ARCHIVED: In Windows 95, how do I fix "ISS" errors on startup?

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Note: UITS recommends that you use a current version of Windows on computers connected to the Indiana University network; see Recommended Windows operating systems at IU.

In Windows 95, after installing new software or making system configuration changes, when restarting your system, you may get one of the following error messages:

  • "Windows initializing device IOS: Windows Protection Error. You need to restart your computer."
  • "Windows initializing device IOS: Windows Protection Error. IOS failed to initialize. Please restart."
  • "While initializing IOS: Windows Protection Error. You need to restart your computer."
  • "Error initializing device IOS: one or more drivers failed to initialize. A file in directory ./iosubsys may be corrupt, or the computer may be low on memory."

To resolve this problem, follow these instructions:

  1. Restart the computer. From the Windows 95 Startup screen, choose Safe Mode, Command Prompt Only. On most systems, this is option 7.
  2. Once the system has finished booting, you should see the command prompt C:\>. At the prompt, enter: 
      rename c:\windows\smartdrv.exe smartdrv.old
    Replace c:\windows with the path to your Windows directory.
  3. After entering the command, restart your computer. Startup should now be normal.

This information was adapted from article 157924 in the Microsoft knowledge base.

This is document aglz in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2018-01-18 12:22:04.