THE

LIST

This newsletter tracks recent additions and modifications to my Windows Support website, www.aumha.org. Primarily, it serves as a way to introduce you to new information, and improvements in existing information, on the site. There is no regular schedule for the newsletter. Click here to subscribe. (There is no charge.) If you subscribe, you will receive email notification when there is a new newsletter. (You will not receive the newsletter itself by email. That's why I call it low-tech.) My intention is to provide a new and further way to serve the more than 50,000 people per month (and growing) who visit my site, and to make it easier for you to know when I have added new links and other information. I will also include small, useful items that might not find a place on the site, but that I would like to pass along. Enjoy! -- Jim Eshelman

NEW MATERIAL or UPDATED PAGES have been posted in the following areas.
Click on the links to jump to the corresponding sections below for more information,
or just scroll down and start reading.

1. NEWS & VIEWS
2. "HOW TO" ARTICLES
3. KERNEL32 FIXES
4. KNOWLEDGE BASE Articles: Hardware
5. KNOWLEDGE BASE Articles: Internet Explorer
6. KNOWLEDGE BASE Articles: Password Problems

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NEWS & VIEWS

Welcome to the first issue of The E-List.

Have you been to my KB ARTICLES: Error Messages page lately? Over the last month or so I have added many new features designed to make it easier to understand, diagnose, and resolve these often baffling and always frustrating Windows problems. In addition to links to Knowledge Base articles about specific messages, the page now contains text descriptions of what each type of error message really represents, and the most common causes of each type. (This is often useful, as a diagnostic starting point, when you can't find any reference to the specific error message you are getting.) There are also new search links which directly query all KB articles on various categories of error messages, differentiated according to your operating system -- separate links for Win95, Win98, and Win ME. I also added a new section on Windows Protection Errors.

As many of you know, I really create this site for myself. It's my ultimate file folder! I add features to make it more useful to me, with the hope that it will make it more useful to all of my visitors also. I actively use the site every single day, especially when answering online questions, on the Microsoft-sponsored peer-support newsgroups. Still, if you can think of anything that might make navigating the site easier, or make its information more accessible, do please let me know -- I just might use it!

WHAT'S IMPORTANT TO YOU IN A WEB PAGE YOU REVISIT?

Arthur Anderson recently released survey results on the question of what makes someone return to a site. In the list below, larger numbers indicate that the characteristic was more important to the people surveyed.

1. Ease of use/navigation: 74%
2. Fast download time: 65%
3. Regularly updated information: 58%
4. Quality of content: 57%
5. Organization of content: 40%
6. Access to customer service: 40%
7. Quantity of content: 30%
8. Search engine at the site: 25%
9. Front page layout: 20%
10. Fun: 19%
11. Look & feel of the site: 18%
12. Inclusion of animated graphics: 9%

I was delighted to see animation so low on the list, and issues of real substance at the top! In fact, the priorities above have been almost exactly the ones I have used in designing and maintaining this site, www.aumha.org. But I wonder what you, my site visitors, think about this subject. Are the above priorities generally the same as yours? If the ranked criteria above are taken as the guidelines for development of this present site, do you think I am meeting those goals? How could we meet them better?

"HOW TO" ARTICLES

REGARDING "HAPPY 99"

For a couple of years, I've had instructions in the "How To" section for removing the Happy 99 worm, including a batch file to do the job for you. This week, though, I decided it was time to take it off the article list on the front page. You can still access the article directly off the "How To" page, or get the batch file from this direct link, but I'm fading it into the background. (Has anyone seen any examples of this worm in the last year? I haven't heard of even one.)

KERNEL32 FIXES

Error messages naming KERNEL32.DLL as part of the problem are probably the most common (and therefore most troublesome) that Windows users encounter. There was a time when the best and most helpful summary of causes and fixes was MS-MVP Richard G. Harper's Generic KERNEL32.DLL Error Checklist. I haven't seen Rich post this in years, but I still keep it on the site because it covers the basics. In particular, it rightly lays the cause, in most cases, at the feet of hardware issues. According to Microsoft, other possible causes include: damaged swap file, file allocation damage, damaged password list, damaged or incorrect version of the KERNEL32.DLL file, damaged registry, overheated CPU, over-clocking, broken power supply, RF noise, ground bounce, bad hard disk controller, BIOS settings for Wait states, RAM timing, other BIOS settings, third-party software that is damaged or incorrectly installed, .DLL files that are saved to the desktop, non-existent or broken TEMP folder, a damaged Control Panel (.CPL) file, incorrect or damaged hardware driver, incorrectly installed printer drivers or HP Jetadmin drivers, damaged Java Machine, damaged .LOG files, damaged entries in the History folder, incompatible or damaged DLL files, viruses, damaged or incorrect MSINFO32.EXE file, low disk space, and more.

In the intervening years, other online resources for resolving these problems have appeared. The best I know is MS-MVP Svetlana Belacov's site. I am happy to recommend it.

