WINDOWS 98 TIPS FOR PORTABLE COMPUTERS

11-22-1999
Ojatex

Ojatex's Laptop98 Tips pages:

http://web.archive.org/web/20060208215946/http://members.aol.com/ojatex/98tip.htm
Ojatex's Laptop98 Tips in PDF format (freeware):
http://web.archive.org/web/20000903220951/http://members.aol.com/ojatex/98tip.zip
Ojatex's Laptop + Laptop98 Tips in PDF format (freeware):
http://web.archive.org/web/20060207071446/http://members.aol.com/ojatex/lappdf.zip
You need a PDF reader (free) to view PDF files:
http://www.mdgx.com/nettoys.htm#PDF
Ojatex's Laptop98 Tips in RTF format (freeware):
http://web.archive.org/web/20070125162455/http://members.aol.com/ojatex/lap98rtf.zi
p
Ojatex's Complete Laptop, Laptop98, Laptop2000 + LaptopME Tips in Windows HELP
format (freeware):
http://web.archive.org/web/20070113205603/http://members.aol.com/ojatex/LapHlp.zip

NOTE: These tips are designed to optimize laptops performance when running
Windows 98/98 SE as the Operating System. Many of them are additions or
revisions to the main body of Laptop Tips at
http://web.archive.org/web/20060816170316/http://members.aol.com/ojatex/laptop.htm
Take account of changes from prior versions of Windows 3.xx/95 to Windows 98
and 98 SE.

A. PORTABLE DRIVE POWER: If you use a portable drive[s], Win98 has added a
new feature that will speed-up that drive noticeably. This new feature is not
the default setting, so it is necessary to select it. From SYSTEM PROPERTIES
[accessed by right clicking on the My Computer Icon and choosing Properties
from the Drop Down Menu], select the Performance Tab and then File System
under Advanced settings. From the FILE SYSTEM PROPERTIES box, choose the
Removable Disk tab. Place a check mark next to the option "Enable
write-behind caching on all removable disk drives." If you regularly use a
portable drive to run programs, keep large clip-art directories or store/use
folders with many files, the speed-up in these drives can be quite dramatic.

B. SHIFT NO MORE: A common speed-up when restarting your computer was to hold
down the Shift key when performing a reboot in Windows 95. This may not work
on your system using Windows 98. In fact it can be down-right hazardous,
causing freeze-ups and write protection errors.

C. REJUVENATE THE CACHE: The CACHE [deposited in the "Temporary Internet

Files" folder] may appear to have lost the easy functionality of use that it
had with Win95/IE4.x. When you try to open a cached file, a Security Alert
may appear that "Running a system command on this item may be unsafe. Do you
wish to continue?" You can ignore the Security Alert and read the file, but
this gets annoying everytime you open a cached file. You could also set your
Internet Security settings to Low and avoid the Alert, but this may have
undesirable consequences if you do no reset your security settings before
going online. To get the best results with a Medium security setting, it is
necessary to enable the cache as follows:
 1. Open IE, select Internet Options from VIEW on the Menu Bar.

2. Select the Security Tab, then choose the "Custom [for expert users]"
option.

3. In the Security Settings box, with "Medium" showing in the "Reset to"
option, scroll down to "Launching applications and files in an IFRAME".

4. Choose "enable" and close all boxes.

Your Cache is now readable without Security Alerts with an added ease of use
vis a vis Win95/IE4.x. With IE4.x integrated into Win98, the "Work Offline"
option has been added to FILE on the Menu Bar. So when you are ready to open
Cache files, select "Work Offline". You will no longer have to open the file
first and click off various notices to get to the "work offline" option.

D. LOST YOUR DLLS?: After installing Windows98, you may have lost the
functionality of certain programs/peripherals, most commonly scanners.
Windows98 over-writes certain "dll" files that you were using with OLDER dll
files; the replacement dlls won't work with your existing programs/
peripherals. But you can get your dll files back; Win98 has tucked them away
in a program called "Version Conflict Manager". To get to the VCM:

1. From the Start Menu, select Programs/Accessories/System Tools/

System Information.

2. From the "Microsoft System Information" window, select TOOLS from the
Menu Bar and choose "Version Conflict Manager".

3. A list of over-written files listing names and version numbers will

appear. Select the one[s] you need for restoration.

