ActiveWin: Ask AW

Welcome to AskAW! This section of our web site lets you submit questions about any problems/queries that you may have about Windows. Be it from a little icon that annoys you to hardware freezing your PC, we will try and help you out. You can submit your questions by e-mailing us at askaw@activewin.com. You can browse through previous questions over at our Archive Page. Who knows what you might find.

Here are the answered questions for 06-08-2001

Question	Submitted by Onur
Is it possible to install Windows 98 on Windows ME? Thanks.
Solution 1	Answered by Andrew Funderburk
If you're wanting to replace Win ME with Win 98, the only way to go is to reformat and start over.
Solution 2	Answered by Mean Drake
If you installed WinMe over win98 and elected to save system files then you can 'Uninstall' WinMe from the control panel and go back to Win98

Question	Submitted by Mitch
My company is interested in two new Microsoft products... Publisher 2002 and FrontPage 2002. If we were to buy each of the standalone versions of these products (in other words, not Office XP), would the Microsoft Product Activation (forced registration) be included in these products? Thanks
Solution 1	Answered by Andrew Funderburk
Most likely.
Solution 2	Answered by Marc Strickland
Yes Definitely

Question	Submitted by John
I have a question regarding my Windows 98. I have been having trouble with windows losing time over the period of a few hours. When this happens the PC starts to run poorly and eventually needs to be rebooted. This gets the windows clock reset and everything runs great, but it starts to loose time again and eventually needs to be rebooted. I have removed almost everything from the start-up menu. Removed programs recently installed that might have been the culprit. Was told its not the CMOS battery because the time sets itself correctly after the reboot. Any ideas? Is it possible to re-install Win98 over the existing OS without having to re-install everything? Thanks.
Solution 1	Answered by Bronson Elliott
I would say that it is your CMOS battery that's located on your motherboard. Read the manual for your computer and see how to remove the battery and what type of battery to replace it. CompUSA or Radio Shack should carry the type of battery you need.
Solution 2	Answered by Mean Drake
Frankly I feel the CMOS battery is not to blame as the computer keeps correct time for the period that it is switched off. What needs to be determined is whether there is some non responding software or some such application running that progressively affects windows performance. Of course I am just fishing here too. Look at the task manager, the system resources graph and the CPU meter as time goes and see whether there is any relation to the problem.

Question	Submitted by Ron
Dear Sir, Is there a way to delete the URL's that have accumulated in this file? Thank you very much for your help
Solution 1	Answered by Michael Kircus
Clear all your History by going to the Control Panel, opening the Start Menu properties, and clicking Clear under the Advanced tab. Then, open Internet Explorer, going to Tools, Internet Options, clicking the Clear History button, then under the Content tab, click the AutoComplete button, then click Clear Forms.
Solution 2	Answered by Mean Drake
The best way I have found of deleting these histories is by using TweakUI from Microsoft. Its free and its small. It will let you delete the Recent/Run/IE URLs/Telnet history and even network histories.

Question	Submitted by Deborah
I am running Windows 2000 and IE5.5. I am trying to view & delete some cookies. I had instructions to look in \Temporary Internet Files and see them there, but I also see things in \cookies, some of which are from the same sites. Are they supposed to be in two places? Are they related? Can I force them into one folder? Can you explain what's going on here, generally? Thank you
Solution 1	Answered by Michael Kircus
They are supposed to be stored in both places, that's just how it works. It stores copies in the Cookies folder as well as the Temporary Internet Files.

Question	Submitted by Tashia
Hello, I am trying to install McAfee Virus Scan but my computer is missing the Msi file. I emailed McAfee and I got the following email back: I suggest that you download a msi file. Msi is Microsoft installer. Do you know where can I download this file? Thanks
Solution 1	Answered by Michael Kircus
Windows Installer can be downloaded here: http://download.cnet.com/downloads/0-10088-100-3154355.html?tag=st.dl.10001-103-1.lst-7-1.3154355.

