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 10-29-2001

Question 50	Submitted by ?
can u give me a definition for operating systems
Solution 1	Answered by Michael Kircus
It's the software that runs the computers. Whether it be Windows, MacOS, Linux, it tells the hardware what to do, and provides a standard for programs developed on them.

Question 43	Submitted by ?
Hello,Here's hoping you have an answer for my two questions. First thing is when I start up my PC in the morning I receive this message , what does this mean? And second, when I try to click on an email address in text to email someone it says Could not perform this operation because default mail client is not properly installed, I have never had that problem before and how can I fix this? Thanks for your time
Solution 1	Answered by Candy Baker
Spool 32 problem, I would remove my printer unplug it disconnect it from computer. Install the software for the printer. Then shut the computer down. Hook up the printer and turn it on and start the computer. If your operating system is windows. Go to Windows Update Internet site and download the latest updates.

Question 46	Submitted by ?
My p.c. keeps freezing up and I cannot download certain files. Problem; requests use of Print Master Classic Program. Can you help?
Solution 1	Answered by Candy Baker
If you are saying this problem happens when you are using Print Master Classic Program, try reinstalling the program.

Question 60	Submitted by Marcel
Hi: I got a computer with windows 98 SE in PIII 800MHZ and i can’t put more of 512 MB of memory because windows starts but i can see the explorer, the screen i see is the black screen but when you don’t whant the loading logo. You can find and rtf docs with my system report attached Thanks
Solution 1	Answered by Eric Flemming
I've read from Microsoft and other groups that WIN98 cannot handle more than 512 meg of memory. I never heard of not seing the screen.

Question 40	Submitted by Graeme
Is there any way of saving a video file downloaded via ms mediaplayer 7? I can only find a 1k asx file in the "Temporary internet files" folder. The video runs for nearly 4 minutes I have a win2k system and mediaplayer 7 Hope you can help
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
Have you tried the obvious? From the Media Player Menu as soon as the entire file has played, do a File>Save As... Also what you can do is instead of plain clicking the link to the movie, right click and do >save Target as...

Question 39	Submitted by ?
I just meant to see how I could remove 0sector errors ? In floppies. Is there any way? Thanks for a reply
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
Track Zero bad usuallu means you throw away the floppy. There are some DOS utilities available on the net that claim to repair these but I have yet to achieve success with one. Maybe I haven't tried the right ones? Just maybe. Do a search for them at google or other search engines. One link I can add here. http://members.tripod.com/ieeecrce/innovations99/tformat/ I have not tried this one.

Question 35	Submitted by ?
What is the best way to back windows 95 on my computer prior to install windows 98?thank you
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
Win98 itself gives you an option during the setup and once it is up and running you can "uninstall" Windows 98 and go back to 95 (though who would want to? Win98SE is quite good and will continue to be on desktops for a few more years.

Question 34	Submitted by ?
Hi: I have a new IBM NetVista wireless version. Already within 3 months, I have had to send back the receiver, keyboard and mouse and get a new one. Now, in the last 2 weeks I am getting this message: WUAUCLT has caused error in WUV31S.dll. It says it is going to close but never does. If I let it go on (it comes up every 2 minutes), I get a further message that says: Explorer has caused an error in VBScript.dll. and it will close, but never does. It recommends I reboot or shut down, which I do. However, after rebooting, it is only a matter of minutes before it starts all over again. Miscrosoft says it is IBM's problem because it is an OEM and IBM says they only warranty the hardware, not the software. I am at my wit's end. Don't know where else to go to get help. Do you have any possible solutions?
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
Look at these: Looks like a WinME automatic updates feature error. I would suggest you disable aytomatic updates if these do not solve your problem. http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q266/0/65.ASP

Question 32

Submitted by ?

Dear AskAW, I've had my computer a while now, i had it custom built and now i feel its time for an upgrade. Because i'm changing from a p3 500 to a AMD T-Bird 1.4 i was told that it would be best to reformat my drive as i'm putting a new motherboard in The problem is i have no clue how to format my hardrive and reinstall win98se back onto my computer. My drive is 20GB and is partitioned into a 15mb and a 5 mb section with windows being on the c drive.Also is there any way to save the files that i want somehow before i format?

Solution 1

Answered by Mean Drake

Changing the motherboard does not mean you need to format the drive. Just change the motherboard and let Windows detect the new hardware. You maybe prompted for the drivers CD that will come with the motherboard. If the CD is not asked for specifically, you can run the driver installs from the CD as recommended by the hardware vendor. I have done this so aften without a format. Its a pain to backup your data, reinstall everything, tweak things the way they were etc.
In case you still want to format, mail me for step by step directions.