E. MAIL WENT LIVE: If you use AOL and OUTLOOK EXPRESS, it is no longer
necessary to open Internet Explorer separately to use a link in mail received
via OE. With the integration of IE into Windows98, the links are now alive.

F. BMPS GONE FLAT?: If you are used to having your bmp files show as
thumbnails in Windows Explorer, Win98 may have wiped out this feature and
replaced the thumbnail with a generic Paint program icon. You may have
forgotten how to make the "icon" tweak. Head for the Registry [Regedit.exe in
your Windows folder] to restore the icon view of BMP files. [Back-up your
Registry first if you have any qualms about making changes]. Go to:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Paint.Picture\DefaultIcon. In the right hand pane, click on
[Default] and change the "Value Data" to %1. Close the box and Registry. Your
bmp pictures are now icons again.

G. HI-JACKED NOTEPAD: If you had a favourite replacement for Win95's Notepad

and had renamed your replacement program "Notepad.exe", then your favourite
has probably been over-written by Win98's Notepad program. Hunt down your old
favourite if you have a back-up, and re-install it into your Windows folder.
You can rename the Win98 version "Notepad0.exe" before re-installation if you
don't want to replace it.

H. FIX PATH ERRORS: Before installing Win98, you may have had to move
programs off the hard-drive to a portable drive in order to make room for the
installation. You probably got a "This may impact one or more registered
programs" notice when the move was made. But you needed the room for Win98
setup so went ahead anyway. This can cause path errors to programs/folders/
files in your Registry and unexpected problems may occur. Back-up your
Registry first, then open Regedit.exe. Look for path errors by using the
"exe" name of your moved programs with the FIND/FIND NEXT functions from EDIT
on the Menu Bar. When you find a program listed in the Registry that you have
moved, change the Drive Letter to the actual location of the program just
like you would when re-targeting a shortcut. Be sure to do a complete
Registry search with each mis-pathed program; don't stop after a single
successful FIND. There may be multiple path errors in the Registry for the
same program. Also, if you use "mlaunch.dll" [which allows you to open a
particular file extension with the program(s) of your choice from the right-
click drop-down context menu or from FILE on the Menu Bar in Windows
Explorer], you may need to delete some of the existing entries and re-do them
to the new paths.

I. POWER MANAGEMENT WOES: The WIN98 CD has a Power Management Trouble Shooter
[in the Tools/Mtsutil/Pmtshoot folder] which helps resolve conflicts that
many portable computers have experienced with Windows 98 when trying to use
the "Standby" Mode. However, for many users, ths trouble shooter fails to
resolve the problems they are having with the various power modes on their
equipment. Microsoft has issued a new program to fix these conflicts. It can
be downloaded directly from Microsoft:
http://download.microsoft.com/download/win98se/utility/1/w98/EN-US/pmtshoot.exe

J. LEAN & MEAN: With WIN 98 and the latest IE browser [#5] plus a handful of
IE addons, your system resources can drain fast. So don't start in a hole.
Boot up to the maximum available resources that you can live with. Scour your
Start-up [Start/Programs], Msconfig [C:\windows\System] and Registry entries
[In Run and RunServices {both HKCU and HKLM}
Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion Keys] that grab resources just on
bootup. Even though "SysTray" is conventionally loaded, it can be dumped with
no harm. You can always put shortcuts to items you might need later on your
Start Menu or Desktop.

K. INTERNET OPTION CHANGES: If you change Internet Option settings often,

instead of opening the browser to do so, put a shortcut on the Desktop for
fast access. To make a shortcut, open Control Panel, right click on Internet
Options, choose "Create Shortcut". It will be placed on your Desktop.

L. ROCKY ROAD TO UPGRADES: If you are planning on upgrading to IE5.X, just

getting and installing the necessary files can be a major issue. [The version
on a CD is often replaced or patched before your order is received.] The
latest IE5.X version and other MS updates are often found on "Windows Update"
at
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
But this Microsoft Website can prove unworkable for many reasons.
[For an excellent source for solving Windows Update site problems, go to
"Windows Update Trouble-Shooter" at
http://www.helpwithwindows.com/techfiles/winup-errors.html
If you upgraded to IE5.X, don't toss out the saved IE4.x backup [that is made
automatically] or the IE5.X installation files if possible. You may need them
again. If these files are eating up too much space on your hard-drive, move
them to portable disk in a "mirrored" location from where they came. Thus if
you have to move them back to the hard-drive for later use, their original
location will be obvious.