Question	Submitted by John
Hi, I hope you can help me with this problem. I dual boot Mill Me and Windows 2000 Professional Service Pack 2 and I installed IE 6 on W2k (before I updated to Service Pack 2) to see what the fuss was about. However, I seem to be unable to remove it and reinstall IE 5.5. I went to add/remove and started to remove it but it only gives me the option of reinstalling it - the other two options are not accessible. I attempted to use 'Add Remove Plus' and 'RegCleaner' but this did not work. I attempted to install IE 5.5 SP1 over it and it stopped me - saying I had a newer version already installed. IE 6 is quite stable and works well but I want to go back to IE 5.5. In addition, Windows update told me to download a update to Mill Me in regards to AC 97 sound - I did and it stopped all sound ability - I removed it and it works fine now - is this common? Also, should one expect any differences when installing Service Pack 2 for W2k Professional? The only difference I saw was it updating the words Service Pack 1 to 2 - was it really worth the 20 MB download I keep asking. Can you help? Thanks for a great site.
Solution 1	Answered by Michael Kircus
When you installed SP2 for Windows 2000, it removed the backup files, so you CANNOT go back to IE 5.5 without reformatting. For your Windows Me problem, I wouldn't use the update if it won't work. And there is a difference from SP1 to SP2, it is just all behind the scenes bug fixes. You won't notice any other differences.

Question	Submitted by Angela
I'm running win/me and recently uninstalled a software program and every since have not had access to IE...when I click on favorites I get... Unable to open this Internet Shortcut. The protocol "http" does not have a registered program. When I click on IE, I get...The shortcut 'Internet Explorer.Ink' refers to a location that is unavailable. The location could be on a hard drive on this computer,etc....what can I do? please help
Solution 1	Answered by John Lampson
Angela, It sounds like Windows has lost the file association for Internet files. Either that, or you had another browser that you uninstalled that was not very nice when it went away. What I mean by that is it probably left traces of itself that told the system it was still the default web browser, but it does not exist to actually run the application. What you can try is to go to Internet Options in the Control Panel, and choose the Programs tab. Check the box that says "Internet Explorer should check to see if it the default browser," and then go to Start, Run, and type "iexplore" (without quotes), and hit Enter. Internet Explorer should come up and ask if you want it to be the default browser. Select Yes, and close it. Now try opening the files you had a problem with and see if they come up. Hope this helps.
Solution 2	Answered by Mean Drake
I guess even Internet explorer is not starting up so setting it as default browser is not going to be possible. I believe a reinstall (dirty install) will solve this problem as some of the core internet explorer files seem to be missing.

Question	Submitted by Nitin
hi all I had a windows 2000 server as a pdc in my domain with two windows 2000 additional domain controllers. all of them are replicating using active directory structure .well when some of the windows 2000 clients logon to pdc the error message comes" the time between client and server mismatches". I had use commands like net time. it must be a kerberos authentication problem. please help me out
Solution 1	Answered by John Lampson
Nitin, What you need to do is manually set the time of the clients to the time of the server. Do this in the BIOS if you can. Usually, Kerberos will allow you approximately 5 minutes of discrepancy, but you can set this up to 9,999 minutes in Domain Security Policy. This is not recommended. Anyway, you should be able to change the client's time manually, reboot, and it will work. Hope this helps

Question	Submitted by Bill
Hi Folks, I have just upgraded to Win 2000 from ME (I had to delete ME first) and find myself with a major problem. I have ten years work backed up using MSbackup. The backup up system in Win2000 doesn't want to know and neither do Microsoft. Do you know of a fix for this? Other software, perhaps, which will run under 2000 and open QIC files? The options I think I have are: Delete win 2000 and start again - a week's work. Dual boot - I have two hard drives and the backups are on the second hard drive, still FAT32. I'm scared I'll wreck something. Hook up to a second computer and run MSbackup from this? Transfer all on to a 250 MB zip drive and try and find a 'friend' with both a 250 NB zip and win 98. Could I delete the 2000 backup system and run MSbackup under 2000? Any thoughts?
Solution 1	Answered by John Lampson
Bill, I'm not sure, but I believe that Veritas Backup Exec (http://www.veritas.com) will open those QIC files. You can download a demo for Windows 2000 and see if it works for you. Hope this helps

