Sometimes It’s Best Just to Start Over
Q: I have Windows 98. When I turn on my computer, it boots to the desktop, and I get the message “Windows encountered an error accessing the system registry for you and will restart and repair the registry for you.” Sometimes it will do that twice before booting properly. This happens two or more times a week. Is this normal, or is there something I should fix?
A: Well, if you get additional error messages such as “Explorer caused an exception 6d007eh in module explorer.exe at 015f:memory address” or “Explorer caused an invalid page fault in module Kernel32.dll at 015f:bff711be,” then you probably don’t have enough free disk space for the Windows swap file. Before you do anything, make extensive backups. Then delete files to make more space.
If your system registry is genuinely corrupted, that’s a pretty severe problem. The best chance a nontechnical person has of fixing something that’s gone on for some time is to reinstall the operating system.
Q: I have a serious problem with MS Word that I cannot solve. When I attempt to open a Word file, instead of opening it is transformed into an executable file. It is not visible in the Word menu and cannot be opened from Explorer. This began happening about the time I installed ThinkFree--since uninstalled--based on a Times recommendation. But I also upgraded Nuts&Bolts; about the same time and ran some of its programs. I also upgraded to IE 5.5. I have apparently lost some of my files, although they are still visible in Explorer as .exe files. I’ve reinstalled Windows and Office and tried two different versions of Word and nothing works. My Control Panel also will not allow me to delete programs.
A: Whenever somebody says Word is acting funny, we immediately suspect a virus infection. Get the most recent updates from a virus software maker and scan your system. We bet you’ll find something you didn’t expect.
Q: I have a Compaq Presario with only 16 megabytes of RAM. What improvement in performance can I expect if I install an additional 32 MB? How much do I need for e-mail and the Internet?
A: If you’re running Windows 95 on that box, 16 MB probably is adequate for most things. If you’re running Windows 98, 32 MB is about the minimum for acceptable performance, and Windows ME--the latest version of Windows--is a slug without 64 MB. So the answer pretty much depends on the OS you’re running.
In general, adding more RAM to a system will speed up applications. RAM is quite cheap right now, so if you’d like a speedier box but don’t have a couple grand for the latest and greatest, slapping in more RAM might keep you happy while you save up. Assuming you can’t add more than 32 MB, we’d suggest using Windows 98 Second Edition, which comes complete with Internet software, including a Web browser, an e-mail package and the plumbing needed to set up a dial-up connection to the Internet.
Q: I am using profiles on a Dell running Windows 98. Is there a way to install MS Office so all profiles can use it? I installed MS Office, but only the profile I added it under works correctly. The rest have problems. Any ideas? I know it is a registry problem, but how do I easily fix it?
A: We’ve tripped over this problem before with various systems. After much trial and error, we hit upon a solution that always works: We give the system what it wants. Install apps under every profile you wish to use them under. This can be a bit time-consuming, but it’s pretty clean and functional. We welcome other suggestions from our helpful readers.
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Dave Wilson is The Times’ personal technology columnist. Submit questions to Tech Q&A; at techtimes@latimes.com.
