illegal operation

Can't wait for the answer, Montana, because I am in the exact same fix.

You've been getting illegal operation popping up....

does this mean you are getting a popup window stating it is an illegal operation or is the error message contained in the browser window?

Is there any detail with the illegal operation message? If so, it would help to have that noted too.

Hey, we can kill 2 birds with one stone ;-) How long has this been going on for you?

It's just the usual little square box saying I performed an illegal operation. I've gotten them before, but it was once in a blue moon. I'll have to copy and paste the whole message the next time it comes up because I don't remember exactly what it says.

I get that same thing. It seems to happen when I visit porn sites. Montana? Frank? Are you guys looking at porn?

I have visited some porn sites -- but the error message I get comes up on all sorts of occasions -- including when I am on the AOL opening page.

Seems to me it read:

"This computer has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down."

Wording of that sort.

Happened 5 or 6 times today (earlier) while I was in A2K.

Like Montana, next time it pops up, I will get the exact wording.

I never visit porn sites Gus, but what are you doing in there? Stupid question I know ;-)

That's pretty much what it says Frank. It's a pain in the ass.

Frank said...




Dare I ask what "it" is?

hahahaha!!!!!

usually when performing illegal operations I wear those elbow length black rubber gloves from the Vet supply store but then i seem to fumble around trying to get the dang computer open.

Maybe I need black rubber gloves. Thanks Dyslexia ;-)

Are you both using AOL? If so, which version?

I only have AOL instant messenger that I never use. I have a local server.

Ok, then let's backtrack to a week ago and figure out what changed.

Did you load any new programs, download updates for Windows, your firewall or anti-virus programs?

If not, are those programs all up-to-date?

Did you receive, open and download any strange emails a week ago or visit any websites that downloaded any programs to your PC?

Did you do any tweaking to the privacy and security settings of your browser program?

If the answers to those questions don't pinpoint anything, let's start at the basics and have you do some housekeeping on your PC. Run scan disk, clear out old temporary files, cookies and history then reboot your PC. Visit some of the websites known to have caused you this problem and see if it occurs again.

After we have that answer we can try the next steps if needed.

I found this on the web...hope this might help


My computer Performs Illegal Operations

The reason a computer performs an illegal operation has to do with two pieces of software competing for one piece of hardware. For example, you are running one program that is taking half of you computer's CPU cycles, and you start to run another program, so the programs start taking turns using the cycles. Like traffic merging from two lanes to one, eventually two cars are going to try to fit into the same lane at the same time. Here, two programs will try to use the same cycle. Just like in the traffic lane, all progress stops, and somebody gets told something illegal just happened. This is, unfortunately, fairly common among windows, and is not really anything to worry about. If you get one illegal operation, click ok and continue without too much concern. If the problem persists, there is only one fix (at least that I am aware of), and that is to resart your computer. If after a restart, the problem does not correct itself, then you likely have got a bad piece of software. You may want to try uninstalling and reinstalling the cuplprit software, or, if you notice it only happens when certain combinations of programs are running, try to run those programs alone.

Thanks for the info Butrfly and colorbook. I'll have to do some snooping around my computer when I get the chance later this week. I appreciate your help and will let you know how everything turns out.

Bill Gates must be a right-to-lifer, because anytime anything aborts it's called an illegal operation...

This has been happening to me for the last few months. I refuse to deal with the "next steps", which is reformatting my entire hard drive. Just the thought of it is giving me a major league anxiety attack.

So, I am babying the "monster" along. At the same time I am attempting to convince my husband that we really need a new computer with XP.