THE LIST
A low-tech but ingeniously distributed E-letter by Mr. E
Vol. I, No. 23 — December 29, 2001
(last updated April 11, 2004)
To read previous issues of The E-List, click here.
Send comments about The E-List to: elist@aumha.org
Please see Legal Notice.

This newsletter tracks new information, and improvements in existing information, on the Windows Support Center, my Web site supporting Windows desktop systems and leading application software. I also include small, useful items that might not find a permanent place on the site, but that I would like to pass along, and anything else I feel like writing!

Click here to subscribe. If you subscribe, you will receive email notification when there is a new issue of the 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 one million people per month who visit my site. Previous newsletters are available online, and their content searchable through this site’s search engine. Enjoy! — Jim Eshelman


CONTENTS of this Issue

  1. NEWS & VIEWS
  2. ARTICLES & FAQs
  3. REGISTRY PATCHES

    MS KNOWLEDGE BASE Articles:
  4. Commands, Utilities & Files
  5. Error Messages
  6. Hardware, Drivers & RAM
  7. Internet Explorer & Outlook Express
  8. Password Problems
  9. Shutdown & Restart
  10. Startup & Boot Log
  11. Troubleshooting
  12. Windows XP
  13. Windows Setup

  14. HUMOR: Tolkien’s Ring, or Token Ring?

NEWS & VIEWS

Welcome to the last issue of The E-List for 2001. For those of you who didn’t have the chance to see the special Christmas Eve issue (which wasn’t up very long), you can still find it here — I got a lot of nice response on it (thank you to all who wrote). And, before I forget it, let me thank everyone who has been along for the ride this year, and wish you all a very happy, properous, and blessed ’02! (“Happy ’02” sounds like, “Good oxygen, to ya!” So, yeah — Good oxygen to ya, too!)

Next issue begins Volume II of The E-List, to kick off the new year. As part of some “house cleaning,” I’d like to ask all of my readers for some input — your ideas and your preferences — regarding E-List archives. At present, all past issues can be accessed here. I know that back issues are accessed about 6,000 times per month, so some of you are reading the old stuff. It also seems worthwhile to me to keep the archives in place, since the material remains searchable through the site search engine. My first question is: Do readers really want all the past issues kept available, in one form or another? The second question is: In what form? I’m inclined to reduce the 23 issues since May 3 into a digest, perhaps divided into separate pages that collate material on the same topic — deconstructing the issues themselves, but keeping all the information available in what seems to me a more useful form. What do you think about this idea? The goal is to make it easy for people to get relevant information quickly so they can resolve specific problems and learn new things. If you have any input on this, please send it to elistarchive@aumha.org. (Please keep emails to this address on the topic of input on this archive issue, and other ideas about where you want The E-List to go in 2002.) Thanks in advance for your input!

This month is also an anniversary for AumHa.org. Though this web site has existed since July 1999, it was one year ago, on December 18, 2000, that I registered the domain AumHa.org and moved the site onto commercial hosting. In some ways, it feels like the site really started at that point. In other ways, it’s hard to believe it was only a year ago — so much has happened! It’s been fun, and certainly a continuing education, and I expect that we’ll be here for a long time to come.

Hits 2001 So where have we come in that year? Sitting here three days before the end of December, it looks like, if December had 32 days instead of 31, we would break the 8 million hits mark for 2001. As it is, we’ll probably be about 50,000 hits short of that — which isn’t too bad. When you consider that nearly half of this number was in the last three months (October-December), it definitely shows a rising trend of interest. The graph at the right shows the number of hits per month (with December estimated by fleshing out the remaining three days with this month’s daily average). Another trend of the year has been the change in browsers people are using: A year ago, 86% of visitors were using Internet Explorer and 12% used Netscape. Opera wasn’t really “on the map” numerically (though, as a friend keeps reminding me, Opera users commonly mask the browser as either IE or Netscape). A year later, 92% of visitors are using IE (with IE 6 being the browser of choice) and only 5% — half as many as last year — are using Netscape (with 4.7 still being the clear version of choice). Meanwhile, Opera (which is getting spectacular reviews for its latest version) has earned its own column on the stats chart, being responsible for about 1% of all hits.