Question	Submitted by Stefan
Hi! I have pleanty of trouble with my computer. It freezes nonstop. Win98 and Win2000 server. I don't know why. But my system (WinMgmt) tells me, that WMI-ADAP could not load the w3ctrs.dll due to an unknown error within the library : 0x0 It also says exactly the same thing for "ftpctrs2.dll" Does anyone know, which program uses these files? I have recently installed "ZoneAlarm" and PGPfreeware" and an ISDN-Spy (detecting telephone calls). Can anyone help ? What can I do to get correct functioning versions of the dlls? Thanx and greetings from Germany
Solution 1	Answered by Simon Ferris
Ftpctrs2.dll 5.0.2195.1613 Win2000 sp1 Ftpctrs2.dll 5.0.2195.2966 Win2000 sp2 W3ctrs.dll 5.0.2195.1613 Win2000 sp1 W3ctrs.dll 5.0.2195.2966 Win2000 sp2

Question	Submitted by Aaron
I have a K62-500 running Windows 2000 and 192 meg of memory. I have used it this way for about six months without a single crash. Lately, I have begun getting a blue screen (of death) and the words Memory Management at the top. Of course I have to reboot my system when this happens. So far this has only happened with Internet Explorer, but I can't imagine that it is application specific. Do you have any ideas? Thanks
Solution 1	Answered by Candy Baker
You may want to from Start go to Run type Regedit. Go to HKey_Local_Machine, go to Software, Microsoft, Windows, Run. Delete all but the Multimedia keyboard, Synchroniztion Manager, and Updreg.
Solution 2	Answered by Mean Drake
oh do be careful of deleting items from the registry run key here. Many applications like Antivirus tools and firewalls maybe loading up from here. So make a note of what exactly is to be deleted. Blue screens are especially difficult if there is no consistent pattern to their occurence and the error message is not always the same. If the error message is the same then the chances of troubleshooting is better. Every time this happens, Win2000 dumps the memory stack in the Winnt\Minidump folder. There will be a file here for every blue screen crash you got. The MS techs should be able to analyse this and see if there is a correctable problem. I would also suggest going in for service pack 2 to improve stability. I personally was not happy with Win2k on an AMD K-6-II system myself.

Question	Submitted by Geoff
Hi, I consider myself pretty reasonable with PC's now having built many systems for myself and others, primarily for audio use which as you would be well aware requires careful choice of hardware and configuration. I'm hoping you can answer the following perplexing question for me - I have noticed on some systems I've built and also systems I've seen in shops etc a slight shimmering (best word I can think of to describe it - it's like some sort of very fine almost invisible interference running down the screen from top to bottom) effect on the screen. I have yet to experience this on any Mac I've owned, and the odd thing is I've seen situations where with several instances of the same screen/different PC's on the same workbench some of the PC's have rock solid flicker free graphics (I'm not referring to refresh rates in this question) while some suffer from the shimmering effect (both with CRT and LCD screens). I myself have a Matrox G450 in my main PC and have also had in the same machine a Matrox G400 and an ATI Radeon. With either a Sony G200P or IIyama Vision Master Pro I get this shimmering effect - very slight almost unnoticeable with the Matrox cards, more obvious with the Ati card - with an old Smile monitor it goes away - same thing with an old PC I have with a Matrox Millennium II - Sony and IIyama shimmer, Smile does not. I know it's nothing to do with the drivers or monitor inf* files as the shimmering effect is always present from the first boot screen. Any ideas - this is a cosmetic problem more that anything else but I would love to know why this happens and if there is a solution.
Solution 1	Answered by Simon Ferris
I've seen the same where monitors were placed too close together and there was interference between the two.
Solution 2	Answered by Mean Drake
I have seen this happen quite often when the Voltage stabiliser or some other electrical device too is very close to the monitor. I personaly feel it is more a question of magnetic disturbances rather than a hardware conflict.

