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Windows 2000 DOS program slows PC

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by zekehlm Feb 27, 2004 last reply May 7, 2004

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I have a MS Windows 2000 Professional computer and when i access a DOS based program the CPU spikes to 100% usage and it appears that 95-99% of the usage is by the DOS program (NTVDM.exe). It slows down to almost a stop of all other programs on the computer while it is in use. I have searched everywhere i can think on the internet but the only fix i can find is simply not using the DOS program. Is there a way to fix this annoyance without eliminating the DOS program? I have all Windows updates to date installed. It has 256 MB RAM and AMD Athlon XP 2000+ processor.

7 replies

by sgt_shultz Feb 28, 2004

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 156687
Entries in Config.nt or Autoexec.nt May Cause NTVDM Errors
View products that this article applies to.
This article was previously published under Q156687
SYMPTOMS
When you start a 16-bit application, you receive an error message similar to the following:

16 Bit Windows Subsystem - Hidden Console of WOWVDM.
The NTVDM CPU has encountered an illegal instruction. Source
CAUSE
When you receive WOWVDM error messages when starting 16 bit applications, they may be caused by problems with the Config.nt or Autoexec.nt file. These files are parsed each time a VDM is started. If there are problems with these files, you may see error messages such as the above.
RESOLUTION
Either restore the Config.nt or Autoexec.nt file, or remark (REM) any nonstandard lines in the existing files to determine which file is the source of the errors. Remove the offending lines.
MORE INFORMATION
Also, check the versions of the Command.com files. The modified date should be the same as the dates of the original installation of Windows.

Rename any versions of Command.com that are not of these dates, with the exception of a version of Command.com in the root folder of the boot partition (usually drive C) and the Windows folder if you are dual-booting with Windows 95 or Windows 98.

You should also make sure that there is only one copy of the Windows Command.com file, in the System32 folder.

by sgt_shultz Feb 28, 2004

Microsoft Knowledge Base Article - 817901
Search Support (KB)
Windows 2000
The Ntvdm.exe Program May Quit Unexpectedly on Non-VME Processors
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SUMMARY
When using a Virtual DOS Machine (NTVDM) to run an MS-DOS or 16-bit-based application on a non-VME (Virtual Mode Extensions) processor, the session may stop responding. In addition, you may receive the following error message:

Program Error

NTVDM.EXE has generated errors and will be closed by Windows.
You will need to restart the program.

An error log is being created.
Dr. Watson creates a log, and the only option that you can click is OK. At this point, you have to quit the NTVDM process manually.
MORE INFORMATION
Virtual-8086 mode is used by Windows to provide MS-DOS and 16-bit applications the ability to run in their own environment without interfering with other applications. Most processors (CPUs) in the market today have support for Virtual Mode Extensions (VME), which provides enhancements to virtual 8086 mode. However, it is possible that a processor may not have or fully support VME.

Although Windows NT Virtual DOS Machine (Ntvdm.exe) does have the code path to also support non-VME processors, it was not tested in Windows 2000 and there are no plans to ensure 100% compatibility for non-VME processors in future versions of the OS. As a result, under certain configurations of hardware, drivers, memory, and application usage, systems that have non-VME processors may exhibit the symptoms listed earlier when you use NTVDM.
The information in this article applies to:
Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional
Microsoft Windows 2000 Server

by zekehlm May 7, 2004

Poster rated this answer.

by otl Mar 6, 2004

Have you installed all the updates/upgrades ?

One 1.5 years ago fixed this problem of extremely slow access to dos based programs. (I know Win ME 3 min to execute a program and Win 2000 Pro 4 hours). Make sure your system has all the updates.