Software Installation – Windows 98

AOL will be in court again. In late January, a class action suit filed in U.S. District Court in Alexandria, Virginia claims the latest AOL browser, 5.0, prevents users from connecting to other ISPs. Seeking a whopping $8 billion in damages, the lawyers calculate the math this way: $1,000 multiplied by 8 million affected users. Reports poured in from disgruntled AOL customers in forums across the Net. Here is a typical example:

“AOL 5.0, when installed, knocked out NetZero and Freei.Net connections. Blue screens of death appeared and browsers like Opera ceased to function. Removing the AOL 5.0 software resolved most of these issues.”

AOL’s Response

AOL claims to avoid problems if, when asked, the user declines to make AOL 5.0 the default browser during the installation process. Frankly, novices may not know the dire consequences ahead if they answer the question wrong. The safest recourse is to destroy the CD ROM with sharp scissors before discarding in the trash. More will be heard about this problem over time. Stay tuned.

Gremlins Running 98 Apps

Some Windows 98 users experience flaky performance running some applications. While it is difficult to put a finger on the source of the problem, instinctively they know something is not quite right. I asked a friend, Chuck Paulsen, an associate professor at Fairfield University, for insight. He said a major problem area arises from conflicts between anti-virus software and the flaky application. Serious Internet users have learned that anti-virus software (Norton Utilities, McAfee and others) is now indispensable in order to continuously monitor data received from cyberspace. Because anti-virus software must continually analyze the incoming stream of data, it must be installed deep in the heart of the computer operating system. As a result, when a new application is installed on Windows 98 computers, deeply rooted pieces of this software may prevent a “clean” installation.

Microsoft Knows

For Windows 98, Microsoft has developed a program named MSCONFIG.EXE. Essentially, when you load application software on a bare bones machine (no other programs running), you have the best chance of having a trouble-free experience. When users load most software, they receive a message informing them to close all other applications first. Often, the anti-virus software (or pieces of it) do not close. MSCONFIG.EXE solves this dilemma.

Before installing any major software application, get down to the bare bones. Remove all running applications. Here is how that is accomplished. On the task bar, right click each icon and EXIT the program. Next, from the Start icon, run MSCONFIG.EXE. When the menu appears, click the radio button “Selective Startup.” De-select (uncheck) all options. Click Apply. Click OK. It then asks: “Do you want to start your computer?” Click Yes. The computer then reboots and comes back in VGA mode (the desktop icons may be larger than before.) Next, press

. A small window appears in the middle of the screen. In many cases, a program such as “NAVAPW32” (this is an anti-virus program) may still be running. Highlight the name and click “End Task.” It will disappear and be removed. This is very important. The only program running should be Explorer.

Ready for Installation

You are now ready to install the program from the CD ROM. Do not use the Add/Remove option. Install the software directly from the CD ROM. Once the new software has been successfully installed, run MSCONFIG.EXE. This time, check the radio button “Normal Startup.” Restart the computer. Note, the icons on the desktop may have to be rearranged. A right click anywhere on a blank part of the screen will open a small menu to handle this nicely.

Should you be experiencing a problem program, uninstall it. Run the “bare bones” procedure above. Install a fresh copy of the program from the CD ROM. This should help. If you have any questions, please drop me a note via e-mail.

URLs (Uniform Resource Locators) of interest:

http://www.wired.com/news/

politics/0,1283,34063,00.html

(This is the 194th of a series of elementary articles designed for surfing the Internet. Next, Free Long Distance Telephone Calls is the subject on tap. Stay Tuned. Until next week, happy travels through cyberspace. Previous issues of Internet Info for Real People can be found: http://www.thebee.com. Please e-mail comments and suggestions: rbrand@JUNO.com or editor@thebee.com.)