winword Caused an Error in WIN87EM.DLL (304509)



The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Word 2000

This article was previously published under Q304509
WARNING:This information is preliminary and has not been confirmed or tested by Microsoft. Use only with discretion.

SYMPTOMS

When you print a document in Microsoft Word 2000, you may receive one of the following error messages:
Winword caused an error in WIN87EM.DLL

-or-

Winword caused a general protection fault in WIN87EM.DLL

CAUSE

This behavior can occur because of a conflict between certain printer drivers and version 2883 of the Aopen AW320 (Crystal) sound card driver for Microsoft Windows 95, Microsoft Windows 98, and Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me).

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, first determine whether this driver conflict exists. To test for this driver conflict, follow these steps:

NOTE: Because there are several versions of Microsoft Windows, the following steps may be different on your computer. If they are, see your product documentation to complete these steps.
  1. On the desktop, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
  2. Click the Device Manager tab.
  3. Click the View devices by type option.
  4. Click the plus sign (+) to expand the Sound, video and game controllers category.
  5. Select the first Crystal device in the list, and then click Properties.
  6. On the General tab, click to select the Disable in this hardware profile check box.
  7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for all Crystal devices listed under Sound, video and game controllers, and then click OK to close the Device Manager.
  8. Restart the computer, and then test-print a document in Word 2000.
If the document prints as expected with no error messages, the driver conflict exists. To resolve this conflict, download and install the older version of the Aopen AW320 sound card (v.2870) driver from the following AOpen Web site: To download and install this driver, follow these steps:
  1. Click the link for the w9x2870.exe file (VXD driver for Windows 95, Windows 98, and Windows Me).
  2. On the Web page that opens, click the FTP link for Users in America.
  3. Click Save the file to disk, and then save the file to the desktop.
  4. Close the Web browser when the download is complete, and then double-click w9x2870.exe on the desktop.
  5. Click OK to accept the default location at which to unzip the files (C:\AW32W9X).
  6. After you unzip the files, right-click Start, and then click Explore.
  7. Open the AW32W9X folder on the root of the C:Local Disk drive, and then double-click Setup.exe.
  8. Click OK to restart the computer when prompted.

    Windows detects the new hardware at startup and prompts you to install the driver.
  9. In the Update Device Driver Wizard, click Search for a better driver, and then click Next.
  10. Click to select the Specify a location check box, and then type the following path:

    C:\AW32W9X

    NOTE: Click Browse to select this folder in the Browse for Folder dialog box.
  11. Click to clear the check boxes for all other locations to search for the new driver (for example, floppy disk, CD-ROM, Windows Update), and then click Next.
  12. Allow Windows to install the driver that it finds in the AW32W9X folder.
  13. When the installation of the driver is complete, return to the Properties dialog box for Crystal drivers (steps 1 through 5 in the preceding test procedure).
  14. Click to clear the Disable in this hardware profile check box for each of the Crystal devices, and then click OK.
  15. After you enable all of the Crystal devices, restart your computer.
  16. Test-print a document in Word 2000. Also test the sound to make sure that the sound card is functioning properly.

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:1/6/2006
Keywords:kberrmsg kbprb KB304509