I have a request for all Netscape users. Give me some feedback on what you want! Until recently, if anyone hit the front (index) page of the Windows Support Center using Netscape, they would be bounced to a Netscape friendly home page. This was my way of addressing the fact that Netscape, before version 6, wasn’t very well suited for CSS. This site is definitely best viewed using Netscape 6 or Internet Explorer. Recently, though, I received an email saying that a new build of Netscape 4.7 had incorporated a lot of the fixes and improvements that went into Netscape 6, and now worked very well with CSS. (Unfortunately, I forgot to ask the writer for a link to this version. Does anyone out there have the URL? Is 4.75 the most recent?) The correspondent asked me if I could please change things so that he didn’t get a pop-up message on my front page and get routed off to somewhere else. I agreed and made the change — and immediately got one (only one!) email from a Netscape user saying my front page looked horrid (it does look horrid in Netscape 4). So, my question to Netscape users is, do you want me to automatically move you to a Netscape friendly home page, or keep that redirect disabled. I’m doing this to make things easier for those of you who prefer Netscape — so I’ll happily do it whichever way most of you say you want it. Please let me know.


NEW SITE MAP: Another Way to Get Around...

Another way to find your way around the Windows Support Center: Though the site’s home page is nearly a Site Map, it isn’t exactly one. So, I’ve now added a regular Site Map that you can access off a link on the home page, or by going directly to www.aumha.org/sitemap.htm. It even has some orphan pages that are no longer linked from anywhere else on the site. Some regular visitors have remarked that it’s a better match for the way their own brains organize data. I used it as my home page for a week and found it to be a useful way to quickly locate information, when combined with the Search feature. It also shows the overall site structure for those wanting to learn their way around a bit better.


MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE FACELIFT

And, speaking of better ways to find information, have you yet noticed the major facelift on the Microsoft Knowledge Base? They’ve addressed most all of the old complaints about inefficiency and difficulty of use, and come up with a much friendlier page — and a search engine that works faster and produces better results.

It wasn’t all wine and roses along the way, though. In early December, there were a lot of false starts. The KB site was only intermittently available, and it didn’t have a lot of the features many of us rely on regularly. Microsoft quickly opened some new communication channels to MVPs who wanted to get actively involved in the KB redesign process, and, when the whole campus shut down for the holidays, one of the programmers actually stayed late into the night to get most of the top items on our Wish List put into place. (I don’t know his name, but, if by chance he’s reading this, he has my personal thanks!) The finished product is one I can heartily recommend to your use. (Don’t miss the new feedback box at the bottom of every KB page!)

For the few weeks that the new interface was still under construction, and some of the pavement was pretty bumpy, I needed a reliable interface to access the KB. Through the generosity and ingenuity of my friend and fellow MVP Mike Burgess I was able to get a copy of the old “classic” KB interface up and running on my site. You can find this on my Classic KB Search Page [NOTE: Subsequently removed. Later changes in the MSKB disabled it.]. At this point I have to say that Microsoft’s new interface is better; but sometimes it’s down, and if you have a dial-up connection it’s often a pretty slow load. In contrast, the Windows Support Center Classic KB Search Page loads much faster, though it doesn’t have all the refinements of Microsoft’s new interface. Take your pick! (Bookmark them both, if you like.) It takes a scrawny 35 KB for me to keep oldmskb.htm in place, and it happens to be the one that I personally use for most of my quick-reference work on the KB. (If there is enough demand, I can provide a stand-alone version of the page that can sit on your desktop and launch in about a second.)

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ARTICLES & FAQs

NEW “KERNEL32.DLL ERRORS” PAGE
or HOW DO YOU GET A WEB PAGE NOTICED?

There is an entirely revamped “Troubleshooting KERNEL32.DLL Errors” page at the Windows Support Center (click here). I wanted to tell you a bit about it — but I also wanted to share some practical advice on how to get your Web pages noticed by search engines.

