How do I fix illegal operations:

Issue:

How do I fix Illegal Operations?

Additional Information:

An Illegal Operation is an operation requested to be performed by either the Operating System or CPU that is not understood and therefore is Illegal.

Cause:

Illegal Operations can be caused by several different factors. The following is a listing of the more commonly known reasons for getting Illegal Operations.

1. TSR's or Third party programs causing memory conflictions or other types of conflictions with the program or programs attempting to be run.
2. Data not being read properly from source. Running a program or game with a dirty CD can cause the CD to be read improperly causing Illegal Operations. Floppy diskettes which may contain errors can cause errors.
3. Installing a program or game on a hard disk drive that has errors or is highly fragmented.
4. Corrupt files.
5. Memory managers.
6. Bad, incorrect or not the latest video drivers.
7. Computer Virus.
8. Added hardware
9. Error in program coding
10. Corruption or problem within Windows.
11. Bad Memory, invalid bits or physically bad memory.

Solution:

TSR's or Third party programs:

TSR's or Third party programs running in the background are one of the more commonly found reasons for Illegal Operations. If you are receiving a Illegal Operation when attempting to run a game or program it is recommend that you temporarily remove or disable programs running and TSR's running in the background insuring that these programs are not causing your issues.

If after removing these programs you run the program or game and no longer receive the Illegal Operations it is recommend that you reboot the computer and disable or End Task each program or TSR one at a time to attempt to determine which program is causing the Illegal Operation.

Data not being read properly from source:

When running a program or game from a CD you receive an Illegal Operation verify that the CD is clean. 

If you are running a game from a floppy diskette or other floppy media such as a zip diskette or LS120 verify that the diskette does not have physical errors with it by running a scandisk or disk drive utility included with the drive.

Installing a program or game on a hard disk drive that has errors or is highly fragmented:

When installing a program or game onto a hard disk drive it is recommended if you receive errors after installing that program or game that you attempt to uninstall that program or game run a scandisk and then a defrag and then attempt to install the program or game again.

If errors exist on the hard disk drive these will cause the program or game to run improperly and can cause Illegal Operations.

Corrupt files:

Corrupt, bad or missing files can cause Illegal Operations. It is recommended that you attempt to uninstall and or reinstall the program causing the Illegal Operation to verify that any corrupt, bad or missing files are replaced or repaired during the reinstallation.

Memory managers:

If you are running a memory manager that is used to obtain more memory or handle the computer memory in replace of Windows it is recommended you temporarily disable or uninstall this program to verify it is not the memory manager causing the Illegal Operations. 

Bad, incorrect or not the latest video drivers:

Bad, incorrect or not the latest video drivers may cause Illegal Operations when performing such tasks as moving the mouse or dragging data from one source to another as high demands are placed onto the video card. Attempt to decrease the video settings to 640 x 480, 256 colors to verify if the program or game being run is having errors because of the current video settings.

If after attempting to adjust the video settings you still encounter the same issue verify the computer is utilizing the latest video card drivers.

Computer Virus:

Because computer viruses are loaded into memory, change the data of program files when infecting a computer ensure that a virus protection utility is installed on the computer and that you have the latest Virus Definition.

Added hardware:

If added hardware has been recently installed onto the computer it is likely that either the hardware is conflicting with other hardware devices on the computer or that the drivers used to install that hardware is causing issues with other hardware or software installed on the computer.

It is recommended if added hardware has recently been added to the computer temporarily remove that added hardware and the software associated with it to ensure it is not causing your issues. 

Error in program coding:

If you are receiving Illegal Operations only when running a particular program verify that program is compatible with the Version of Windows you are running and ensure no available patches or software are available that may fix errors made during the development stages.

Corruption or problem within Windows:

Because Windows controls the memory operations as well as the file structure and association it is possible for Windows or files associated with Windows to become corrupted causing Illegal Operations or other errors. It is recommended you reinstall Windows if you are experiencing Illegal Operations in Windows or more then one program trying to be run on the computer.   

Bad Memory, invalid bits or physically bad memory:

It is possible that bad memory can cause Illegal Operations. If you have recently added memory to the computer it is recommended that it first be removed to verify that you are not experiencing conflictions with the recently installed memory.

If no memory has been recently added to the computer it is recommended you follow all other steps found on this page before replacing the memory within the computer.