General Protection Faults (GPFs) can be caused by anything from memory conflicts between hardware device drivers, software, and hardware components, to a corrupt installation of RealJukebox. Because several different variables can contribute to a GPF, you must be methodical when diagnosing the cause of such errors.

The information in this document is designed to help you diagnose and prevent further errors.

Common reasons why faults occur are:

A. Insufficient Memory
B. Inadequate free hard drive space
C. Corrupt installation of RealJukebox
D. Outdated Video Card driver
E. Outdated Sound Card driver
F. Fragmented disk or disk errors
G. Corrupt RealJukebox Database

Each of these symptoms has troubleshooting steps, outlined below. Perform the appropriate solution in order to correct the problem. If the listed solution does not correct the problem, contact RealNetworks technical support for further assistance.

A. Insufficient Memory

If your computer only has the minimum amount of RAM (32 MB) necessary, you may experience errors if you run other programs at the same time as RealJukebox. Since RealJukebox must compete with other programs for available RAM, errors may occur.

To test this condition, try running RealJukebox by itself without any other programs (e.g., web browsers, word processors, etc.) active. If the problem does not repeat, you may need to add additional RAM to your computer or run RealJukebox by itself.

Additionally, you may not be aware of programs that start automatically and run "hidden" in the background, consuming RAM without your knowledge.

To make sure that there are no hidden programs running in the background, use the Windows task manager to temporarily stop hidden programs:

To use the Windows task manager:

1. Hold down the CTRL and ALT keys and press the DEL key once.
2. In the Close Programs dialog box, select the first program in the list and click the End Task button.
3. Once the dialog box disappears, press CTRL+ALT+DEL again.
4. Keep repeating steps 1-3 until all entries are gone.
5. Start RealJukebox.

Note: Do not use "End Task" on the entries named Explorer and Systray.

B. Inadequate free hard drive space

When your hard drive starts to fill up, there is less space available for Virtual Memory. Virtual memory is space on your hard drive that Windows uses as if it were physical memory (RAM). If your hard drive is low on free space, there may not be enough virtual memory available.

To check the amount of free space available on your hard drive, do the following:

1. Click the Start button, choose Programs, and then Windows Explorer.
2. Right mouse click on the "C:" drive.
3. Choose Properties from the shortcut menu.
4. Note the amount of "Free space" vs. the amount of "Used space."

If the amount of free space is low (approximately 10-100 MB), consider increasing free space by deleting or archiving unnecessary files.

If you have multiple hard drives, or if your hard disk is partitioned into multiple drives, you can move Virtual Memory to a different hard drive or partition that has more free space.

To move Virtual Memory to another hard drive or partition, do the following:

1. Exit all programs that are currently running.
2. Click the Start button, choose Settings, and then Control Panel.
3. Double-click the System icon.
4. Click the Performance tab.
5. Click the Virtual Memory button.
6. Click "Let me specify my own virtual memory settings."
7. From the Hard Disk pop-up menu, choose a hard disk with the greatest amount of free space.

Note: If Virtual Memory is already located on a drive partition with the largest amount of free space, click Cancel.

8. Click OK to close the Virtual Memory dialog box.
9. Click Yes when you see the message, "You have chosen not to let Windows manage virtual memory automatically . . ." in the Confirm Virtual Memory Setting dialog box.
10. Click Close in the System Properties dialog box.
11. Restart Windows by clicking Yes in the System Settings Change dialog box.

Moving Virtual Memory to a hard drive or partition with more free space increases resources, providing more memory for programs.

C. Corrupt installation of RealJukebox

If solutions A and B do not resolve your problem, your copy of RealJukebox may be damaged.

To eliminate this possibility, it is best to perform a complete clean install of RealJukebox. Please refer to the article "How do I perform a clean uninstall of RealJukebox?" in our online Knowledge Base.

The RealNetworks Knowledge Base is available at the following address:

http://service.real.com/kb

D. Outdated Video Card drivers

It may be necessary to update or reinstall your video card drivers. Outdated or damaged video card drivers can cause programs to halt. Many device manufacturers update their drivers frequently, so even if you bought your computer or video card recently you may not have the latest driver.

