"A fatal exception 0E has occurred at 0028:<XXXXXXXX>" error message

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Article ID : 189655

Last Review : August 28, 2006

Revision : 4.0

This article was previously published under Q189655

If this article does not describe the error message that you are receiving, view the following Microsoft Knowledge Base article to view
more articles that describe error messages:
315854 Windows 98 and Windows Me Error Message Resource Center

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to
restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the
"Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

To view a list of other articles applicable to Fatal Exception 0E errors in Windows 98, click to view the following link: Click here to view a
list of Fatal Exception 0E in Windows 98 articles
To view a list of other articles applicable to Fatal Exception 0E errors in Windows Me, click to view the following link: Click here to view a
list of Fatal Exception 0E in Windows Me articles
Important This article contains information that shows you how to help lower security settings or how to turn off security features on a
computer. You can make these changes to work around a specific problem. Before you make these changes, we recommend that you
evaluate the risks that are associated with implementing this workaround in your particular environment. If you implement this
workaround, take any appropriate additional steps to help protect your system.

SYMPTOMS
After you install Windows, you may receive the following error message when Windows starts:
A Fatal Exception 0E has occurred at 0028:XXXXXXXX in VXD SYMEvent(02)+XXXXXXXX.
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CAUSE
This behavior can occur if an older version of a Symantec program (such as Norton AntiVirus) is installed.
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RESOLUTION
Warning This workaround may make your computer or your network more vulnerable to attack by malicious users or by malicious
software such as viruses. We do not recommend this workaround but are providing this information so that you can implement this
workaround at your own discretion. Use this workaround at your own risk.

Note An antivirus program is designed to help protect your computer from viruses. You must not download or open files from sources
that you do not trust, visit Web sites that you do not trust, or open e-mail attachments when your antivirus program is disabled.

For additional information about computer viruses, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
129972Computer viruses: description, prevention, and recovery
WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system.
Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your
own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys And Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the
"Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the
registry before you edit it.

To resolve this issue, disable the Symantec Symevnt.386 file. To do so, follow these steps:
1. Use Registry Editor to delete the following registry key, if it exists:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\SymEvnt
2. Click Start, click Run, type sysedit, and then click OK.
3. On the Window menu, click System.ini.
4. On the Search menu, click Find.
5. In the Find box, type symevnt.386, and then press ENTER.
6. Place a semicolon (;) at the beginning of the line that contains "symevnt.386."
7. On the File menu, click Save, and then click Exit on the File menu.
8. Restart your computer.
9. After Setup has finished successfully, reinstall the Symantec program. If the problem continues to occur, contact Symantec for
additional information.
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