Every now and then, something new comes along that gives some more clues. This last week, a newsgroup correspondent identifying himself as Heirloom posted something entirely new to me, that I wanted to share with you. It's a fix for KERNEL32.DLL error conditions involving Internet Explorer. I haven't tested it at all -- I essentially never get KERNEL32.DLL errors, so I haven't had the chance to check it out. If it proves useful, I'll give it a permanent spot on my KERNEL32.DLL Fixes list, but I'd like, first, to have the chance to get some feedback from the rest of you. Here are the steps, more or less quoting Heirloom directly:

1. Launch IE. Click Tools | Internet Options (or, in IE 4, View | Internet Options). On the General tab, under Temporary Internet Files, click the Delete Files button, then click OK. (This clears the Temporary Internet Files folder.)
2. Click the Settings button. Click the View Objects button. Click View | Details. This provides a list of files and the current status of each. Some of these will probably have a status of "Damaged.". Highlight and delete any files as damaged. There is an excellent chance that you will be deleting something that has been causing havoc with the KERNEL32 driver. When finished, close the Explorer file window and OK your way out to the original Internet Options box.
3. Under History, click the Clear History button to dump corrupt files. Confirm that you want to do this.
4. Exit and reboot. Your problem stands a good chance of being solved!

KB ARTICLES: Hardware

Windows 98 Hardware Error Messages Page. Microsoft has started generating several sophisticated new web pages on their site, aimed at troubleshooting various kinds of particular problems. General in nature, they are great starting places for investigating particular error messages in specific categories. This one is aimed at common hardware error messages, for example. There is also a Windows 98 Software Error Messages Page worth checking out, for the 25-30 (apparently most common) software error message questions.

Windows 98 Network Error Messages Page. Same as above, but for networking issues.

Default Cluster Sizes for FAT32 File System Win 95B (OSR2), Win98, Win ME
There's a new version of this article on the Knowledge Base. (Too bad they don't tell us what they changed, eh?) When adding a link to it, I took the opportunity to reorganize / restructure the Hardware article page to make the site easier to use (because I'm lazy, want everything easy, and can have it that way since I'm designing the page!<g>).

You will find all of the above added to the respective Knowledge Base Articles pages on this site. They can also be accessed through my site search engine or, of course, by clicking on their links above. I'm betting there will be more pages like this appearing on Microsoft's site in the near future.

KB ARTICLES: Internet Explorer

Frequently Asked Questions About Content Advisor & Ratings in IE. This isn't a new KB article, but it's new to my site. I'm getting more into listing the broad, generic help pages. A lot of people like them. I usually prefer to search the whole KB, looking for a specific answer -- but when I can't find an answer that way, I'll turn to the generic or FAQ pages next. This one lists a small number of common questions on this subject. Other similar FAQ-type links just added to this section of my page include:
Frequently Asked Questions About IE Printing Problems or Printing Blank Pages
Frequently Asked Questions About Illegal Operations & Invalid Page Faults in IE
Frequently Asked Questions About Page Cannot Be Displayed Errors in IE

By the way, Internet Explorer 6 KB articles are starting to appear. I won't be listing any of these on the site until IE6 is a released product -- it's still in Beta, and I don't list Beta product articles. But, if you are interested, you might want to search the Microsoft Knowledge Base with product set to "Internet Explorer," and search on the string "Internet Explorer 6" (use the quotation marks this time). I think it is safe to assuming that any problem on which Microsoft has written a KB article will be a bug that is still around in the release version of IE6 -- which is due out R.S.N. (Real Soon Now).

KB ARTICLES: Password Problems

No Old Password is Visible in Old Password Box When You Try to Change Your Domain Password Win95, Win98, Win ME
There are not usually a lot of new articles on password issues -- but here's one posted a few days ago. It describes a situation in which your computer is configured to keep the Windows password and the domain password synchronized, and you only have the Client for Microsoft Networks installed. For Win95, the article provides information about an update available from Microsoft (the Password.cpl update). For Win98 and WinME, a Registry fix is recommended.

Happy computing, everyone!

Jim Eshelman

(Comments about The E-List can be sent to: elist@aumha.org)

THE NECESSARY LEGAL STUFF:
DISCLAIMER: Any information given in this newsletter, or on any other part of the www.aumha.org website, is researched by me and believed to be accurate. However, I cannot guarantee, and do not guarantee, that all the information provided will work on all computer systems, for all users, all the time. Also, I sometimes make mistakes (that's life!), and it is possible I made one or more of them here. All information herein is offered as-is and without warranty of any kind. In other words, I rely on the best information sources I can, and do my best to get it to you accurately; and, thereafter, you take your life in your own hands if you trust me on it. Neither James Eshelman, this site, outside contributors to this site, people quoted on this site, nor my cat is/are responsible for any loss, injury, or damage, direct or consequential, resulting from application of any information presented here.

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