Graphic corruption followed by message: "Too many 16-bit programs are running"

For reference here are my system specs:

Cooler Master Sniper Scout tower
Intel Core 2 Quad Processor Q6600
Intel G33 Motherboard
6GB DDR2 RAM
Radeon HD 4870 GPU
1TB SATA Drive 7200 RPM
OCZ ZT Series 650W PSU
Windows Vista 64-bit Home Premium

I'm having an issue where at certain times my display starts to become corrupt, with artifacts appearing. This might happen while playing a game, but it can also happen without using any CPU or GPU intensive applications running. I then see the error message from Windows which says Too many 16-bit programs are running. Then the display becomes completely corrupt and I have to shut my PC down. I wasn't even aware that I was running any 16-bit programs, I'm honestly stuck if anyone can help me out here.

Update 1, I've run a:
Virus Scan
Spybot scan
Furmark Test
Windows memory test
Video card memory test

...and all of them have come back with no problems.

Update 2:
When my PC is idle there are about 55 processes running and 6 icons on the right-hand side of the Windows taskbar, and the CPU is at 1-4%

Also when idle the system's GPU and CPU are approximately 45^oC and all other measurements hover around 25-35^oC. When under load, all temperatures stay basically the same except the GPU which goes up to about 60^oC.

And yes all of the power connections are installed correctly.

Ryan Stull

Posted 2012-08-13T19:44:38.263

Reputation: 135

My knee jerk reaction... Virus scan AND Root kit scan. – Everett – 2012-08-13T19:52:30.983

Virus scan, root kit scan and Memtest (the corrupted display points towards a memory problem). – Renan – 2012-08-13T19:53:28.877

16-bit applications cannot run on this particular 64-bit OS. Check your hardware. – None – 2012-08-13T19:58:34.437

Hmm, I did just install 4Gb of RAM about a week ago could this be causing the problem? – Ryan Stull – 2012-08-13T19:58:54.873

Entirely possible, yes. Take it out and see whether you can reproduce the problem. – None – 2012-08-13T20:09:59.447

If I take out the RAM and I don't get the problem is there a way to fix the RAM? Would that mean it's that particular RAM, or the same type of RAM that is the problem? – Ryan Stull – 2012-08-13T20:14:21.737

You can't "fix" RAM. You may be able to reconfigure its installation location or your BIOS settings if they are in error. Also blow any dust off the port before inserting any RAM. – Chris Nava – 2012-08-13T20:18:02.180

Should I try updating my bios? It's from 2007. – Ryan Stull – 2012-08-13T20:20:05.643

1@Renan: Root kits on 64 bit? I don't think so. – Tamara Wijsman – 2012-08-13T21:08:02.677

@TomWijsman - Seriously? There aren't 64 bit root kits? That, I didn't know. I love this place, it's a free education, except now I have to go research that (not implying anything, I just have to have my own research). Thank you so much! +1 – Everett – 2012-08-13T21:11:08.733

@TomWijsman - http://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/11/16/tdl_rootkit_does_64_bit_windows/

Just an FYI

– Everett – 2012-08-13T21:12:31.413

4@Everett: Well, while there might be a possibility there are barely any. Most people know of 64 bit for the increased memory range, but you should also know of 64 bit because of the extra security it offers. Drivers has to be signed, exploits for 32 bit no longer work, and so on... – Tamara Wijsman – 2012-08-13T21:12:46.767

@Everett: Exactly, and I think that's the only way to rootkit, namely bypassing the OS's kernel mode code signing policy. I don't see much other rootkits that target 64 bit nor ones that would cause graphical corruption. In any way, Windows 8 will do away with any existing exploit so I'm not afraid of TDL anyway... – Tamara Wijsman – 2012-08-13T21:15:35.537

@Everett: Thanks for bringing me up to date on TDL also targetting 64 bit, heard about it in the past but didn't read into it that much assuming 64 bit's safety. :) – Tamara Wijsman – 2012-08-13T21:19:42.180

@TomWijsman No problem, thanks for schooling me on the updated security. – Everett – 2012-08-13T21:23:14.787

Ran a few virus scans and they didn't find anything – Ryan Stull – 2012-08-14T18:32:56.647

An x86-64 processor in long mode can run 16-bit protected-mode applications, but cannot run real-mode applications.