M. NO PAGE, NO PIX, NO JAVASCRIPT: The most common problems after installing

IE5.X are that instead of webpages you get page missing notices, instead of
pictures you get red Xs, and instead of script functionalily you get
Javascript error messages. Sometimes a "refresh" will bring up the webpage
successfully, but often there is a common cure for all these problems:
Adjust the hardware acceleration lower in Display Properties. Go to Display
[Control Panel], select Settings Tab, Advanced Button, Perfomance Tab. Move
slider to the left to "None". If your problems clear up, you can
incrementally move the slider back to the right until similar problems
appear.

N. IE WON'T WAKE UP: If you get the IE error message that a webpage can't be
found especially after coming out of standby/sleep/hibernate mode and a
refresh doesn't help, a reboot is often the solution. Close running apps
first, then restart. For AOLers who were browsing under the AOL shell, in
some cases a reboot can be avoided by opening IE [or Netscape] as a
standalone browser and accessing the same webpage.

O. JPG AND GIF - NOT EITHER/OR: The two most common graphic types found on
web pages are "JPGs" and "GIFs". Installing IE5.X often alters the file type
association of one or both of these file types. If you open a webpage whether
online or offline, that has both jpgs and gifs you may see only one type and
get red Xs where the other should be. The usual solution is to change the
association through accessing View/folder options on Windows Explorer's Menu
Bar, selecting the "File Types" tab, scroll to the file extension of choice
and edit the associated extension attributes. But, for some users this
doesn't work or just isn't done properly. The Registry is where to check that
your changes are correct and are "sticking". If you find that the Registry
entry doesn't reflect the change you wanted, make a change in the Registry
ONLY after backing up the Key that you are going to change. If the "GIFs"
aren't showing up on webpages, go to ".gif" [no quotes] in the Registry. It
is found at HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.gif. In the right pane, the [Default] string
should show the Data as the program that is associated with gif files. The
Content Type should show the Data as "image/gif". Likewise for missing "JPGs
or JPEGs", go to ".jpg" and ".jpeg" [no quotes for either] in the Registry at
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.jpg and HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.jpeg. In the right pane, the
[Default] string should show the Data as the program that is associated with
jpg/jpeg files. The Content Type should show the Data as "image/jpeg".

P. DON'T BE THE LAST TO KNOW: The debut of IE5.X was widely heralded on the
net, but the issue of a complete new version, fixes and security patches
seemed to be almost a secret. You can subscribe by email to "Microsoft
Security Bulletins at
http://technet.microsoft.com/security/dd252948/
for information about new security patches. To find the latest updates see
"Windows Update" at
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
and select Product Updates. But be advised, what Microsoft deems as a
"critical" or "recommended" update is from their point of view, NOT yours.
Even though it takes extra time and even though it may have been a small
"victory" just getting to the "Product Update" site, ALWAYS read the
description of each item carefully to determine what it does and how it gets
on your system. Use your own judgement; don't automatically default to that
of others.

Q. JUST SAY NO: Microsoft has a "Critical Update Notification Feature" - it's
found on the Windows Update site mentioned above. BUT this service scans your
system without notification at times when you go online to determine whether
Microsoft thinks your system should be updated; before subscribing, READ the
description of Critical Update Notification at
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
What you see may not be to your personal liking.
R. AOL FAVORITES IN IE TOO: Websites that were accessed from AOL Favorite
Places under the AOL shell can be added to IEs Favorite Places by opening the
pages from the History or Temporary Internet Files folders. After opening the
pages in IE [offline], select "Add to Favorites" from Favorites on the Menu
Bar.

S. REPAIR TOOL - WHERE FOOL?: Internet Explorer 5 [and Outlook Express 5] have
a "Repair Tool" [for Win95/98/NT], but finding it is far from intuitive.
Even the HELP file is mute on the subject. To find the "Repair Tool", open
Control Panel, click on Add/Remove Programs, highlight IE5 and select the
Add/Remove Button as if you were going to uninstall IE5. There should be an
option to repair IE5. See the KB article "Internet Explorer 5 Repair Tool" at
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/194177
for details and for a work-around if the Repair option isn't visible. The
Repair Tool is a new feature; it often fails to work properly, work at all or
only works after the program is removed and reinstalled. But you might get
lucky.