Question	Submitted by Ron
Does Windows 2000 Professional Edition have a utility similar to Winpopup like Windows 95 and ME have? Something that I can use to send message to other computers on my LAN. Thank You
Solution 1	Answered by Gary Busby
For NT/2000, use: NET SEND computername "message" Reference: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q137/1/43.asp

Question	Submitted by Unknown
I keep trying and the instructions dont make any sence to me on how to disable the protection. I did it and it created another folder on my hard Drive. Now I can't delete the folder because it is protected. I Can not get the protection off with the way listed below, or I'm doing something wrong. Windows Explorer Tips Creating A Hidden Directory It's amazing how useful this trick is. You have a private directory and you want it hidden to keep off snoopers. The Hidden attribute under Explorer is no use because people can use View\|Folder Options\|View hidden files easily. But there is a solution to this. Go to MS DOS Prompt and type MD name Alt+255 By holding down the Alt key while typing 255 (numeric pad only) you will create an character that looks like an empty space. That means, your filename must not be more than 7 characters since Alt+255 already took up one. The next time anybody types the DIR command, they can see the directory but to access it, you must type Alt+255 behind the filename. Without that, you will get an error message. With Windows Explorer, you can't even open the directory because you will get a "Folder does not exist" error. So much for security!
Solution 1	Answered by Gary Busby
You should be able to remove it from a DOS prompt by using this command: rd directorynameALT+255

Question	Submitted by Chris
My computer has been locking up quite often and when I run Dr. Watson, it tells me that the Driver ATMSYS.DRV has been modified. I was wondering if I could just delete it or if I should try to find the original. Hope you can help.
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
You should first determine what the driver is for and then instead of deleteing the driver, just reinstall the drivers for that device. Latest device drivers would be a good choice from the vendor's website.

Question	Submitted by Martin
Hello, The properties chart of My Computer says I have only 1.99GB but I bought a 40GB IDE Hard drive. It says I only have 389 MB. I went to MS-PROMPT and used Dir on my hard drive and it confirmed the same thing. What's happening and how can I get the actual available space ?
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
Is your hard disk partitioned? See in windoes explorer as to how many drives you see. C, D etc. What operating system are you using. Was there any other OS on this computer. What File system is being used, FAT32 or NTFS. The answers to these questions will solve your problem.

Question	Submitted by Patrick
I'm not exactly sure how the problem started - too many people use my computer! When I turn the machine on, I get a message about ptsnoop.exe 'This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down. If the problem persists, contact the program vendor'. I then get the same message for hpwhrc.exe. I assume these deal with my HP printer, so I have temporarily renamed these as .doc files. However, the screen resolution is stuck on 640 x 480 with 16 colours, there is no sound, and the mouse doesn't work. When I try to change the resolution or colours, I get an error message. In the control panel under device drivers, the mouse driver has the message for PS/2 compatible mouse 'This device is not working properly because Windows cannot load file (vmouse.vxd) that loads the drivers for the device (Code 8). To fix the problem, run Windows setup again using your Windows CD-ROM.' When I try that from my Windows 98 SE CD, I get the message headed W98setup 'This program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down. If the problem persists, contact the program vendor.' I have tried the Microsoft help system before (you go round in circles). There is no vmouse.vxd on the hard drive. I have tried reinstalling the mouse, and installing another one. Starting in safe mode, the mouse does work. I have looked at every control panel option I can think of. Any ideas (other than reformatting the hard drive)?
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
Well first you need to see if the mouse is attached to the COM port or PS2 port. Then install the correct drivers for the mouse provided for vendor. The display adapter also seems to be lacking for drivers. You need to do a lot of work on your drivers and install all the correct ones. As for ptsnoop.exe read this: PTSNOOP.EXE is a TSR used by your modem. Disabling it would be a bad Idea. However, that particular TSR can be a pain in the *ss, resource wise. If your modem is ancient, like a 28.8, consider replacing it. PTSNOOP.EXE is a program that comes with the set of drivers for modems based on the PC-Tel chipset. These can include the HSP Micro-Modems as well as a few others. These modems use your system processor rather than a dedicated chip on the modem card, an architecture known as host signal processing (HSP). When an application requests the COM port,ptsnoop.exe loads the rest of the software for your modem. Some users have reported that ptsnoop.exe loads anyway, even though they do not have HSP modems. If you don't have an HSP modem, you can safely delete ptsnoop.exe.