Question 31

Submitted by Nouman

Good Day Sir i have a 20GB hard disk, which is partitioned as 12 for WIN ME, i'm working on ME for a year now, AND around 4 GB with WIN XP beta version... win xp is nice and user friendly, but i want to remove win XP OS... and, XP provides me with a boot option as well.. but, XP was just a trial version for me.... i want my ME to be used again... i want to remove XP.. if i simply format my XP drive, will it affect any files or data on my PC or, is there a way how to get out of this? thanking you

Solution 1

Answered by Mean Drake

OK You can try this to work. Boot the system with your WinME startup floppy. If you do not have one make one from Control Panel. Then with the system booted up to DOS with this disk, give the command at the A prompt "sys C:" (without the inverted commas)
You will get a message saying system transferred. Then you will be able to boot only to WinME. THEN format the disk's XP partition. Make sure what format the partition is in cos if it is NTFS you won't be able to access it in WinME and will need fdisk (from startup disk again) to reclaim the disk space.

Question 29	Submitted by ?
Help I have the Nimda virus, neatly tucked in my pc health an I cannot remove it or delete it
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
Is the NIMDA virus removal tool from symantec not removing it? PC health means is it the system restore feature of WinME. Are you using WinME. Then if the Nimda virus is in the backed up files the OS will not allow you to delete these. You can however disable system restore and these files will then be deleted.

Question 27	Submitted by ?
When I go to open folders like C:Program Files:Paint shop pro 7 there are so many .DLL and .SYS files. Not only in this folder but in many other especially in my Windows folder. I have already checked off the box in Control Panel:Folder options: Hide protected operating system files(recommended) and yet still these files are visible. Is there anyway to fix this? I have searched for a long time on the net and still no one else has this problem. I have tried formatting and re-installing WinMe and yet same problem. I have even borrowed my friend's copy of Winme and tried and same problem.. Please help Thank you
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
You can see these because these are not Operating system files. They are visible on all computers. With the Option you selected, many though not all files of the Windows folder become invisible to you. What you can see are not critical files though they are not to be messed with.

Question 26	Submitted by Neil
Have had this problem for a while now but have never managed to fix it. The problem is that when Windows has loaded a window appears with a C:\Windows\System\SHDOCLC.DLL\dnserror.htm (see copy of screen in attachment). I have to close the window each time Windows is loaded. I can still connect to the Internet no problem. I use Windows98 SE and have AOL installed and another ISP I use sometimes. I use IE5 as my web browser. I have heard that the problem may lie in the registry keys but I am not sure. Could you advise please Thanks
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
1. See what items are there on your Start Menu>Programs>Start Up. 2. Use Msconfig to see what are all programs that startup with Windows. Disable one at a time to see who the offender is. Get back to me.

Question 25	Submitted by Harry
I was late in updating to SP2 in Norton 2001.The price was Nimda infecting about 18 files which I deleted.I am using ME and Explorer 5.5.I cannot get SP2 to install and also have the following... LOAD.EXE Windows cannot access specified device path or file.You may not have appropriate permissions to access item...on startup.Computer seems to work Ok but wont send Email and hope this LOAD .EXE thing which still exists on computer dont give you guys a hard time. I apologize if it does.Appreciate the help
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
Read this page for more info http://www.kav.ch/avpve/worms/email/nimda.stm However Run The NIMDA removal tool from the Symantec site. It does a thorough job of even cleaning the registry and ini files.

Question 24	Submitted by Judi
I have a problem with my computer, and not sure who to contact or how to fix it, when it starts it comes up with corrupt file in Config System on line 10, could you please tell me where I go to find Config System and how to fix this. I am hoping it has something to do with sound because the sound seems to have gone off here!! I live in a small country town miles from a Main Centre, and have managed to fix most things myself but this one has me beat!! I run Windows 98. Yours sincerely
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
I take it you mean the config.sys file? You can open it in notepad and see. You can attept to solve the problem here. Also you can try one thing. Rename the autoexec.bat and the config.sys to autoexec.old and config.old and just run a windows setup (dirty reinstall) over the existing install.