T. RIGHT CLICK WAIT: With WIN98/98SE and IE5, many users experience
noticeable slow down when right clicking in certain areas:

1. Right Clicks on blank screen areas and selecting NEW from the drop down
menu cause a delay in bringing up the New list. Some speed can be regained
by reducing the number of items in this list. [Uncheck seldom used items
from Control Panel/TweakUI, then select the New Tab]. Alternatively, select
a Desktop or Start Menu shortcut to the application itself to create a new
file.

2. When running Internet Explorer #5, the Right Click context menu is slow
to appear. One minor speedup: Don't wait for the Menu to appear if you know
the Keyboard Letter such as B for Back. Just Right Click and hit the B Key.
Or many of the Right Click choices are also available on the Menu and
customizable Tool Bars which don't exhibit similar delays. As this Right
Click problem is within IE5 and not your system, the ultimate solution is
to use Netscape or another browser that is not built on the IE5 shell.

U. RECLAIM RESOURCES: Many users complain that their systems become sluggish,
resources are drained and browsing slows down noticeably with WIN98 and IE5.
Put a little pep in your step:

1. Do a Ctrl+Alt+Del to close any open apps you are not using.

2. Clear History folder.

3. Clear the Cache. Note: If there are some pages you would like to reread
from the TIF while offline, delete all the gifs, jpgs and other files. One
method: Do a Ctrl+A in the TIF folder to select all files. Then while
holding the Ctrl key, select the pages [htms, htmls, shtmls] that you want
to reread/save. Now Delete all the remaining [blued] items. (*) = See NOTE
below.

4. If you use Outlook Express for email, keep the Inbox empty after reading
items. If you want to save read mail, create another folder and move read
mail there. Empty the Deleted Folder and compact all mail folders
regularly. Try out different free POP email servers testing for speed,
reliablity and the absence of SPAM. Get a free email notification program,
such as Magic Mail at
http://mmm3.sourceforge.net/
which notifies you when new mail arrives without having to run Outlook
 Express.

5. If you use Outlook Express for newsgroups, do the "Maintenance" chores

[compacting, deleting messages and deleting headers] often. Change the
default download of messages from 300 to 50 or 100. If you are using OE5,
delete the "folder.dbx" file in Windows Explorer when it reaches several
megabytes. You will have to redownload the newsgroup list unless you know
the newsgroup name; you can fast add a newsgroup without the newsgroup list
as follows: type in the name of the newsgroup preceded by the word "news:"
[no quotes] in the Start/Run menu or the browser's Address Bar.

6. Because the database of email and newsgroups can grow quite large,
consider maintaining your Outlook Express email and newsgroup folders on a
portable disk rather than the hard-drive. You can move all existing folders
to a portable disk in a mirrored location. [A mirrored location is the
exact same folder structure as found on the hard-drive. The only difference
is the Drive Letter.] After moving the folders, change the Drive Letter
under the Registry Key: "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Identities\{GUID #}\Software\
Microsoft\Outlook Express\5.0" in the String: "Store Root".

7. Avoid using the Browser and/or Outlook Express when a faster substitute
is available. Some ISPs, such as AOL, have native email, newsreader and FTP
functions, that don't require opening additional programs and don't create
large databases on your system.

(*) NOTE: If you want to permanently save a file in the Temporary Internet
Files folder, drag it out onto the Desktop before clearing the TIF. If you
want to preserve the original location, before dragging the file out, right
click on the file, select Properties and copy the address with a right click
on the URL. Open the file on the Desktop in a text editor such as Notepad and
paste the URL somewhere near the top of the webpage. If you know a bit of
HTML, paste the URL as a live link.

V. POWER MANAGEMENT - 3 STRIKES?: A third Power Management Troubleshooter has

been issued with the WIN98SE release which is designed to locate the problems
which prevent a system from entering the standby [suspend] mode. [On the
WIN98 CD, look in "tools/mtsutil/pmtshoot" folder.] Running the
Troubleshooter is supposed to display conflicting devices/files in red which
are preventing successful standby mode; be prepared to see no red and still
not enter the standby mode. In some cases, it may be possible to enter
standby mode, but the only way out is a cold boot down. In regard to the
"Hibernate" mode [a deeper suspend where open data is written to disk], many
older systems and some newer ones, will lose this mode when moving from WIN95
to WIN98.

