WHEN WINDOWS ATTEMPTS TO START, THIS MESSAGE
APPEARS:
"WHILE INITIALIZING DEVICE VKD.
WINDOWS PROTECTION ERROR, YOU NEED TO RESTART
YOUR COMPUTER" I TRIED TO REINSTALL WINDOWS WHICH WORKED SEVERAL TIMES TESTING WITH RESTART, UNTIL I TURNED POWER OFF. MESSAGE
RETURNED.

Hi,
im a technician who has just stumbled over this for the first time send me an Email and when I find out what causes it ill return u a solution. Also what peripherals are you running. eg mouse keyboard and monitor ? that info might help

See ya

When Windows attempts to start this message appears : " While initializing device VKD: Windows protection error. You need to restart you computer. Press any key ...

I am currently having the same trouble...any one that has any assistance with this...please post a reply

go into your system.ini folder and make sure the keyboard lines look normal under [386enh]
it should say: keyboard=*vkd under [boot] it should say keyboard.drv=keyboard.drv and the
[keyboard]column should look like this:
subtype=
type=4
keyboard.dll=
oemansi.bin=

I am a Tech Lead for a well known software company and we have came up with this several times.

Here are things to try.

Reboot with the keyboard detached, if the error doesn't occur, it is the keyboard, if it still occurs, it is either software or the motherboard port.

You can also try another different keyboard and see what happens.

1. If win95, restore registry with the system.1st file. if win98, run a scanreg /restore and choose a date before problem started.

2. Try a system clean boot. Rename the system.ini and use the system.cb file as a new one, (remember to add those 4 lines of happiness) that give mouse support and keep mmsystem errors from showing on reboot.

3. if these fail, try a full restore of system files (complete format and reinstall).

4. If a restore doesn't resolve it, you may need the motherboard replaced.

Keep in touch through email, i like to add cases to this error to my personal knowledge base of errors.

you guys problem know about this already..

it's probably registry error..
and that means you've got a bad sector there.
run scan disk.. do a full surface scan

I booted to a win 98 startup disk,
Typed scandisk C:
It marked the bad sector and moved the data to a new sector.
reboot....
during reboot it ask if I wanted to use a copy of the regestery that actually worked
Yes I do.
re booted 20 times, with power off
Problem solved
Thanks a million, it saved all my information.

I'm sure this issue is pretty well-known by now since these messages are relatively old, but I am still having this problem. The problem is that I can't even get into windows or anything to get these options. I Am shown a warning that Windows did not shut down completely the previous time and that I have 7 specific options. To log in . . .

1 Normal
2 Logged (/BOOTLOG.TXT)
3 Safe Mode
4 Safe mode with network support
5 Step-by-step confirmation
6 Command prompt only
7 Safe mode command prompt only

Any ideas which one I should go into and what I should to from there?

I was having this exact problem ("Windows protection fault... vkd.vxd") and, like everyone else, could not boot in safe mode or any of the other options (step-by-step, etc.) I had tried *everything* previous posters in this thread suggested, as well as similar suggestions made by some posters in deja.com postings I read. Nothing worked, UNTIL I ran "scandisk /restore" as a last ditch effort. I left it running when I went to work, and when I got home the system was prompting me to "continue with a restored registry?" I said yes, rebooted, and FINALLY my system was alive again -- normal, successfull bootup into Windows 98.

Before you throw your hands up and restage your box, try the scandisk /restore and see if that doesn't work. I was thrilled not to have to restage my system for the second time in as many months.

In desperation, I tried almost every one of the ideas above until I found the
real problem! It seems a few sectors on the hard drive had gone bad in the area
where a critical file named USER.DAT is located. This is one of the two
"Registry" files that contain the entire system configuration of your computer.
After I repaired it, the problem was fixed for good!

Here is the fix that worked for me.

1. Since most people can't boot up normally when this message appears, I will
assume that everyone is forced into the same scenario of holding down the F8 key
(see instructions below) as the computer tries to boot during Power On Self Test
(POST) which brings up the boot option menu shown below.

2. Windows 95 and 98 have a standard start up menu used for diagnosing
different problems in the operating system. The "Safe mode" feature is a useful
tool in finding software and driver compatibility problems. Follow the steps
below to enter Windows in safe mode. (Actually, many of you (like myself)
probably can't even actually get it a working "Windows safe mode, only to a DOS
prompt level which is OK)

DO THIS TO FIX IT:

Restart your computer.
When the computer restarts you will see "Starting Windows 95/98..."
As soon (or even a little before) as you see that appear on you computer screen.
Press and hold the F8 function key on your keyboard.
This will bring up a special diagnostic start up menu with the following items

1. Normal
2. Logged (\BOOTLOG.TXT)
3. Safe Mode
4. Safe mode with network support (optional)
5. Step-by-step conformation
* 6. Command prompt only
* 7. Safe mode command prompt only

Choose either of the last two options; "Command prompt only" or "Safe mode
command prompt only".

