While initialising device shell: Windows Protection error, Win 98se...

Hi everyone am writting this on my old pentium 2, wonder if anyone could help. I am runing a Charity website for my mum who is doing a world run and could use some help with this.


I tryed to unistall a large bloated bit of software, a dvd editing software bundle, with no unistaller included.

I was using Ashampoo uninstaller software which takes a snapshot of the Registry files and system files before and after installation.


I was using this to try an unistall as I usealy do, and it kept on chrashing as the list of Registry changes was too long or something.

However Ashampoo unistaller has a manual option where you can restore the changes to the registry one folder at a time.

Anyway I don't know what I have done, I may have restored a Reg value twice possibley, because Ashampoo kept chashing thing might have gone a bit funny.


I have not been able to boot, when I try I get this message

While initialising device shell: Windows Protection error
You need to restart your computer.

I have tryed reinstalling windows 89se and still get the same message after it had reinstalled.

I don't understand what this means if anyone has any ideas I would be very grateful.

Do a clean re-install.

You need to do clean re-install. Don't install over the old operating system. Boot anything that contains formatting utility and format your hard drive. Then install the operating sytem from scratch.

To format your hard drive use Windows 98 or DOS floppy. It would be a goot idea to write a clean master boot recrd (MBR) by running: fdisk /mbr.

Remember when you do clean Windows install you loose all the software and all you files!!! You've been warned!

Hi Lewekleonek thanks for that, I am hopping to avoid doing the compleat reinstall if possible as I have many many software program loaded on the computer with all my settings and passwords.

Here is a section from the bootlog from where is all goes pearshaped. I think I might have knocked out the Registey settings for the fonts when I unistalled the DVD software.

.......Status = Mouse driver installed
InitDone = Mouse
Init =
LoadStart = DISPLAY.drv
LoadSuccess = DISPLAY.drv
InitDone = DISPLAY
Init = Display Resources
InitDone = Display Resources
LoadStart = C:\WINDOWS\fonts\MARLETT.TTF
LoadFail = C:\WINDOWS\fonts\MARLETT.TTF Failure code is 0016

LoadStart = C:\WINDOWS\fonts\SSERIFE.FON
LoadSuccess = C:\WINDOWS\fonts\SSERIFE.FON
LoadStart = C:\WINDOWS\fonts\LUCON.TTF
LoadFail = C:\WINDOWS\fonts\LUCON.TTF Failure code is 0016

LoadStart = C:\WINDOWS\fonts\TAHOMA.TTF
LoadFail = C:\WINDOWS\fonts\TAHOMA.TTF Failure code is 0016

LoadStart = C:\WINDOWS\fonts\TAHOMABD.TTF
LoadFail = C:\WINDOWS\fonts\TAHOMABD.TTF Failure code is 0016

LoadStart = C:\WINDOWS\fonts\ARIAL.TTF
LoadFail = C:\WINDOWS\fonts\ARIAL.TTF Failure code is 0016......


Any more suggestions please