Member Avatar for jalyons

I keep getting the error "Stmgr has caused an error in MSVCRT.DLL. Stmgr will now close" a few seconds after WinMe has booted to the Desktop. Rebooting does no good...that error still comes up every time. I read in another forum that renaming all msvcrt.dll's except for the one in Windows/System to "oldmsvcrt.dll" and rebooting might help. It didn't. (There are 3 msvcrt.dll's on my OS...one in C:\Windows, one in C:\Program Files\java\jre1.5.0_01\bin, and the one in C:\Windows\System.) I can't think of anything on my system that's changed and have no idea what could be causing this error. Any advice or info would SO be appreciated. :confused:

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Dani AI

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Brief summary and what this process does (so the thread is searchable later): StMgr/StateMgr is the Windows Me “PC State Manager” component used by System Restore — it watches and catalogs system files and uses Windows trust/catalog services, so problems in its catalog or in files it touches can make it crash at boot. already did the right first thing by suspecting third‑party interference (ZoneAlarm) but the crash returning shows deeper trouble (catalog/registry or a runtime mismatch). (geekstogo.com)

Why renaming non‑system copies of msvcrt.dll usually does not fix this: msvcrt.dll is treated as a Windows system CRT; Windows resolves the system CRT from the system folder, and many crashes reported “in msvcrt.dll” are actually caused by another module calling the CRT with bad data or by a corrupted catalog/registry entry. That explains why copies in program folders (Java etc.) rarely change the outcome. Use this as guidance for where to focus effort rather than blind renames. (microsoft.com)

Practical, ordered troubleshooting (back up important files first):

  1. Boot Safe Mode — if StMgr does not crash there, a third‑party driver or shell hook is likely the culprit.
  2. Inspect what StMgr actually loads — run Sysinternals Process Explorer and view the DLL list for C:\Windows\System\Restore\stmgr.exe; this shows injected/third‑party modules and exact DLL paths. (docs.microsoft.com)
  3. Check versions: right‑click the stmgr.exe and each msvcrt.dll copy → Properties → Version. If stmgr is old, install the Windows Me System Restore update (KB290700) before more invasive steps. ()
  4. Repair registry/restore metadata: run the Registry Checker (scanregw /fix or scanreg /fix from startup/DOS) to rebuild the registry backing store. Do this before destroying restore checkpoints. (support.microsoft.com)

If those steps don’t stop the crashes, rebuild System Restore metadata (catroot/catalog rebuilds reported in community threads can help) but only after backing up data and understanding you may lose existing restore points. If still stuck, post the stmgr.exe version and the Version tab values for every msvcrt.dll found — those two lines of info let responders target the next step. (dell.com)

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Member Avatar for SuperSam

Did you install Zone Alarm or any other firewall recently ??

Sam

Member Avatar for jalyons

Did you install Zone Alarm or any other firewall recently ??

Sam

I've had ZoneAlarm Pro for a few years with no problems, but I did upgrade to ZoneAlarm Security Suite a month or so ago. Not sure if the msvcrt.dll error started then or not, but did suspect it. I have the same post on ZoneAlarm's forum, but it hasn't been answered yet. :confused:

Member Avatar for SuperSam

Hi,
Lets keep it to the basics. If you have a back up disc for the Zone Alarm software, uninstall the program and check if you get the error message.

Sam.

Member Avatar for SuperSam

Hi,
Got this info on the Net. Stmgr is a part of the System Restore feature of Windows ME. You can try disabling the System Restore feature by navigating to Control Panel>System Properties>Performance>File System>Troubleshooting>Disable System Restore (Last option). And restart PC.

Member Avatar for jalyons

Thanks for the advice, Sam. I finally did a clean uninstall & reinstall of ZA Security Suite, and that seems to have solved the problem. I was a little worried about disabling Stmgr in case there's ever a need to use SysRestore, so am glad uninstall/reinstall worked. Thank you again sooo much for your response and help...they still haven't answered on the ZA forum. :\

Member Avatar for SuperSam

Pleasure assisting you. Though I wish I knew what was causing the error :o

Sam

Member Avatar for jalyons

Me too...because it came up again. I just didn't wait long enough for it to show up after the ZA reinstall & rebooting. Guess I'm back to square one. Can't find the answer anywhere so far, including support.microsoft.com, so I may just have to live with it. ahhhh well.

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