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Stack Overrun

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by new-beginnings1

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When I am running a surface scan with scandisk I get an error message that the procedure was stopped due to a stack overrun in my config.sys. It doesn't matter if it is run in Win 98 at startup or by running it from a Win 98 boot up disk. If anyone could help me with this problem I would be grateful

8 replies

by mebudman

boot to a command prompt,and run chkdsk /f to fix any problems, ignore the note about using scandisk. Let it run, and then reboot, and run scandisk. This should resolve the issue

by guruofdos

Make sure your config.sys has a line that says

STACKS=9,256

If scandisk on surface scan is 'overflowing' the stacks, then there are either so many problems with the disk that the stack (area of memory used as a scratchpad) is filling up, or possibly you have a memory problem.

Try changing the stacks line to

STACKS=9,512

and see if it makes a difference.

by daz'n'ash

Stacks are reserved memory that programs use to process hardware events. A stack overflow occurs when there is not enough space in memory to run the hardware interrupt routines. To resolve these behaviors, you can modify the "STACKS=" line in the Config.sys file, eliminate terminate-and-stay-resident program (TSRs), and eliminate hardware conflicts.

When Windows delivers an error message that is related to an internal stack overflow, there is not enough space in memory either set aside or available to handle the calls that are made to the computer hardware. There are several things to consider when you troubleshoot this behavior:

The Config.sys startup file may not be properly configured for the Windows installation. Use the following values:
STACKS=64,512 ;(this is the maximum allowed)
FILES=60
BUFFERS=40
If you are using the dual-boot capabilities in Windows, the Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files may not contain the correct configuration to run Windows. When you are dual-booting between Windows 3.x and Windows, these files may not have been renamed back to Config.dos and Autoexec.dos.

Examine the Config.sys file to determine if files such as Himem.sys or Emm386.exe are loaded from a folder other than the Windows folder. If so, boot Windows by using the Safe Mode Command Prompt Only option. Rename the Config.sys file to Config.dos and the Autoexec.bat file to Autoexec.dos, and then restart your computer.

Some TSRs may be interfering with Windows. Disable any non-boot device drivers in the Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files. If you install from Windows 3.x and you receive a stack overflow error message, check the Win.ini and System.ini files for non-Windows-based programs or drivers that are loading.

There may be an incompatible hardware configuration. Check the port and IRQ settings of the network adapter, sound card, and modem. Make sure that there are no COM2/COM4

by daz'n'ash

For additional information, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

by new-beginnings1

I have tried this and it didn't work. I have found the problem and it was some bad sectors on the hard drive. I have since upgraded the drive and have had no more problems.

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