Need help on a system file?

[Crewman47]

I've got WIndows 7 64bit version and I've been having some problems recently with my system crashing a view times. I've checked the Event Viewer and I get the following message under Application Popup errors at the time of the crash:

\SystemRoot\SysWow64\Drivers\ASPI32.SYS has been blocked from loading due to incompatibility with this system. Please contact your software vendor for a compatible version of the driver.

I've looked it up and ASPI32.sys is associated with Adaptec, which to me still doesn't mean anything, and to update it, I'm not sure where to start or how to know which component the file belongs to?

I also did a bit of looking into what SysWOW64 is and found a bit about it but still none the wiser.

Any ideas and what should I do about this file?

Thanks

 

[Robert Maxwell]

It's a 32-bit ASPI CD-ROM driver. It's incompatible because you're using a 64-bit operating system.

You can fix this by going into the registry (run regedit). Find:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CURRENTCONTROLSET\SERVICES\ASPI32

Set the value of 'START' to 4.

That should keep it from loading in the future.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Yeah, normally you don't need a driver for the CD-ROM any more, do you?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

No, ASPI is normally installed by legacy programs from the Windows 95/98 era, because there was no native CD-ROM driver at the time. Windows 2000, XP, etc. have always had CD-ROM drivers built-in, as far as I know.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

I remember in Win2000, installing a CD-ROM driver, and having the ZIP drive disappear altogether because of it.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

It doesn't surprise me. Those kinds of drivers were real-mode drivers, as I recall. The NT line can't handle real-mode drivers whatsoever.

People love to bitch about Windows but I remember what a clusterfuck it was in the 95/98 days. VxD crashes, buggy DOS drivers dicking up your operating system, etc. XP is a blessing by comparison. I'm gonna get Windows 7 at some point. Maybe after the first couple service packs.

 

[Crewman47]

It's a 32-bit ASPI CD-ROM driver. It's incompatible because you're using a 64-bit operating system.

You can fix this by going into the registry (run regedit). Find:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CURRENTCONTROLSET\SERVICES\ASPI32

Set the value of 'START' to 4.

That should keep it from loading in the future.

Thanks, I've done that now and I'll just see if that helps the next time I boot up my computer.

Just out of curiosity, in computer terms what does changing the value actually do, as in what makes a value of 4 different from a 1? Just so I know if something like that ever came up again.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

It varies from parameter to parameter. I'm not sure exactly what the "4" does other than prevent Windows from trying to load that particular driver. But "1" usually means "true," or, in other words, "do this." "4" would mean "don't do this" or "never do this."

I would not try the same thing to fix other drivers--each one will work a bit differently and registry values are pretty arbitrary.

 

[Iasius]

Since it's in the services section and there are four startup options for services:

1. Automatic (Delayed Start)
2. Automatic
3. Manual
4. Disabled

I assume that would explain that.

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Wow, thanks. I had no idea. I'll have to remember that. I guess that's why it only crashes sometimes--with a setting of 1, it wouldn't kick in unless a program called for it--and then it would crash.