Question	Submitted by Buddy
I have Win 98 and I want to put Win 95 on the hard drive also because some of my games run perfectly on my old computer with Win 95. Thanks
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
http://www.windows-help.net/windows98/start-02a.shtml

Question	Submitted by Tom
Hi, i have a quick ? my hard drive was reformatted and now when i try to load windows ack onto in it say the operating system is not found. or it says it cant find the hard drive.? my hard drive is on a scsi card address 0 what would the reason by why it can't see or find it? thanks for any help
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
Are you installing windows or just copying the files on to it yourself?

Question	Submitted by Jeff
hope you can help. i had to restore my compaq 5838 with amd athlon running windows 98. when i open outlook express every time it puts msimn in ctrl-alt-delete window. this tells me that it is running in background. if i get more than 8 to 10 in there it slows down the computer so i have to remove them for performance. how do stop them from going in there when close out of outlook. thanks very much.
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
Does Outlook express start correctly? If it doesn't even start and gets listed in the task manager, you need to reinstall IE and OE. Better still install the latest version IE 5.5 SP1 (or if you don't mind betas then IE 6 beta)

Question	Submitted by Angie
I have windows 200 installed on my computer. I have been trying to install my windows 98 back in. I would like to have both windows. My scanner will not work with windows 2000, but did with my windows 98. Please help. What do I do. My computer will not let me install windows 98 back into it. Why? Thank you very much
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
Well you can install Win98 but you will have a frsh install and Win2000 will cease to function as Win98 installs overwrite the Win2000 boot information. In case you want to dual boot the system install Win98 first and then Win2000 on a separate partition. Also check with your scanner vendor for Win2k compatible drivers. It seems too bad to have to leave win2k for win98 just for scanner drivers.

Question	Submitted by Ebon
hi gang, i have outlook express 5.0 i'm trying to save all my incoming email for a single day as text files in the order received. can you help me with how to do this or a program that will? thanks
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
If there weren't too many messages I would go like follows: 1. Start Outlook express go to Inbox. 2. Start Notepad. Then Ctrl-A (select all text for current message), Ctrl-C (to copy text), Alt-Tab (to shift to Notepad) then a Ctrl-V to paste the text. Alt-Tab to go back to OE. Sounds cumbersome but you will get the hang of it. But if there are tons of mails...well I wouldn;t know.

Question	Submitted by Jon
I recently went thorough the nightmare of installing Roxio EX CD Creator Ver 5 on a system with Windows 2000. After A LOT of system problems I have uninstalled it and re-installed version 4. Everything seems to run fine, but when it gets done burning a CD all I have is a coaster. I don't get any error messages, but I have burned about a dozen coasters while trying everything I can think of. I have been to the Roxio Web site and tried everything they suggested (Patches, updated drivers, versions of .dll's). Any ideas before I completely re-install Windows?
Solution 1	Answered by Michael Kircus
Try version 5 again, there were some compatibility issues when it was released, and now they have an update: http://www.roxio.com/en/support/ecdc/ec.

Question	Submitted by Eddie
if i want to uncensor the movie....what softwares or tools i needed and how to use it? thanks you
Solution 1	Answered by Charles Putnam
Chances are that the software DVD player incorporates parental controls to lock out certain movie ratings. You'd need the password for that.

Question	Submitted by Kai
Hi. I have recently upgraded WINNT4 to WIN2K. Unfortunately, an error occurs in WIN2K generated by explorer. The message reads: "explorer.exe has generated an error...program will now be closed...a log file is being written". I would prefer to do a fresh install...but there's a lot of PCs I have to upgrade...can you help?
Solution 1	Answered by Adam Sowalsky
If you are consistently getting an error message on every machine you are upgrading to Win2k, then I would strongly suggest doing a complete reinstall. However, whenever I've gotten that message, it was never consistent--a fluke--and never amounted to any issue.