Question 14	Submitted by John
To ActiveWin, I was just wondering if you guys could help me out on my system's problem. I have a WinME as my platform and I'm trying to defragment my system and data files. But whenever I start out defragmenting my local drive (C:) a window will pop-up and it would tell me to scan-disk my drive thoroughly. Actually I've done this like alot of times already but the problem is whenever it reaches almost the end part of the scanning my system will just freeze. What do you think should i do with this kind of problem? I've tried surfing through alot of websites to get some information and found some then tried it but still won't make any difference. Respectfully Yours
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
Do a scan disk in Safe mode and even there use CTRL-ALT-DEL to shut down everything except Explorer and systray.

Question 11	Submitted by ?
I saw the tips on how to show all the system files(even the ones that are hidden by the system...) at activewin.com, and i thought that would be really handy cause ive got a dead-trojan on my computer(it dosent do anything anyway but its good to get rid of them) that is in the _restore folder that i cant delete, so i was wondering if deleting all the folders and everything in the folder would be reasonable and if Windows ME would still work right if i did do that, ive checked everywhere and scanned with everything that i could find and nothing either picked it up cough norton or they couldnt delete it because it was in the _restore folder, i checked on the Microsoft page and they said to turn off the restore feature then delete the infected file, ive tried that but the scanner still picks it up(the one that works but cant delete it) and its getting really annoying knowing that its on my computer. Oh and one other thing about problems with ME... would you happen to know how to fix a disk drive problem? basically what its doing is every time i access something(right click, copy, cut, stuff like that) i hear my disc drive being accessed... from what im guessing it may be a problem in the BIOS but im not sure, its a pretty old drive too but im not sure if thats got anything to do with it(from an old Dell computer i had 3 years ago) Ive also got a Zip disc, and my other thought was that i may have the slave/master settings reversed but then again im not sure. Any help would be appreciated in either of these matters, oh and nice site design/layout :) Some people have a way with words, while others ... erm ... thingy.
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
You got the corect advice. Disable the system restore and then delete the files from the restore folders. The one you probably cannot delete is in the windows folder. Boot your system with the WinME boot up floppy disk. and delete it from DOS. Also ewmovw the registry keys that start the trojan.

Question 5	Submitted by ?
Hi! I cannot find out where to enable cookies at and I was wondering if you could help me out. Thank you So very much.
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
Internet Explorer>Tools>Internet Options.

Question 2	Submitted by Rhonda
Hi hope u can help me,, I have WINDOWS 98 . Some one has changed our setting and the settings screen ,is too large for our monitor.I can go to START,CONTROL PANEL,DISPLAY,and SETTING. The SCREEN AREA is set at LESS,and I can change it to MORE but I cant click on the settings (apply ,ok, agree ,cancel) . Is there any other way to change it.Hoping u can help me please. Thanking u
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
See if the correct drivers are installed for your display adapter and your Monitor.

Question 12	Submitted by ?
How do I use the Windows DVD Player?
Solution 1	Answered by Mean Drake
You need a decoder and a DVD drive. Check with your manufacturer to see if the include one.

Question 38	Submitted by ?
I am running an Athlon 800mhz, with Windows ME, on certain webpages, like Forums, while trying to read posts, sometimes the computer screen will just go black, and lock up my system, or it will completely restart my computer. I know it isnt an overheating problem, I have checked my system and it is fine, I can stay on this page all day or leave it on or run games and it won't lock up or cut off, I have checked for viruses, none. And I asked someone on the forum about the problem and they had the same problem. Any insight as to what it may be? Thanks!
Solution 1	Answered by Candy Baker
When you computer freezes or you see the hourglass, you need to run a thorough scan disk and disk defragmenter. You can use ScanDisk to check your hard disk for logical and physical errors. ScanDisk can then repair the damaged areas. When you reboot, windows will do a standard scan disk but you need to do a thorough one and read the report and the end. Go to Start Programs, Accessories to System Tools, and then clicking Disk Defragmenter. To change the Disk Defragmenter settings, click Settings. While your disk is being defragmented, you can use your computer for other tasks. However, your computer operates more slowly, and Disk Defragmenter takes longer to finish. To temporarily stop Disk Defragmenter so you can run other programs faster, click Pause. During defragmentation, Disk Defragmenter must restart each time other programs write to the disk. If Disk Defragmenter restarts too often, you may want to close other programs while defragmenting your disk. Expecially, please shut off you Anti-virus program and your Screen Saver. Good luck.

Question 33	Submitted by Ron
In order to attach to my company's VPN, from home, I needed to install the Critical Updates for Win 98 SE. After installing the updates I discovered that my IE 5.5 will no longer connect to any web sites. I can ping any site or IP with full success, but I cannot attach to those sites via IE 5.5. What's up with this and how do I correct it?
Solution 1	Answered by Candy Baker
IGo to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Internet Options, open it up and go to the last Tab [Advanced] click restore defaults. Shutdown and restart your computer.