W. TOO MUCH HELP?: Windows 98 uses the "webpage" analogy for Help files
[Compiled Help files with the "chm" extension]; when you open a particular
Help file for the first time, the "index" file is generated ["chw" extension].
After using Windows 98 for a while, use of the HELP files often diminishes;
some of the information therein is obsolete; in addition, the size of the
Windows\Help folder may well exceed 10 megabytes. Eliminating the "chw" files
can save a few megabytes of space, but subsequent use of the Help file will
generate a new "chw" file. There are some ways you can manipulate this large
set of files, depending on how often you use them, how your system is
configured and how needful you are of free hard drive space. Short of deleting
the contents of the Help folder here are three alternatives:

1 - Zip up all the files in the Help folder. Since there are many files in the
Help folder, make several zip files breaking up the contents of the Help
folder into several smaller zip files. This will make it easier to find and
use a particular help subject after compressing. Zipping will reduce the size
of the Help folder to about 60% of its original size.

2 - For maximum space savings, move the zipped Help files to a portable drive,
if available. Use a path that mirrors the original location: "E:\Windows\Help"
if "E" is the letter of the portable drive.

NOTE #1: To use the zipped files regardless of their locale, you can either
unzip them to the original location OR read them [from the relevant "chm"
file] directly from the zip file. In the direct read case, the "chw" file will
be re-created. To avoid re-creation, extract the "chw" file to its original
location; then delete after use.

NOTE #2: If you have trouble running a Help file whether from a zip file, from
a portable drive or even the original hard drive location, there may be
corruption in the ".chw" [index] file. Re-name the suspect ".chw" file with
another extension [such as ".old"], then run the help file again in order to
create a new ".chw" file.

3 - Zipping the Help files presents one problem: anytime the Help function is
accessed an error message is returned that the file is not found. To avoid the
"not found" problem, the Help files can be moved [i.e. cut/paste] en masse and
uncompressed to a portable disk as long as their new physical locale is
repathed in the Registry. [Back up the Registry first, unless you are an
accompolished "repather".]

a. Open "regedit.exe", select "Edit" on the Menu Bar, then select "Find".

b. In the Find box, type in the path [without quotes]: "C:\Windows\Help" [or
the path on your system that leads to the Help files].

c. When the Find function locates a matching item, change the drive letter.
Continue through the entire Registry [using Find Next].

d. There are two Registry Keys where strings can be created to keep the "not
found" problem to a minimum. To make these string additions easy to create,
first open the newly located Help folder, select "View" then "Arrange
Icons/By Type" on the Menu Bar. The two types of files of interest are the
".hlp" and the ".chm" files. You can take screen-shots of the list of "hlp"
and "chm" files, then print them OR leave the Help folder open as you add
Registry Strings.[Reminder: At this point, backing up the Registry is
advisable just in case you inadvertently start adding strings in the wrong
place.] Now, from Start/Run, type "regedit".

IN THE REGISTRY

Key#1 - Go to Registy Key: "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Help". In the

right hand pane, there will probably be several strings already referring
to the path of some ".hlp" files. Referring to your list of "hlp" files,
add strings to at least the major ".hlp" files [such as windows.hlp,
winhlp.hlp, iexplore.hlp, htmhlp98.hlp, regedit.hlp] and for the
applications you use quite frequently such as MSPaint and Clipboard.

Strings are added as follows:

(1) Right Click on the Right Pane of the Registry.

(2) Select "New/String Value"

 (3) Type in the name of the String which will be an EXACT match of the
".hlp" file name, such as "mspaint.hlp" [no quotes].

(4) Open the newly created String to edit [add] a value; in the "Value
Data" box, type in the path to the ".hlp" file as follows [no quotes]:
"E:\Windows\Help", select the OK button to close the box. [If you want
to add strings for several/all of the ".hlp" files, copy the words {no
quotes}: "E:\Windows\Help" in order to paste it into each new Value
Data box.]

Key#2 - Go to Registy Key: "HKLM\Software\Microsoft\Windows\HTML Help".