Question	Submitted by Mike
Hi - I recently upgraded to an AMD 1.2Ghz with Win2000 for CAD/CAM. The machine works great except <?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p> When I try to copy or move large files (15Mb+) from network locations to my machine. Files seem to go to my<o:p></o:p> C: partition which is Fat32with no problem, but lock up my system when trying to go to my D: - NTFS drive. <o:p></o:p> I've tried different network cards to no avail and have installed SP2 as well as the ATA-100 patch. Any ideas?? Thanx.!!
Solution 1	Answered by Adam Sowalsky
How about when you try to move a file from C to D?

Question	Submitted by Unknown
I have WMP7 and it was working fine.I installed easy CD creator ver:5 and started to have problems with my WMP7.my question is two fold: 1.WMP has a help selection with a updates option(you have to be on the web).you then get a list of sections you can download.should I?anybody know what the options are? 2.I have MS's CD of WMP7 that I can reinstall.should I uninstall first,defrag and then reinstall?? Ps. my problems are not major with the WMP7,just annoying.thank you.
Solution 1	Answered by Charles Putnam
Make sure you're using ver 7.1 of WMP. This and their "add on pack" which adds some additional skins and visualizations is about it. As to EZCD 5, having had a lot of experience w/ it, several suggestions: 1. Take Two is not fully compatable w/ Win2000, if you're running that 2. If you're running Win9x, make sure you get the 5.01 patch.

Question	Submitted by Fabrizio
Hi guys. Sorry for my english, but i'm italian! I have a BIG problem under win2000 that i cannot resolve! When i log on under Administrator account, Windows returns me an error that sounds like this "User Environment - Not enough storage is available to process this command. Windows cannot load the user's profile but has logged you on with the default profile for the system". There are at least two strange things: - i have 7 Gigabytes free on my hard disk! - i have 384 MB of RAM! My Administrator profile is 166 MB large. I created another user, with administrator privileges, and it works wonderful! It's about three months i use it and now this account profile is about 700 MB, but i don't have problems loading this profile!!! What's the hell is happening into my computer?!? I tried searching the Microsoft site, but nothing at all! I don't have viruses or something like that. Best Regards
Solution 1	Answered by Charles Putnam
Your english is fine! There are a couple of things you can do. Under c:\Documents and Settings\User Account Name\Local Settings, there are two directories - Temp and Temporary Internet Files. You can delete the contents of these to free up some space. Also, check to see how much actual hard disk space you have left. Running defrag may help also.

Question	Submitted by James
Extreme irritation: Under Windows98 1st edition, I drvspaced a 131Mb harddisk to keep vitals on. I just upgraded to WIN2000, and I don't have the original 98 install disk anymore. It seems like WIN2k doesn't support drvspace. How can I get my information back, short of dropping my drive into a 98 machine? Thanks
Solution 1	Answered by Charles Putnam
Unfortunately, that may be the only way to get it done. It sounds like your Win2000 partition is set for NTFS. The only other option might be to check the MS knowledgebase.

Question	Submitted by Paul
Hi there, I'm having an extremely difficult time trying to figure out why my wm 7 continues to freeze on any internet link that would stream either audio or video. It will start by showing connecting then just stop responding. Some files will show a file size of zero on the playlist for example when clicking on a link. My older media player works just fine when i connect to sites. This holds true for other players as well (real, qt etc) Hopefully you can point me in the right direction as I am becoming increasingly more frustrated with this program. Please note the player will play all file types off my hard drive. It just won't connect to a stream off the net. Thanks in advance
Solution 1	Answered by Charles Putnam
You didn't indicate which version of Windows you're running. I ran into the same problem w/ WinMe that was related to a couple of add on programs - namely Adobe Acrobat Reader ver 4.05 (ver 5 works fine) and RealPlayer. Uninstalling these fixed the issue. If you have several audio/video players installed (i.e. WMP, RealPlayer, QuickTime) these may be "fighting" to run the same stream.

Question	Submitted by Unknown
I have AOL 6.0 on my laptop. I am running Windows 98 SE. Occasionally when I open AOl I receive error messages. Examples( aoltray,pnetware, rnaap, among others.) What can I do to resolve this? I recently defraged my hard drive and that helped some.
Solution 1	Answered by Adam Sowalsky
You could always remove AOL--then you'll stop receiving those messages. But another way to try to diagnose this issue to is to not run any other applications (CTRL-ALT-DELETE, close all programs except systray and explorer) and then run AOL. That way you can determine what other annoying program is causing this issue.

