Member Avatar for larrybob33

windows isn't loading for me. need help. it says.......

a device file that is specified in the system.ini file is damaged. it may be needed to run windows.

you may need to run the windows setup program again. if the file is included in another software package, you may need to reinstall the software that uses that file.

c:\progra~1\norton~1\norton~1\navap.vxd

press a key to continue.

i've tried to reload windows and tried to use my rescue disk to get the file back without success. any help would be appreciated

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Short, practical troubleshooting you can try for the Windows 98 error that names a missing device file (the message shown by ). The referenced file, NAVAP.VXD, is the Norton “Auto‑Protect” virtual device driver — it is supplied by Norton/Symantec, not by the Windows CD. That means the usual Windows repair from the CD often won’t restore this file; the clean fix is to remove and reinstall the Norton component or restore the exact NAVAP.VXD that matches your Norton version. (astonisher.com)

If the machine will boot to Safe Mode, try these lower‑risk steps first: run the System Configuration utility (Start → Run → msconfig), open the Static VxDs tab and disable any NAVAP/Norton entries; reboot and see if Windows starts normally. Use the Automatic Skip Driver (ASD) or the Step‑by‑Step confirmation boot options to identify which VxD fails and produce a Bootlog.txt for diagnosis. These tools let you disable the offending VxD without permanently editing system files. (datadoctors.com)

If Safe Mode is not available, boot from a Windows 98 startup/rescue disk and make a backup of system.ini, then edit it to remove or comment the line that references the missing VxD. Example (run these from the A: prompt on the startup floppy): 

copy c:\windows\system.ini c:\windows\system.ini.bak
edit c:\windows\system.ini

Locate the line that mentions the missing VxD and either delete it or prefix it with a semicolon (;) so it will not be loaded. Back up before you change anything — removing the wrong line can break other devices. ()

After you can boot, uninstall Norton properly (Add/Remove Programs) and then reinstall the correct Norton version. If the normal uninstall fails, Symantec provided removal utilities for older NAV releases (RNAV/Rnav2003) that clean leftover VxD/registry entries — those are a safer way to remove broken Norton bits before reinstalling. If you prefer not to reinstall, restoring the exact NAVAP.VXD from the same Norton version or using a Norton rescue floppy may also work, but mixing versions can cause more errors. Always back up data first; if the disk is inaccessible, use a bootable rescue/Live CD to copy user files before changing system.ini or reinstalling. (wilderssecurity.com)

Notes and cautions: back up system.ini and any data before edits, avoid copying drivers from other machines unless you are sure the Norton versions match, and prefer the uninstall/reinstall path when possible — that gives the cleanest, least‑risky result. (astonisher.com)

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Member Avatar for larrybob33

system is windows 98.

sorry.

Member Avatar for DMR

That file is a component of Norton Anti-virus, but it seems to be missing or corrupted.

You won't find it on your Windows CD, and unless you did a full/fresh reinstallation of Windows, you will still get the error. Uninstalling and reinstalling Norton should fix the problem.

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