In the right hand pane, there will probably be several strings already
referring to the path of some ".chm" files. Referring to your list of
"chm" files, add strings to at least the major ".chm" files [such as
windows.chm, Tshoot98.chm, iexplore.chm, htmhlp98.chm, regedit.chm] and
for the applications you use frequently. Proceed adding new Strings just
as in Key#1 above substituting EXACT ".chm" [instead of ".hlp"] file
names. The "Value Data" is the same as above, i.e., "E:\Windows\Help" [no
quotes]. Exit the Registry.

e. Before using the Help function, send the relevant ".chw" file to
"C:\Windows\Help" to avoid time-consuming re-creation; then delete the
".chw" file on the hard drive after use. If a ".chw" file is not currently
available, save the newly created one by sending it the portable drive Help
folder. For maximum space savings, always keep the hard drive Help folder
empty after using the help function. To easily manipulate ".chw" files,
create shortcuts to both the hard drive and portable drive Help folders in
the "C:\Windows\SendTo" folder.

X. TROUBLESHOOTER TIPS: The Windows Troubleshooter is part of the Windows

Help function that helps the user solve problems within their system. Many
topics are covered such as Drivespace, Modems, PC Cards, Memory, MS-DOS, DUN,
and Sound.

1- The Microsoft website has a similar Troubleshooter which may have updated
information compared to your offline version. The online version is at:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/windows/tshoot/

2- Of course, if your problem IS that you can't get online, your offline
version may render a solution. For direct access to the offline
Troubleshooter, place a shortcut in the Start Menu or Desktop to the file
"Tshoot98.chm".

3- On some systems, it has been found that the Troubleshooter does not work
properly. Here are a few things you can try:

a- Re-Index the "Tshoot98.chm" file by renaming the "Tshoot98.chw" file to

"Tshoot98.old". Then rerun "Tshoot98.chm".

b- Using "System File Checker", extract a new copy of "Tshoot.ocx" from

your Windows 98/98SE CD. {From Start/Run, type "sfc" [no quotes], select
"Extract one file . . .", type in "Tshoot.ocx" [no quotes], fill-in the
paths to your Win98 CD and Windows Help folder}.

c- Your Registry may lack the Code Base entries that run the
Troubleshooter. This can be caused by using Microsoft's RegClean utility:
ftp://ftp.swcp.com/pub/pc/win95/regclean.exe
that may have removed the needed entries. If you have used RegClean and
 saved the "Undo.reg" file, open the "Undo.reg" file with a Text Editor
[e.g. Notepad] or "Quick View". Look for references to "Tshoot" and, in
particular, the value "4B106874-DD36-11D0-8B44-00A024DD9EFF". If you find
references to these items, merge the "undo.reg" entry into your Registry
only AFTER backing up your current Registry first. Reboot and try your
Troubleshooter again.

d- If your Troubleshooter is still broken, you can construct a "homemade"

one from the Windows Help files:

(1) Go to the Windows Help folder, open the file for your particular
problem that contains the words "*_result.htm" [such as
"drvspace_result.htm" if your problem is with a compressed drive].
Determine which item in the list refers to the particular problem you
are having. At this point you can try checking that item and selecting
"Next", but if the Troubleshooter still fails go to the next step
below.

(2) Copy then paste the relevant ".tsc" file [if you are
troubleshooting Drivespace, then copy and paste "drvspace.tsc"].
Rename the pasted file, "Copy of *.tsc" to "*tsc.htm" [to continue the
drivespace example, rename "Copy of drvspace.tsc" to
"drvspacetsc.htm".
Do not rename the copy to "drvspace.htm" because there already is a
file of that name].

(3) Open the new "*tsc.htm" file in your browser; scroll down until
you find the suggested solutions to the problems your system is
experiencing. The "*tsc.htm" file will not have the standard
appearance of the Troubleshooter, but it does contain the same
suggestions and information.

Y. LOST YOUR SOCKS?: Installing new programs or files can sometimes result in
the inability to access the Internet. Trying different browsers or ISPs is of
no avail; even trying to access a POP mail server with a mail program returns
a socket error. Before going through the major trouble of reinstalling the O/S
[with all the subsequent patches and service packs], there are a few simpler
procedures that can be tried. After each item below is tried in turn, reboot,
then try to access the Internet.

1- Uninstall [preferably via the Control Panel] or delete recent

installations of programs/files that immediately preceded the inability to
access the Internet if these installs have an effect on web access. Also
consider 'undoing' the results of a Registry or File Cleaner utility if used
recently. This usually can be accomplished by running/restoring the backup.

2- In the Control Panel, open 'Network' [Configuration Tab]; select each

item to make a note of its properties, provider, and type [e.g. client,
adapter, service, protocol]. Delete each item, then reinstall each item with
the same characteristics as the deleted item.

3- Obtain a new copy of the winsock file for your O/S from the CD; check the
Windows/System folder for the exact name of the winsock file; it is often
'wsock32/dll'. From Start/Run, enter "SFC" [no quotes]. In the System File
Checker dialogue box, select "Extract one file from installation disk";
enter the file's name such as "wsock32.dll" [no quotes]. Target the
extracted file to the Windows/System folder.

4- Restore the Registry from the copy that was made just prior to the
 inability to access the Internet. To find the exact date of each Registry
backup, go to the "Windows/Sysbckup" folder; open each "rb00*.cab" file to
determine the time/day the backup was automatically created. Reboot to
restart in "MS-DOS" mode. At the DOS prompt, enter "scanreg /restore" [no
quotes]. Select the backup that most closely precedes the time when Internet
access failed.

Z. MISMATCHED SOCKS-AOL: Upgrading from AOL4.0 to AOL5.0 has proved

particularly vexsome for several AOLers. Problems range from mild to the Big
One [i.e. Reformat]. For those who have trouble moving up to version 5.0, in
addition to trying the suggestions in the foregoing tip [Lost Your Socks] when
Internet access is lost, another approach may prove successful:

1- Rather than over-writing the working AOL4.0 version, install a standalone

version of AOL5.0, so that both versions are extant on your system.
2- First, open the AOL5.0 version and try to gain Internet access. If
Internet Access fails with AOL5.0, open the AOL4.0 version to try to gain
Internet Access.
3- If Internet Access fails with both versions of AOL, uninstall all versions
of AOL through the Control Panel/Remove Programs.
4- Now install version 5.0 to try to gain Internet Access.

If Internet Access is not secured with a clean install of AOL5.0, here are a
few fixes:
A-For problems with TCP/IP:
a- Delete the "Netaol.inf", "Aolmac.vxd" & Aolndi.dll" files.
b- Rename the file "Vdhcp386" to Vdhcp.bak".
c- Reboot & start AOL. If AOL opens properly, close it. Rename "vdhcp.bak"
to Vdhcp.386".
d- Use your AOL/Net/"OS" folder if Windows tries to reinstall the AOL
adapter.
B- Reinstall Dial-Up-Networking after uninstalling the current installation.
C- Update your Winsock:
a- From Keyword "FTP", go to ftp.microsoft.com.
b- Go to folder bussys/winsock/winsock2.
c- Download & install "ws295sdk.zip". Later, go to Microsoft's website to
get the Winsock2 Y2K update.

5- If version 5.0 fails to gain Internet Access, uninstall it and re-install

version 4.0.
6- If the new install of 4.0 fails to gain Internet Access, refer to Step #4
in the Lost Your Socks tip above wherein the Registry that existed prior to
the first install of Version 5.0 is restored.

There are some preparations & advisories before installing version 5.0:
A- Obtain both a copy of the 4.0 & 5.0 software [newest versions]. A copy of
version 3.0-16Bit [the non-Win95 version] is also handy to have since it is
not dependent on the AOL Adapters/TCP-IP [in Control Panel/Network] & and
can give you emergency Internet Access.
B- If you want to save your AOL4.0 Personal File Cabinet [the location of
your saved read/sent E-Mail], copy the "Organize" folder in your AOL4.0
directory to a safe location.
C- Copy your "Download" folder, if it has files you want to save plus any
other files/folders in the AOL4.0 directory which you want to save to a safe
location.
D- When trying the Steps #2, #4 #6, do not open or send any email if you
want to save it. ONLY when you have an Internet Accessible copy of AOL on
your system [whether 4.0 or 5.0], rename the new "Organize" folder and copy/
paste the saved "Organize" folder into the AOL directory. Then it is safe to
resume email functions. Also return other saved files/folders to the AOL
directory.
E- Before installing AOL 5.0, delete all files in your Cache [Temporary
Internet Files] & History folders from pure MS-DOS mode with the commands at
the C:\Windows prompt as follows:
deltree /y tempor~1 [press Enter]
deltree /y history [press Enter]
win [press Enter]
F- Internet Access is present only when you can open an "http" website;
Email, FTP [via Keyword] & Newsgroups [via Keyword] are not dependent on
Internet Access.