Question	Submitted by Naim
hi can any one tell me how do i copy the entries in aut text on to a floppy disk and then on to another machine's auto text in office 2000 or office 97?
Solution 1	Answered by Adam Sowalsky
There is no easy way to do this. Autotexts, I believe, are stored in the registry (in a place I do not know) and would require exporting and importing from/to there.

Question	Submitted by Steve
Hello, I just updated Windows 2000 with SR2 and have found that my Gateway Solo 9300 now only partially shuts down, with the screen staying on and forcing me to use the power button for 5 seconds route. I'm wondering if others have noted this and if any fix is available. Gateway had not heard, and suggested removing all tray programs, which I did, to no avail. Thanks
Solution 1	Answered by Adam Sowalsky
There is an option in Windows 2000 called Quick Shutdown. Disabling that will likely resolve this issue. Apparently, SP2 has caused some sort of conflict with your hardware and/or running applications and cannot stop or terminate them quickly prior to system shutdown. Changing this option will use traditional methods to close all applications and trigger the power-down.

Question	Submitted by Steve
Hi: Can anyone tell me why I cannot see all of the other workstations that have shares on the network with the newly installed win2k machine? I can see about 75% of them. On a win98 machine I can see them all. I also have tried the "find computer" and have no luck. What can I do on the WIN2k machine to see everyone? Thanks in advance.
Solution 1	Answered by Adam Sowalsky
I've found that for some reason, the browser doesn't always work with machines having static IP addresses client side. Make sure all of the computers are pulling IPs from the DHCP server. That might do the trick.

Question	Submitted by Andrew
after following the link i followed it all very carefully and got the client computer to dial out on the host but still can not surf ics shows twom computers useing it bout the client wont surf the net any idears.
Solution 1	Answered by Adam Sowalsky
Make sure that (a) the second computer is set up to use the connection completely, both in IE settings and network settings, and (b) the connection specified in IE settings is to use the LAN. Of course, I am assuming you are using IE--if you are using Netscape then the issue might also have to do with IP addressing -- make sure that it is set to DHCP (automatic settings).

Question	Submitted by David
Hi! I recently downloaded, from the Internet the Netscape 6.0 version on my new computer with the Windows ME version. I immediately began having problems with my computer locking up. The arrow in the mouse just won't move - whether I'm in MS Word, online and even trying to get to my start menu to shut down. I called Earthlink and they advised me that 6.0 probably didn't download properly or completely and the tech support advised me to go into the add/remove program and dump and try again. I did just that and after the second attempt, I started having the same problem and so removed it again. I brought my computer guy over to see if he could find anything else he could do to get it off of my system, but he could not. As I went back into the Netscape website to get tech support (virtually impossible!!), I noticed that the 6.0 version doesn't seem to be configured to Windows ME. I called Earthlink for their help with this matter and they told me that there are probably some! "fragments" left on my system that is locking it up and that they would need to take me into the registry to remove them. Since it seems impossible to get their help, can you advise? Much appreciation!!
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
Well WinME itself is not too good and Netscape 6.0 ---Deadly mix. I suggest you run all utilities now...scandisk...defrag...regclean...

Question	Submitted by Mark
Dear AskAW -- I want to install a second HD in a Compaq Presario 5000 running Win 98SE. It supports multi-IDE devices and the controller is configured for 2 devices (Master / Slave). The original HD is set to Cable Select and the second is set to 2 HD's / Slave (it is a 10 pin Western Digital 40 GB). During the OS load, the drive is recognized and after boot Explorer can "see" the drive. When I click on it, I get the "Drive Not Ready . . " message. Western Digital Tech Support said to get a new copy of their EZ-Install, and try again -- No change. Now they are saying to make the new HD the primary drive (essentially disconnect the comm. cable for the primary) and boot to it. I'm skeptical. Ever heard of any problems / funny things to do to add a second HD to a Compaq Presario (not that doing anything on a Compaq is EVER EASY).Best Of Luck.
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
Why not set the jumper on the first drive to Master instead of Cable Select?

