Hello Mr. Broni: Thank you for following through with me on this. The link you offered was for how to disable DEP in Vista; The instructions didn't seem to work for XP.
Here are the instructions from I would really appreciate it if you would read it and then "translate" it for me. Please just tell me if you would be so kind to, just what I need to do, step by step, one, two, three. What I want to do is to turn off DEP for all programs. It's blocking more and more programs that I use and becoming a real nuisance.
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/875352 System-wide configuration of DEP
DEP configuration for the system is controlled through switches in the Boot.ini file. If you are logged on as an administrator, you can now easily configure DEP settings by using the System dialog box in Control Panel.
Windows supports four system-wide configurations for both hardware-enforced and software-enforced DEP.
Configuration Description
OptIn This setting is the default configuration. On systems with processors that can implement hardware-enforced DEP, DEP is enabled by default for limited system binaries and programs that "opt-in." With this option, only Windows system binaries are covered by DEP by default.
OptOut DEP is enabled by default for all processes. You can manually create a list of specific programs that do not have DEP applied by using the System dialog box in Control Panel. Information technology (IT) professionals can use the Application Compatibility Toolkit to "opt-out" one or more programs from DEP protection. System compatibility fixes, or shims, for DEP do take effect.
AlwaysOn This setting provides full DEP coverage for the whole system. All processes always run with DEP applied. The exceptions list to exempt specific programs from DEP protection is not available. System compatibility fixes for DEP do not take effect. Programs that have been opted-out by using the Application Compatibility Toolkit run with DEP applied.
AlwaysOff This setting does not provide any DEP coverage for any part of the system, regardless of hardware DEP support. The processor does not run in PAE mode unless the /PAE option is present in the Boot.ini file.
Hardware-enforced and software-enforced DEP are configured in the same manner. If the system-wide DEP policy is set to OptIn, the same Windows core binaries and programs will be protected by both hardware-enforced and software-enforced DEP. If the system cannot use hardware-enforced DEP, the Windows core binaries and programs will be protected only by software-enforced DEP.
Similarly, if the system-wide DEP policy is set to OptOut, programs that have been exempted from DEP protection will be exempted from both hardware-enforced and software-enforced DEP.
The Boot.ini file settings are as follows:
/noexecute=policy_level
Note policy_level is defined as AlwaysOn, AlwaysOff, OptIn, or OptOut.
Existing /noexecute settings in the Boot.ini file are not changed when Windows XP SP2 is installed. These settings are also not changed if a Windows operating system image is moved across computers with or without hardware-enforced DEP support.
During installation of Windows XP SP2 and Windows Server 2003 SP1 or later versions, the OptIn policy level is enabled by default unless a different policy level is specified in an unattended installation. If the /noexecute=policy_level setting is not present in the Boot.ini file for a version of Windows that supports DEP, the behavior is the same as if the /noexecute=OptIn setting was included.
If you are logged on as an administrator, you can manually configure DEP to switch between the OptIn and OptOut policies by using the Data Execution Prevention tab in System Properties. The following procedure describes how to manually configure DEP on the computer:
1. Click Start, click Run, type sysdm.cpl, and then click OK.
2. On the Advanced tab, under Performance, click Settings.
3. On the Data Execution Prevention tab, use one of the following procedures:
• Click Turn on DEP for essential Windows programs and services only to select the OptIn policy.
• Click Turn on DEP for all programs and services except those I select to select the OptOut policy, and then click Add to add the programs that you do not want to use the DEP feature.
4. Click OK two times.
IT professionals can control system-wide DEP configuration by using a variety of methods. The Boot.ini file can be modified directly with scripting mechanisms or with the Bootcfg.exe tool that is included in Windows XP SP2.
To configure DEP to switch to the AlwaysOn policy by using the Boot.ini file, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, right-click My Computer, and then click Properties.
2. Click the Advanced tab, and then click Settings under the Startup and Recovery field.
3. In the System startup field, click Edit. The Boot.ini file opens in Notepad.
4. In Notepad, click Find on the Edit menu.
5. In the Find what box, type /noexecute, and then click Find Next.
6. In the Find dialog box, click Cancel.
7. Replace policy_level with AlwaysOn.
WARNING Make sure that you enter the text accurately. The Boot.ini file switch should now read:
/noexecute=AlwaysOn
8. In Notepad, click Save on the File menu.
9. Click OK two times.
10. Restart the computer.
For unattended installations of Windows XP SP2 or later versions, you can use the Unattend.txt file to pre-populate a specific DEP configuration. You can use the OSLoadOptionsVar entry in the [Data] section of the Unattend.txt file to specify a system-wide DEP configuration.