Error: NTVDM.EXE stopped working

NTVDM.EXE is giving me problems on a fairly new PC running Vista Home Basic.
I recently had to restore the system using recovery CD's. I was successful
in installing two out of four old applications. The other two attempts
failed with this
error message: "NTVDM.EXE has stopped working." I performed a second
recovery that included a format. The results were the same.

I went to Microsoft's site for information. There were many links to
various documents. The references mentioned Windows NT 3.1, 2000 Server, NT
4 Server, 16-bit software, Terminal Services, Virtual DOS Machine, etc. None
of the references I looked at mentioned Vista.

This has left me confused. We need the two uninstalled programs. I am at a
loss over what to do next. Can someone tell me what is going on and what I
might do to correct this situation?

When you rightclick the apps install exe file, then properties, you will
find a drop box for compatibility mode installation on the "Compatibility"
tab. The apps may need Ms-Dos, or perhaps XP mode.

Compatibility never has worked for me on a single game. I bought a new
computer, did the compatible thing on every game and none worked anyway. Ran
as administrator, etc. Nothing worked. Now none of my old games work. This
is a problem with Vista.

Without asking any questions and based on the information you provided.

Upgrade to Windows (64-bit) XP, Vista or 7 and you will never see this error
ever again.

Hi,

>you will find a drop box for compatibility mode installation on the "Compatibility" tab. The apps may need Ms-Dos, or perhaps XP mode.

It does not work for me. Do you have any other suggestions about this? Any suggestions will be highly appreciated.

You are answering to a 2 yr old post which was answered correctly by Mark Ferguson
MS MVP at the time. Please refer to his answer on the Usenet server to which you
have posted 2 yrs ago about this issue

I have a similar problem with this error. I was playing an older game which has 9 disks! I was on level 5 (disk 5)when this error popped up, " ntvdm.exe has stopped working and will shut down". This is after I was almost done with the game! Does this just sound like a corrupt registry file?

I've run several scans but with no avail. If there is a bad sector, would this be the cause of the error? Could I run this game through DOS?