Question	Submitted by Francisco
Dear AskAW -- I have a small network with various computers running both Win 98SE & Win ME. The WinME computers can not seem to see the Win98SE computers through "My Network Places". I am sharing a cable connection to the Internet through a cable modem, then through a 10 / 100 switch, finally through a Win98SE computer using MS Internet Connection Sharing. I have though about upgrading to a router and getting rid of the MS ICS, but do not want to unless I have to. Thanks,
Solution 1	Answered by Adam Sowalsky
I believe that in WinME, you have to click something on the left-hand side of the screen for it to show all of the items in the Network Browser. Then you should see an icon for "Entire Network." Double clicking that, hopefully, will let you see all of your computers. Also, double check to make sure that your Win98 computers are set up as DHCP if your WinME computers are DHCP or static if WinME computers are static IP.

Question	Submitted by Rob
I am getting a DOS error 4 when running a large databse DOS program on a Windows 2000 professioal machine. How do I increase the number of handles and threads that a program can use?
Solution 1	Answered by Adam Sowalsky
Running anything designed for DOS in Win2K is asking for trouble. Since it is difficult to predict how such programs will perform in Win2K if they are not guaranteed compatible by Microsoft, I'd contact the publisher of your software and (a) ask for a Win2K update, or (b) ask how to specifically resolve your issue (they may recommend updating as well).

Question	Submitted by Ángel
hi, my name is angel. Some time ago I ask a question about scandisk for windows. I have a pentium III 800, 128 MB RAM, 20 GB hard disk. Every time I try to scandisk with the one for windows (this is start--> programs--> accesories --> system tools--> scandisk) there is a window saying "insufficient memory, close all the programs that are opened, etc.). There is no other program opened. I have setup windows 98 again and the problem goes on, I've tried with another windows 98 that works in another PC but it was the same result "insufficient memory". the technician told me it was a configuration problem but he was not able to solve it. Someone there told me to "Boot windows to safe mode. The use CTRL-ALT-DEL to shut all programs except Explorer and Systray and then run scandisk" but all the same. Even in safe mode there was an "insufficient memory" windows blocking scandisk. Does anybody know what can I do? I'm waiting for any piece of information, idea, or advise you can give me. Thanks a lot. P.S. By the way, I have no problems with scandisk for MS-DOS.
Solution 1	Answered by Adam Sowalsky
Hi Angel, It sounds to me like Windows is running in a compatibility mode. Check your computer with the most recent version of a virus scanner and double-check that himem.sys is NOT in your config.sys file and try again.

Question	Submitted by Ernie
I recently installed ICS on a 2 machine home network(Starband satellite /both ME)and it works fine until I reboot-then i get an unresponsive bluescreen.The latest has been "An exception OE has occurred at 0028:C1410D8B in VxD ICSHARE(01)+000007EB.This was called from 0028:C001B010 in VxD NDIS(01)+0000378C."-etc. I have tried some suggestions from forums,newsgroups,etc.,uninstalled Compuserve dial-up,and am trying some selective startup but I am a beginner and have had to do 2 System Restores in the past.(the trouble in both crashes started with bluescreens) The basic qeustion no one seems to answer is "Will ICS work with a satellite connection?" Any advise will be appreciated.Thanks
Solution 1	Answered by Adam Sowalsky
You may have already tried this, but the only thing I can think of is to completely remove and reinstall all network components, including DUN, Winsock, and any adapters/protocols you have installed (among others). Good luck.

Question	Submitted by Unknown
I am using multiple network and I don't want to visible in the "network neighborhood" of all other customers.caus i use local area network for internet access. when i click on network neighborhood icon there is entire network icon when i open it there is many workgroup and i don't want any other workgroup access my workgroup. To avoid this what do i do?
Solution 1	Answered by Adam Sowalsky
First, type in a unique workgroup name for yourself in the Network control panel. Then do not let yourself pull an IP off of the server -- find an available one and assign it to yourself (your computer's name). Turn off all file sharing and then configure the server to not show your computer in the network browser. These steps work in both MS and Novell networks, as you were extremely vague in identifying the type of network you have. Good luck.

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