RezOvation - Guest Management Software and Online Reservations

Sometimes I get an Illegal Operation Error. What does that mean?

Overview

Illegal Operation Errors are Windows resource errors. They are usually caused by a computer running short of available resources or by two or more programs trying to share the same resources and getting in each other's way.

Although it is not uncommon to see this sort of error in Guest Tracker, it is unlikely that Guest Tracker is causing the problem.

Solutions

Immediate Solution:

Illegal Operation errors do not clear themselves! You must shut down your system to eliminate the resource problem. If possible, use the Windows shut down to completely power off your computer before restarting.

Short-Term Solutions:

If you are seeing frequent Illegal Operation errors, it is likely that your system is experiencing a resource shortage. You may need to reboot your system more frequently to help Windows manage your resources more intelligently (restarting causes Windows to reallocate resources that may otherwise be tied up for no reason).
Frequent Illegal Operations could also indicate that you have one or more background programs causing conflicts. Most systems have between 5 and 12 background programs running. In Windows 9x systems (including ME) you can check and disable background programs by holding down the CTRL and ALT keys, then tapping the DELETE key once. This shows you the Task Manager window. You can end each task individually from this window. Please note that EXPLORER and SYSTRAY are important parts of Windows and should not be ended. Any and all other tasks running in the Task Manager window are extra programs that your computer has loaded in. Feel free to end each of these processes. They will restart when you restart your computer.

If you clear the background programs and no longer see Illegal Operation errors, then you know that one of these background programs was causing the problem. Try closing whichever background programs you can each time you restart the computer.

Long-Term Solutions:

If you have isolated a particular program or programs causing your conflict, try uninstalling it rather than using the end-task.
Increasing your RAM, Processor Speed or other system performance hardware can often help reduce or alleviate resource problems.
Upgrading software drivers (especially for printers) can often help reduce or alleviate resource problems.
If Windows is the source of your problem, reloading the operating system or reformatting and reloading your entire hard drive may be the best solution.