Question 1	Submitted by ?
i ve been trying to install a VESA driver so i can use MUGEN on my comp but i cant figure out how to install it from the Command Line i have Win2k and my video card is a ATI 3d Rage Pro AGP 2X 8mb and i cant seem to install it. can you tell me how to install it or give me a compatible one i can download? thanks for you time
Solution 1	Answered by Candy Baker
To Install Hardware go the Control Panel and then Add/Remove Hardware. For software the next Icon is Add/Remove Program and install software with that Icon.

Question 18	Submitted by ?
A few months ago we bought a Compaq Reliant ML370 server with a single processor. This week we added the second processor. The server recognizes the second CPU but Windows 2000 does not. How do we get Win 2K to see the second CPU
.Solution 1	Answered by Andrew Funderburk
You're going to have to update the HAL with the mulitprocessor version. One way to do this is to reformat the hard drive and reinstall Win2k. I've also heard that you can just replace the current HAL.DLL with the multiprocessor one.

Question 21	Submitted by ?
I can't seem to map from my win98se to a drive on winxp system. i enabled netbios, ipx, enabled sharing on winxp system, but when i try to map, the win98se system asks for a password, i tried entering the password that i use for winxp and it can't work. is there any way i can map from win98se to winxp ?
Solution 1	Answered by Andrew Funderburk
Try setting the password for the 'Guest' account to null. In other words, set it for a blank password. See if that works. It's worked on the LAN here at my house.

Question 37	Submitted by Steve
is there a site where i can download win 95 setup our ancient office machine crashed and won't start up windows we have a boot disk; the screen will say starting windows 95; then jump to an a prompt thanks for any help great site
Solution 1	Answered by Candy Baker
Go the Windows 95 Upgrade site and see if they have what you are looking for: http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/

Question 23	Submitted by ?
To whom it may concern, I am running Windows 2000 professional. I am dissatisfied with my midi playback in some games. I researched this and found that DirectX is using Microsoft Synthesizer as its default port. The port used by default in Win98, and Win ME was my A: SB Live! midi port. I was wondering if there was a way to change the default DirectMusic port that you knew, or knew of any possible resources to check for an answer. Thank you for your time.
Solution 1	Answered by Candy Baker
You didn't mention the kind of sound card you are using but you can download the latest Creative SoundBlaster drivers http://www.soundblaster.com/drivers/. Also, the latest Direct X for Games http://www.game-revolution.com/download/utilities/directx.htm

Question 6	Submitted by Neil
Hello, Hopefully I can be a little cheeky and ask two questions.... Firstly I have a curious problem that is annoying more than anything. I have windows 98 with multiple users and recently added a new cd-rw drive. The drive is accessable through literally typing in e: in the explorer bar or dos but doesn't appear in My Computer or the drive list of explorer (or any save/load action of any application). Oddly though I looked at the My computer of all the other users and there it is plain as day! I'm assuming my profile/registry contains something saying don't show it but I don't know where that is!! Secondly I am prone to the following: This program has caused an illegal operation (blah blah) contact the program vendor. EXPLORER caused an invalid page fault in module KRNL386.EXE at 0002:00007a1c. This will result in all the stuff running in my task bar dying (along with any windows explorer windows - although they are accessable again after). It happens consistantly when I start a dos prompt and then at various (seemingly) random times. Any help you can give me on either or both of these will be greatfully recieved. Keep up the good work for dummies like me Thanks
Solution 1	Answered by Candy Baker
Since installed the CDR, have you gone to System Tools and done the cleaning up of your hard drive? Next I would suggest installing Windows, right into where you have it now.

Question 16	Submitted by ?
In windows XP everytime i shutdown while connected to the internet it asks me if i want to stay connected. this makes it impossible to set my computer to shutdown at a specific time. it just sits there waiting for me to click yes or no. how do i get rid of this.. help!
Solution 1	Answered by Eric Flemming
Hi. There should be a check box in the dialog box asking whether you want this message to appear again. Checking no should eliminate this from happenning

Question 17	Submitted by ?
I would like to know how can ı hide the modem status screen at the bottom right hand side of my computer when ı make internet connection. I have tried from my connection-configure-options-dissellect the display modem status box. But nothing chanced. Thanks
Solution 1	Answered by Eric Flemming
If you are using WIN2K, right-click the modem status icon, select status, select properties and then uncheck the check box to show modem icon in taskbar when connected.

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