Privileged Operation Exceptions A Privileged Operation Exception message indicates that an application has performed an illegal instruction, or has attempted to read, write, or execute past the end of a code segment or data segment: this can cause data loss or other problems. If Qualitas MAX is not installed in the system, the CPU detects the error and issues a General Protection Fault (in this case, interrupt 13), but does not notify the user that the error has occurred. Qualitas MAX intercepts and reports the error, warning the user of potential problems. It is advantageous in every case to first define a situation under which the error message can be reproduced consistently. The address that appears in the error message, listing the segment and offset of the offending program code, can be helpful. If the address begins with a letter from A to F, the problem is likely confined to the high DOS area from 640K to 1MB. In such a case, the problem may be linked to a piece of unrecognized hardware using high DOS address space. Such errors can often be resolved by adding a RAM= statement the 386MAX.PRO file to protect the appropriate address area. See the Qualitas MAX on-line Help for complete information on the RAM= option. As an example, if the address listed is DC00:202F, place a RAM=DC00-E000 in the profile. Be sure to reboot the system before you try to reproduce the problem. You may need to rerun maximize if programs that previously loaded into high DOS are forced into low memory as a result of decreased high DOS memory. When the address starts with a numeral from 0 to 9, the conflict is probably occurring within conventional memory. Verify that the application in use is compatible with memory management software. Provided that it is, the problem may be attributable to a conflict with one or more resident programs. The best method to debug the problem is selected by the frequency of the error and the time at which it occurs: * In the case that the error occurs while running Maximize, isolate the resident program by scrolling through the screens displayed at bootup. The screen can be stopped by using or < CTRL>-. If the error occurs during the first reboot of Maximize, it is possible that Qualitas MAX is mapping high DOS over the address space used by an adapter in the machine ( i.e., network interface card, hard drive controller, etc. ). Use the RAM= statement as described above to protect the affected address range. In the event that the problem occurs during the second or third reboot in Maximize, it is more likely that the problem is software related. Locate the resident program generating the error message by stopping the screen at the error message as previously described. It is possible that a change in the order of the resident programs could resolve the issue. Change the order of the resident programs and rerun Maximize. If the error is persistent regardless of the order of the resident programs, attempt to reproduce the problem with the identified program loaded into low DOS memory. By default, Maximize attempts to load all resident software high. Select programs to load low during Maximize by choosing Full Maximize and toggling the entry in the action column of the Phase 2 File Browser to LOW. * If the Privileged Operation exception occurs while executing an application program, strip the CONFIG.SYS and AUTOEXEC.BAT files so that Qualitas MAX is the only resident program loaded. Provided the error disappears under these conditions, add resident programs back into the files, one line at a time, until the application fails again. The situation can then be resolved by not loading the resident program at all, or perhaps by not loading the program into high DOS.