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Q170845: SerialKey Accessibility Option Does Not Work in OSR2

Article: Q170845
Product(s): Microsoft Windows 95.x Retail Product
Version(s): WINDOWS:95
Operating System(s): 
Keyword(s): kbenable kbenv kbtool osr2 win95 kbEnableSight kbEnableMove
Last Modified: 13-JUN-2001

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The information in this article applies to:

- Microsoft Windows 95 OEM Service Release, version 2.0 
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IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry.
Before you edit the registry, you should first make a backup copy of the
registry files (System.dat and User.dat). Both are hidden files in the
Windows folder.

SYMPTOMS
========

When you turn on the SerialKey option in the Accessibility Options tool in
Control Panel, the SerialKey feature may not seem to work. In addition, turning
on the SerialKey option may cause the computer to stop responding (hang) with a
page fault error message.

CAUSE
=====

This behavior occurs only in Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2 (OSR2). Changes in
OSR2 require Power Management features to be disabled for serial devices.

RESOLUTION
==========

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may
require you to reinstall Windows 95. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems
resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry
Editor at your own risk.

NOTE: For information about how to edit the registry, view the Changing Keys And
Values online Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe). Note that you should
make a backup copy of the registry files (System.dat and User.dat) before you
edit the registry.

To resolve this issue, turn off Power Management features for the Vcomm driver in
the registry. To do so, set the value for the EnablePowerManagement value to 0
(zero) in the following registry key:

  HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\vxd\Vcomm

Additional query words: disability

======================================================================
Keywords          : kbenable kbenv kbtool osr2 win95 kbEnableSight kbEnableMove 
Technology        : kbWin95search kbOPKSearch
Version           : WINDOWS:95

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