– bwDraco – 2012-10-05T20:24:26.543

Answers

I replaced my graphics card and the problem has completely resolved. There must have been some short or damage to the actual hardware itself.

Ryan Stull

Posted 2012-08-13T19:44:38.263

Reputation: 135

You seem to be running a 64 bit operating system, please note that such operating systems can't even run 16 bit programs. For more detail, see this KB article. So, that error makes no sense at all. It would be interesting to get an idea of where that error is coming from; any other details about that message box (or event log) should help you find a explanation online why that message box is appearing, please update your question with these details or ask a new question.

As for the graphical corruption, you have mentioned that you just installed new RAM. So, running memtest to figure out whether the RAM is stable should be the first thing to do. If you have upgraded from 2 GB to 4 GB and thus have two sticks in total, it might be easy to try booting with one of the sticks and later booting with only the other stick in order to test both apart and figure out which of the two sticks is unstable.

There must be something (either software or actual hardware) that's corrupting your computer after a certain non-deterministic event, as this kind is out-of-place as I stated in the first paragraph. You can find more things to try in my last comment below.

Tamara Wijsman

Posted 2012-08-13T19:44:38.263

Reputation: 54 163

Humm, I ran the "Memory Diagnostic Tool" on windows and it said it detected no problems. Something else I noticed is that the problems occurs following periods of extended gaming, could it be a graphics card issue? – Ryan Stull – 2012-08-14T02:05:21.040

I also tested my gpu with Furmark and didn't seam to have any problems – Ryan Stull – 2012-08-14T02:47:12.253

Yeah, and the temps are all good, the cpu stays at around 50C, and the GPU never goes above 70C while under load. – Ryan Stull – 2012-08-14T18:10:12.353

@Ratz: I would still suppose some kind of corruption, maybe in the actual hardware itself, because that message is really out-of-place. Are all your drivers up-to-date? Are you running with the bare minimum components? Can you try to disable Aero in the services and/or disable transparency? Have you tried cleaning out your software list and start-up items with the bare minimum needed? Can you check with Process Explorer (it has a aim icon in the toolbar which you can drag to the message box) to figure out the offending process?

– Tamara Wijsman – 2012-08-21T21:58:42.153

Is there a way to test my graphics hardware for corruption? – Ryan Stull – 2012-08-22T18:59:32.343

@Ratz: You have already ran FurMark and a Video Card memeory test, so I don't think the corruption is there. Maybe the motherboard or CPU? Try a stability test for the CPU, like SuperPi; have you tried the other questions from my previous comment? Also see Harry's suggestions down below. – Tamara Wijsman – 2012-08-22T19:56:15.223

@Ratz: See my other answer below, it might be the solution. – Tamara Wijsman – 2012-08-22T20:11:08.700

I agree with @Tom Wilson. I bet it is a driver corruption issue. – Fergus – 2012-08-24T04:51:11.580

In Windows Vista 64-bit this message is evidently bogus, as 16-bit programs cannot run on 64-bit. Microsoft (or another product) is apparently issuing the wrong message for some unknown error-condition.

I would suggest the following :

Search the Event Log for a more detailed error message (if one exists)
Use an Administrator login (if not already the case)
Temporarily disable UAC as a test
See if the problem happens in Safe Mode boot

harrymc

Posted 2012-08-13T19:44:38.263

Reputation: 306 093

This is an often reported bug that exists due to an incompatibility between certain security products and this update KB2442962 for Windows, which causes consent.exe to not show up. As a result, this calls a procedure to report you with an error for that situation, but it appears that they have not updated that error for 64-bit editions of Windows. At least not in Vista...

To resolve this, there are multiple solutions possible:

Disable UAC.
Uninstall update KB2442962.

MS10-100: Vulnerability in Consent User Interface could allow elevation of privilege.
Do a system restore to a point before update KB2442962.
Reinstall your computer and make sure you hide the KB2442962 update.
Attempt to figure out what security software is incompatible with KB2442962.

Tamara Wijsman

Posted 2012-08-13T19:44:38.263

Reputation: 54 163