3. Next, from the DOS (command line prompt), run Scandisk with the "surface"
switch. Example: C:> SCANDISK /SURFACE (Note: Don't try to use "surface" option
when the PC is running OK because this option is only available from a command
line prompt when
troubleshooting in safe mode).

4. When prompted to fix any bad surface areas it finds, click OK.

5. When its is finished, and you restart your computer, the "registry" checker
program will probably report that it has found an error and is going to restore
a good copy for you. The problem should now be solved.

If anyone has any other problems, feel free to visit my own computer diagnostic
website.

Just ran into the same problem. Running scandisk (in auto mode) against the C: drive turned up a bad region which scandisk patched. scanreg /restore let me grab a known-good registry. System works and the kids are happy (game machine). Had this not worked, fdisk and reinstall from scratch was the alternative (nothing vital lost but a p-i-t-a nonetheless).

Error Message: While Initializing device VKD: Windows protection error. Please restart your computer.

I received this message at home on Sunday August 13th, 2000 and had a hard time figuring out what was wrong. I tried several trouble shooting techniques such as:

1. Restarting in safe mode: The computer gave the same message
2. Reinstalling windows: Same message on reboot after reinstall
3. Step by step confirmation: Windows failed to boot though I eliminated config.sys and the autoexe.bat
4. Removing the keyboard: Windows would not start without a key board
5. Restoring the registry from a previous good boot: Registry checker failed to initialize check as well

Finally I decided to try to scan the hard disk to find any potential problems. Reboot the computer and press F8 or hold the control key before windows begin to load to get into the safe mode options.
Select option: Safe mode at command prompt
At the command prompt type: scandisk /all or scandisk /all /surface
The scan disk should begin running.

If scan disk detects a disk error select the option to fix it. (In my experience I had a bad file that was damaged due to constant restarts without running scan disk)

Follw the instructions and restart the computer. You should be able to load normally. Run scan disk again.

The problem occurs when windows is not shutdown "gracefully" and scandisk is not run upon restart.

You can create a script file in a text editor such as Notepad or Wordpad and type: c:\windows\scandskw.exe c: /n
where switch n means scan disk will start and quit automatically upon a power failure.
Rename the wordpad (notepad) document from a .txt to a .scp file.

To test, simply power off your computer wait 15 seconds and power on. Scandisk sould start automatically checking the c drive (or whatever drive windows is loaded on usually c). The word pad document will also open. Simply exit. I have not figured how to make it close automatically.

Good Luck to all.

Andre White
Information Systems Manager
SBCA

Yes i had this problem.The best way to fix it is to make a startup disk to your opperating system ie-win 95-98.Select the 2nd option, start windows 98 without cd support.Then choose to run scandisk.
All this means from this error is your hard-drive is having problems (NOT YOUR HARDWARE)
so dont despair if your computer once worked it can work again.
If you are having futher trouble with this please dont hesitate to contact me via e-mail.
BUT THE BEST SOLUTION IS......Take it back to the place where you got it and let the technicians worry about it.In most cases they will just replace your hard-drive and these days you can get a nice seagate 20gig for $260.
Cya's.

Isn't the web great!! I followed Chuck's advise and my computer is now fine. I was ready to throw it out the window. I know who is responsible for for hitting the power switch and causing the bad sectors - my six year old. He thinks he's the master when it comes to the PC. We're going to have a talk.
Thanks Again!

I had a problem and was getting the same vkd protection error.I changed the keyboard and it solved the problem immediately.
You should check this before replacing your hard drive.

This has been confirmed by MS to ba a problem while initializing the keyboard driver, however 99% of the time it is because of a defective keyboard and or Moherboard and only 1% it is a software corruption or configuration error

I also found my USER.DAT cluster corrupted.

Let's look at a few things here... Same error message, same problems... happens when windows (panes in the a**) are shut down without following the procedure... we all know win98 locks on shutoff... We have no choice but to power down... and USER.DAT files keep getting corrupted, along with that cluster on our hard drives... Hmmmm.

Any lawyers out there not busy chasing ambulances? Might be a good class action suit...

i too get the message Windows Protection Error. You need to restart your computer.

I am running a p233 laptop with Win 98 SE.

I have tryed everything still get the error.

I have recently re-installed the OS and again ran the scandisk / surface scan and to no avale. I still the the same message upon start-up. I have no options then but to re-start and then it boots straight into the safe mode option screen.

I can run the computer in safemode.

In safemode i run sfc and there seems to be a problems with setupx.dll since no unneccisary drivers are loaded i cannot access my cd rom to replace the file.