"MSBNUTIL Caused a General Protection Fault" Error Message When You Start the Microsoft Broadband Network Utility (822531)

SYMPTOMS

When the Microsoft Broadband Network Utility (BNU) starts, you may receive an error message that is similar to the following:

MSBNUTIL caused a general protection fault
in module 3DFX16V3.DRV at 0008:00000258.
Registers:
EAX=00006da0 CS=03af EIP=00000258 EFLGS=00000246
EBX=0070301e SS=604f ESP=00006cca EBP=00006ce4
ECX=00000004 DS=604f ESI=00006da0 FS=2937
EDX=0001604f ES=0000 EDI=00000000 GS=0000
Bytes at CS:EIP:
f3 66 a5 1f 8b d8 8e c2 66 26 8b 47 14 c4 5e 0c 
Stack dump:
f43a043f 00016da0 6db2077e 000a4d1b 1db607f4 0000f43a 6cfe0000 03a7209d 6da01388 
0000604f 043f0000 fbbef43a 00ff0000 04586d1c 00000417 6da00000

Note This issue affects the BNU program, however if your wireless network settings are configured correctly, network connectivity, and Internet access should function correctly.

CAUSE

This issue may occur if the following conditions are true:

Your computer has Microsoft Windows 98 or Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) installed.
Your computer has a video card that is based on the 3dfx chipset.

3dfx based video cards may cause a driver conflict with the BNU.

RESOLUTION

Obtain and install an updated driver for your 3dfx-based video card. For information about how to obtain and install an updated driver for your video card, contact the manufacturer.

For information about how to contact the manufacturer of your video card, click the appropriate article number in the following list to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

65416 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, A-K

60781 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, L-P

60782 Hardware and Software Third-Party Vendor Contact List, Q-Z

Microsoft provides third-party contact information to help you find technical support. This contact information may change without notice. Microsoft does not guarantee the accuracy of this third-party contact information.

WORKAROUND

In cases where you want to access the BNU to make changes but you have not been able to resolve the issue with your video adapter, you can temporarily disable your video driver. This allows you to start your computer with minimum graphics capabilities while you start the BNU. Do this only as a temporary measure to gain access to the BNU.

To temporarily disable your video adapter:

Click Start, click Run, type msconfig, and then click OK.
On the General tab, click Advanced.
Click to select the check box to enable the VGA 640 x 480 x 16 option.
Click OK two times, and then click Yes to restart your computer and apply the new setting.

This starts your computer by using a standard VGA video driver instead of the 3dfx driver that is causing the conflict.

Note Graphics may be poor a little distorted.

After you access the BNU to make your changes, repeat steps 1 through 2, and then undo step 3.