Before you can download the latest driver, you must first identify the manufacturer and model of your video card:

1. Click the Start button, choose Settings, and then Control Panel.
2. Double-click the System icon.
3. Click the Device Manager tab.
4. Click the plus sign (+) next to "Display Adapter."
5. Make note of the manufacturer and model of your video card.

Once you know the manufacturer and model of your video card, go the manufacturer's web site, download the most recent drivers, and install them.

If you cannot locate the manufacturer's web site, refer to the user manual included with your video card or computer for an address or technical support telephone number.

E. Outdated Sound Card driver

It may be necessary to update or reinstall your sound card drivers. Outdated or damaged sound card drivers can cause programs to halt. Many device manufacturers update their drivers frequently, so even if you bought your computer or sound card recently you may not have the latest driver.

Before downloading the latest driver, you must first identify the manufacturer and model of your sound card:

1. Click the Start button, choose Settings, and then Control Panel.
2. Double-click the System icon.
3. Click the Device Manager tab.
4. Click the plus sign (+) next to "Sound Video and Game Controllers."
5. Make note of the manufacturer and model of your video card.

Once you know the manufacturer and model of your sound card, go the manufacturer's web site, download the most recent drivers, and install them.

If you cannot locate the manufacturer's web site, refer to the user manual included with your sound card or computer for an address or technical support telephone number.

F. Fragmented disk or disk errors

With use, hard disks can become damaged or fragmented. If there is not enough contiguous space for Windows to save a file, it saves pieces of the file to different locations on the disk. It takes a program longer to read a fragmented file whose pieces are in several locations.

Use the Scandisk and Defrag utilities included with Windows to keep your hard disk organized and in good health.

Note: These procedures can take several minutes. Make sure you do not have any pending tasks to perform on the computer. Allow up to 30 minutes to run these scans.

Running Scandisk:

1. Exit all programs that are currently running.
2. Click the Start menu and choose Run.
3. Type "scandisk" in the open field and click OK.
4. Select the drive you want to scan.
5. Click Start.

Running Defrag:

1. Exit all programs that are currently running.
2. Click the Start menu and choose Run.
3. Type "defrag" in the open field and click OK.
4. Select the drive you want to defragment and click OK.
5. If you want to change the settings that Disk Defragmenter uses, click Advanced.
6. Click Start.

If the above solutions did not work for you, please contact RealNetworks technical support with answers to the following questions:

1. What is the exact wording of the error message as it appears on your screen? Sometimes, errors have a "details" button. When you click on this button, you get more information about the error. You can copy and paste this detailed information into a word processor or email message.

Is the error an "Invalid Page Fault in module [file name]" or is it a "General Protection Fault"? In which module did the error occur? (For example, "Invalid Page Fault in module pnen3260.dll")

2. When does the error occur? It helps if you tell us the last thing you did in RealJukebox, before the error occurred. For example, did you click the record button, choose a menu, or download a skin? The more descriptive and precise your description, the better.

3. Which version of RealJukebox are you using? (In RealJukebox, click the Help menu and choose About RealJukebox)

4. Is there anything unusual about the configuration of your computer that you would like us to note? Specifics such as multiple sound cards, dual processors, laptop docking system, any installed beta software, etc. can be important.

G. Corrupt RealJukebox Database

A corrupt Database can cause problems in RealJukebox that may look like system errors. If none of the previous steps solved the problem, try deleting your RealJukebox database and then use the Import Wizard to re-import all of you music files.

First, delete your RealJukebox database:

1. Exit RealJukebox.
2. Click the Start button, choose Programs, and then Windows Explorer.
3. Open the C:\Program Files\Real\RealJukebox folder.
4. Click once to select the folder named "DB".
5. Click the File menu and choose Delete.
6. Close Windows Explorer.

Next, use the Import Wizard in RealJukebox to re-import your music files: