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Dr. Mac

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Posts posted by Dr. Mac

  1. Greetings froman

    Welcome to the forums!

    First of all, Windows 98se does not handle memory above 256 very well AT ALL. So, MAKE SURE THE MAX. MEMORY USAGE IS SET TO 256. To do this, go to your MS Configuration utility. I'm sure you know how to do that, but just in case you don't :

    * Click "Start >> Run"

    * In the run box, type : msconfig

    * Click on O.K.

    The Msconfig box will pop up. Click on the "Advanced" button.

    About half way down you will see "Limit memory to ... " Put a tick in that box and then set the memory to 256. Click O.K. .... then click Apply ... and OK again. Done!

    --------------------------------------

    As far as anti-viral programs go, you can use the free AV scanner called Clam Win. You can read all about it and download it here:

    http://www.clamwin.com/

    Hope this helps.

    Best wishes,

    Dr. Mac

  2. Greetings folk.

    I think this topic is VERY important, so I'm "bumping" it to the top!

    I am a devoted user of Win98se. I also have MS Office 2000 on my PC.

    As more and more individuals and businesses start to use Office 2007, there is

    going to be a real problem for those of us with Win98 (and ME) opening those

    files.

    SO ....

    Please - to those tech-experts out there - PLEASE do experiment until you can

    give us some solid advice on how to make this work.

    As an example -

    For Office 2003 users, Microsoft says that they must FIRST install the Excel, Word and Power Point 2003 readers AND THEN install the Office Compatibility Pack.

    It would therefore appear that us users of Win98 (and I guess ME) should also be

    thinking along the lines of installing those three "readers" first. However, as with the

    full Compatibility Pack, the Microsoft site says that none of them support Win98.

    So perhaps the .msi files need to be changed on those three readers, get them installed, and

    then install the full Compatibility pack - again with the .msi file "doctored"

    I eagerly await all your expert advice. As I said, I really believe this is going to be

    a very important - in fact critical - thing to get sorted out.

    Thanks as always and best wishes ...

    Dr. Mac

  3. Dear Members

    Hello and greetings.

    Some time ago - soemwhere on this forum - I saw a post which described the problem below. But I can't for the life of me find it again.

    The "Problem"

    NOT anything major, but would like to know what to do.

    When you start up Win98se, as the desktop appears, an hour-glass appears next to the mouse pointer (to show programs etc are still loading) After a short time, the hour-glass goes away.

    BUT THEN ... a second or two later it appears again !!!

    NOW ... the post I once saw here spoke about this and said it was caused by a totally unnecessary program doing it's thing (it might have been some sort of Windows program, or a Windows file, like wmiexe.exe ....)

    Well, I do remember it was definitely SOMETHING that was causing this - and it often happens when you open Internet Explorer, or Word, or do many other things on the PC. And that "something" is totally unnecessary to be running.

    Does anybody know what I'm talking about when I speak about that hour-glass popping up so much?

    And more important, does anyone know WHAT that totally unnecessary program or file is that is causing the hour-glass to appear so often, and how to stop it?

    Thank folks. Always a good thing to come here and ask you experienced experts.

    Best wishes,

    Dr. Mac

  4. Dear Ctrl-X

    Thanks for the reply.

    Ah! ha! A Certificate of Authentication!

    Yup! Knew that all along! Just wanted to see if YOU knew! :rolleyes: ... :w00t: ... :whistle:

    Any idea where to find that though? If I did a "Find files and folders ... " what would I ask Bill to look for?

    -----------------------------------------

    Great news about "If it is in Add/Remove, then yes ... "

    Thank you for that. I haven't had the courage to go visit her for a few days but now, armed with your input, I might go around tomorrow!

    Thanks guys. You are ALL stars for helping me out like this.

    Dr. Mac

  5. Does the computer have a COA somewhere on it?

    A .... WHAT ????

    Where would I find that ?

    -----------------------------------------------

    Also folks, as per my request above, is it possible to use Add/Remove to uninstall WMP10 when a System Restore point was NOT in operation at the time of the install?

    Thanks guys.

    Dr. Mac

  6. You guys are absolutely briliant!

    Thanks so much for your input.

    Right now, I'm kinda in the dog-house with my girlfriend for screwing up the type of interface (WMP v. 8) that she knew how to use! I have kinda been "warned" to get it sorted ... or else ... !!!

    SP2 - no, she doesn't have that. She bought her PC which had WinXP SP1 installed on it from a Internet cafe that went out of business. Unfortunately, our attempts to download updates recently have failed - Microsoft says something about needing a licenece or registration number before we can download updates!!! I cannot see a public Internet cafe using illegal software so I'm sure it must have had a licence. We used to update it it before, but now we cannot.

    Anyway, point is it is still very well protected using 3rd party software like Zone Alarm, excellent anti-virus and spyware/malware programs etc.

    BUT ... back to the point at hand.

    Thank god you told me NOT to go and try to install the version 9 for 88, ME and 2000 ... because then I really WOULD have had a court case and divorse on my hands !!! OR she would have just gone ahead and killed me! :w00t:

    So ... THANK YOU for showing me where to get the NT version of WMP 9. Thank you very very much!

    The only problem I now have would be uninstalling the present version 10. Nope - as I said - System Restore was NOT on. But I knowq that Win98 never had a System Restore, and it is still possible to uninstall programs using the Add/Remove facility, So, hopefully I will be able to do the same on her XP machine, then install the NT version of WMP 9.

    If there is anything else I should know about uninstalling that version 10 (remember - NO System Restore available to help out) then I sure would appreciate any extra tips. I mean ... you wouldn't want to read in the papers tomorrow, "Bungling boyfriend found in ditch with computer monitor smashed over his head"

    Thanks folks.

    Dr. Mac

  7. Greetings folks

    I would really appreciate some help.

    My girlfriend has WinXP pro and it was installed with Windows Media Player 8.

    Now, I have WMP 9 installed. It has the same GUI as version 8, but more features. So, that is what I wanted to install on her machine.

    Over the week-end I went to the MS site to download an update, and they said that they no longer supplied WMP 9 for XP, so I downloaded version 10 and installed that.

    My girlfriend does NOT like the "new look" at all and wants to go back to the layout and GUI she knew.

    O.K. Two problems ...

    1) We had just completed a full virus scan so System Restore was TURNED OFF when we installed WMP 10. So ... rolling back is impossible.

    2) We do not have the original WMP 8.

    Now, Microsoft does have version 9 available for download, but says it is for Win 98, ME and 2000. I suspect that once upon a time MS was saying it was fine for XP as well (because both 2000 and XP use the same file system) And so ...

    * Will this v.9 work on XP?

    * Can I use Add/Remove to uninstall the WMP 10 on her system, and then install the above version 9?

    * If this version will NOT work on XP, does anyone know where the version 9 that is suitable for XP can be downloaded from?

    Thanks folks - I do appreciate your advice and input.

    Dr. Mac

  8. Thank you very much guys.

    Yes ... she IS using AVG (but so am I and I don't get that) But I will still check on the AVG settings ... I know there is a setting to CHECK incoming mail AND also to certify it. Maybe if that is checked, it should be unchecked.

    Also, I'll go check those security setting as well - thanks for the suggestion.

    The problem is that although all those papr-clip thingies appear in the top panel of Outlook Express, the mails do NOT have ANY attachemnts attached to them at all.

    Dr. Mac

  9. Hello folks

    This is not one of those life and death situations, but it is still extremely frustrating! Can't find any answers on the Microsoft support sites.

    I have a freind who has never used Outlook Express before on her PC. She has always used Yahoo webmail.

    Well, thew other day I showed her how to use O.E. I configured her e-mail accout, username, password etc in OE (version 6, from IE 6 SP1) and it wroks a treat. In now time she was composing and sending e-mails and downloading them.

    BUT ... all the e-mails downloaded show that little paper-clip icon AS IF they ALL had an attachment! Which they do NOT.

    So, the story is those few e-mails that DO have an attachment show the little papart-clip sign correctly. BUt all the other mails that do NOT arrive with an attachment ALSO dispaly the paper-clip AS IF they has an attachement (which they do NOT)

    Has anybody every heard of this before?

    Any suggestions ... PLEASE!

    Thanks folks.

    Dr. Mac

  10. So you're perfectly right, 98SE/ME can't last much longer, but that's where we the few [here at MSFN, mostly], come in, to make sure these OSEs will last as long as possible, and to ensure their users will have the best possible experience, as long as they plan on using them.

    LONG LIVE WIN 98se ... AND MDGx ... and all others with this positive mind-set!

    Yup! Long live our beloved 98se.

    Dr. Mac

  11. Good morning Guys 'n gals!

    Well ... here is some good news ...

    Thanks to RainyShadow and MDGx .... using a combination of the methods you suggested seems to have worked a treat.

    There were quite a lot of documents listed on that right-click "New" menu, so using TweakUI I removed all of them. Then I used MDGx's trick of clearning all "Recent". Did a reboot, went back to TweakUI and just added the only two "New" types that I want - New Folder and new Text document.

    Seems to have worked a treat. No more "bzzz-clugga-clugga-bzzzz" floppy access noises when creating a new one of those!

    Thanks guys!

    LLXX - I completely agree with you. The "solution" suggested by kartel is just a bit too over the top and extreme!

    Best wishes to you all and go well ...

    Dr. Mac

  12. Hello and greetings folks

    I wonder if any of your Win98se experts can help me.

    This is NOT critical! :P

    But it is annoying and I wonder if there is a fix.

    O.K.

    When I right-click on my desktop a little menu pops up, and then when I point to "New >> whatever ... " (it could be a new .txt file or folder I can to create) my floppy drive goes bananas!

    What do I mean by that?

    Well ... it's hard to expalin ... but it starts to make that noise as if it is looking for a floppy ....

    datta bzzz-datta bzzz-datta bzzz (I hope you have at least some idea of the sort of "bzzz sounds" I'm talking about!)

    It's not just one "clunk" sound. It's that sound when you try to send a document or whatever to a floppy but there is NO floppy in the drive. (As you know, it goes bananas for several seconds and then a box pops up saying there is no floppy in the drive and asking you if you want to retry etc.)

    Well, when using the method above to create a new (whatever - text document) that's the same sound my floppy drive makes. No, it doesn't pop up the box saying there is no floppy in the drive, but the bzzzz-bzzzzz sound it makes as if it were looking for a floppy is the same.

    And it shouldn't be doing that when all one is trying to do is create a new document or folder !!!

    Any ideas or suggestions folks?

    Dr. Mac

  13. Hey Andromeda ...

    I couldn't agree more.

    FREE can be FANTASTIC.

    With a sensible combination of FREE software, one can protect your beloved Win98se very effectively.

    FIRST ... although Microsoft have stopped supporting Win98, all the updates and security patches etc (up until about July) are still available on the WindowsUpdate site. That's the first move for anyboy to make - grab every MS critical update and patch you can (while they are still there for us)

    SECOND ... although one single FREE product might not "do it" 100% effectively, using a combination should ensure your Win98se (along with the MS critical updates) is as secure as can be.

    My personal combination :

    * Zone Alarm free

    * AVG free

    * Ad-aware SE (free)

    * Spybot S+D (Search and Destroy) - also free.

    THIRD ... now and again I go to one of the websites that do online scans for free. McAfee, Trend, F-Secure, Symantec and Kaspersky all have quite extensive (and completely up-to-date) scanning (free)

    For Malware/Spyware, the Webroot Spysweeper is very good.

    I also use MailWasher to view my e-mails subject titles and who sent them BEFORE downloading them onto my own computer (I use Outlook Express) In this way you can delete all crap e-mail, spam, and suspicious mails BEFORE they even touch your computer.

    MailWasher is now commercial, but you can get a perfectly good FREE version that works great on Win98 at that great website "Last Freeware Versions" : http://www.321download.com/LastFreeware/

    In my opinion, such a combination of FREE software works just as well (in fact even better!) than depending on just one, bloated and overly-priced commerical product.

    Hope this helps some of you.

    Go for it and best wishes ...

    Dr. Mac

  14. Greetings Eck

    Wondering where you've been since our last e-mails! ;)

    What can I say ... Second Chance continues to work a treat. It also makes me more, er ... "foolhardy" so I take a lot more risks when visiting certain websites and downloading and trying out software.

    If it doresn't work too good ... or if there are any "nasties" that come along with it ... well then ... SO WHAT!

    Simply revert back to a previous restore point. :thumbup

    I agree ... Second Chance is much MUCH better than the Win ME/XP system restore. After restoring, you can find lost files etc. It has an emergency boot floppy and you can also schedule multiple restore points with far more scope than you can do with the ME/XP one.

    Well, I did actually download Fred's initial program and ran it (because I knew if anything happened, well ... I had a Second Chance!) I'm sure that in time this could develop into something very useful for those of us who love our Win98se and plan to stick with it for as long as we can.

    Take care both of you and go well ...

    Dr. Mac

  15. Greetings all

    Well ... who would have thought that when I started this thread several montyhs ago it would generate so many replies!

    Fred - your project sounds great - do keep uo all up to date with your progress.

    Eck - please check your PM B)

    Anybody found a download for the ENGLISH version of PQSC v. 2.07 ???

    Keep the ideas coming.

    Best wishes to you all ...

    Dr. Mac

  16. Greetings Lunac

    First of all, I have no idea WHY some of the NU 2000 programs are crashing.

    ????

    One thing to try (if you have not already) is to turn that constant system monitor OFF (I already mentioned that above) It is called Norton System Doctor. It is a total pain in the arse (or, "a**" if you use American spelling!) Also make sure it does not automatically start every time you boot into Windows. Whenever I've had that enabled, I got crap!

    SO ... turn the **** thing OFF! You don't need it to tell you when to do something ... you have enough savvy to decide when you are going to do your own disk cleaning, defragging etc.

    Hopefully, all other programs should now work fine. The most useful I have found is the Defrag program (Speed Disk) - Norton Disk Doctor (like the Microsoft Scandisk) and finally the Norton System Check.

    Note : System Check includes ALL the tests done by Norton WinDoctor, plus some extras. Therefore, you don't need to run WinDoctor.

    Regarding LiveUpdate ... personally I wouldn't worry about that. Norton had been improving their Utilities program every year ... so when the NU 2000 version came out, it already had a lot of bug fixes etc. In fact, even after I had updated mine (that was a few years ago) when I then looked at version numbers of the main .exe files, most of them were still the same as the previous year's version!!! So, don't sweat about that. In fact, I came to the conclusion that the only real difference between the "'99" version and the 2000 version was purely cosmetic!

    Symantec have pulled the same stunt with their CleanSweep program (which they took over from Quarter Deck software) I have installed three different versions over the years, and they ALL work in precisely the same way. The ONLY difference have been a face-lift! Most of the main program makers pull this stunt every year because they know most men are like little boys with little toys ... and just HAVE to have "the latest" version of everything! Don't fall for it (unless you're rich!) Why do you think I've refused to "upgrade" (???) to the dreadful WinXP !

    One other thing I always do (I'm not saying you have to do it ... but ... ) ... when I use those main programs listed above, I always first close down all running programs using Ctrl + Alt + Del. In this way, as few drivers and other things are going on at the same time as I do one of the main Utilities thingies.

    Just a tip worth trying!

    Good luck ... hope it works out for you.

    Dr. Mac

  17. Greetings!

    Yes ... indeed ... I've had Norton Utilities 2000 installed on my Win98se for several years, and it works fine.

    IN FACT (believe it or not) I had the previous version of NU (was it called "NU 99" ?) installed on my partners PC. She also had Win98se ... and the NU also worked absolutely perfectly!

    I cannot answer your question about very large hard drives. By choice (yes ... read that again ... BY MY OWN CHOICE) I only have hard drives no bigger than 10Gb. (Why? ... that's another story! Mainly to do with speed, much easier to maintain etc) However, I cannot see any reason why NU 2000 should not work with larger drives.

    Remember, you can always uninstall if you find it doesn't work for you. But I firmly believe it will. Personally, I wouldn't do without it. Excellent for doing a standard AND a full "Scandisk-type" routine in DOS (the best way to do it)

    I do NOT have the program monitor running constantly in the background - that is the first thing I completely disable whenever I've installed NU on one of my PC's. I am quite intelligent enough to decide when I want to do a defrag, speed-disk, optimisation etc.

    Hope this helps.

    Best wishes ...

    Dr. Mac

  18. Greetings all!

    Well ... after looking at all your suggestions and links, and from extensive surfing around, I've come to the conclusion that there really are ONLY four programs out there that offer the "roll-back" functionality of ME and XP to my dear Win98se :

    * GoBack

    * Recovery Genius (looks like precisely the same idea as GoBack)

    * Emergency Recovery System (ERS 9x) - but this only keeps two "system restore points" max - and it's a bit of a pain in the a*** to recover

    * PowerQuest's Second Chance

    As GoBack (and I would presume Recovery Genius) do something to the drive (don't know the technical name ... but they somehow "lock" it) - and that has given me major grief in the past (had to totally reformat) - I've settled on Second Chance.

    Tried it out a few times with "fake" emergency situations and restores in DOS and yes ... it works an absolute treat.

    Thank you all for your input - much appreciated.

    Go well and best wishes ...

    Dr. Mac

  19. Just going to wash my fingertips with soap ....

    :lol::P:D

    Great! Best laugh I've had all day !!!!

    You obviously love your Win98 (just like I do!)

    Also, thanks for your PM. Unfortunately, all I seem to get on Google is a lot of information on crackz and serialz for Second Chance.

    Naughty! Naughty! :}

    -------------------------------------------------------------------

    Kartel ...

    Thanks for your long post.

    I'll go and check out that link now, but really, the main thing I'm looking for is a good "roll-back" program. It appears that for Win98 (+se) the two best options are GoBack and the program we have been discussing, Second Chance.

    Go well and take care ...

    Dr. Mac

  20. Brilliant!

    Well done!

    I've just downloaded it!

    -------------------------------------------------

    ... of course it's a demo, you are not asking for warez, aren't you?

    WHAT !!!!!!!!

    ME ?????????

    NO, NO, NO! NEVER IN A MILLION YEARS! ( :blushing: )

    --------------------------------------------------

    There again, as PowerQuest no longer exists (taken over by Symantec) and as SecondChance stopped being made in 2000/1, and is no longer sold or supported, any copy floating around and used would in no way "steal" payment from the company.

    ---------------------------------------------------

    Thanks again ... and if you ever happen to find out where a copy of version 2.07 can be downloaded from, I'd really like to know as well! :thumbup

    Take good care folks, and best wishes ...

    Dr. Mac

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