Getting a search engine to pay attention to a Web page requires entirely different strategies today than it did even a year ago (even ignoring the trend of many search engines to require payment either for listing or for prioritization). I’m entirely jaded about META tags for this purpose. META tags have limited use — I keep some on my entry pages mostly on principle, and mostly as a way to recommend to new search engines how often they should revisit the site (the old <META NAME="revisit-after" CONTENT="10 days"> approach). But, to the best of my knowledge, none of the main search engines actually use META tags anymore to determine how to categorize your pages. Too many people put long strings of porno terms in their META tags to attract attention to their Web site on puppies or decoupage, so the whole scheme became rather meaningless.

What do search engines now use to categorize your pages? Most of them now use congruency of content. They look at the label in your TITLE tag, look at the actual headline of the page, pay very close attention to headings throughout the page (in many cases only reading actual header tag content, i.e., H1, H2, etc.), and, sometimes, keywords pulled from within the text. If these all match up (using whatever lexicon scheme the particular search engine employs), they likely will index you under the topic in question. If not... well, they may not catalogue you at all. (PS – Remember, they can only read plaintext. Having the coolest title that really pushes your content, but displayed as a graphic will get it completely ignored. Search engines don’t read pictures! If you really need to go that way, use an ALT attribute in the graphic’s IMG tag, to provide the text you want the search engine to see.)

I don’t know of any better example of this than the previous form of my KERNEL32 page. Based purely on content, it seems utterly absurd to me that Google, AltaVista, and other search engines would direct people to the page they all used — but, knowing how they now approach things, I understand completely. It’s probably a story worth telling.

Until a couple of weeks ago, I didn’t have a solitary KERNEL32 troubleshooting page. I had a variety of different KERNEL32-related information resources, all linked off the Short “How To” Articles page [NOTE: Subsequently consolidated into other pages.]. One link led off-site to MS-MVP Svetlana Belacov’s excellent KERNEL32 page on All-Windows.com. Another link lead to MS-MVP Richard Harper’s wonderful “Generic KERNEL32.DLL Error Checklist,” which I really believe is the most valuable KERNEL32 information on my site. (That page was called k32harp.htm.) Another link led to the only page that had a KERNEL32 fix reference in its name, k32fix.htm, and which had only a small trick preserved from years back that probably isn’t relevant past Windows 95, and is probably the least important piece of KERNEL32 trivia on the entire Windows Support Center site — but, wouldn’t you know it, this was the only KERNEL32 page that the main search engines picked up! Yesireesir, Richard Harper’s little precious jewel was sitting there pulling close to no hits per month, while my stupid little k32fix.htm page was invariably in the Top 10 most hit pages on my site, pulling in several thousand hits every month. (I’ll let you do the math: 6% of a million hits is a lot of hits!) It made a mighty good case that there is no justice in the world! (As Johnny Carson said on his last night on the air, if there were any justice in the world, Elvis would be alive and all of the Elvis impersonators would be dead.)

To what do I attribute this foul injustice and perplexingly strange circumstance? To all the facts I mentioned above. The URL, k32fix.htm, joined with the title “Troubleshooting KERNEL32.DLL Errors,” coupled with an internal heading of the same nature and compatible text are what pulled the spiders’ attention. Sometimes there is simply no defense against the Queen of Spades!

Take a lesson from this in trying to get your Web pages indexed.

What have I done to change all of that? I’ve consolidated all of the different information resources into a single page, titled Troubleshooting KERNEL32.DLL Errors (and having the same URL as that to which Google was already routing everyone). If this very common sort of problem plagues you, check out the page for some answers. (And don’t miss the “Other Resources” section at the bottom.)


WIN98 SE SHUTDOWN UPDATE

My thanks go out to correspondent Timothy Ngau for digging out a KB article I’d missed all these years. It addresses a variation of the Win98 SE shutdown bug, involving NDIS intermediate drivers, that isn’t covered by any of the other fixes. Specifically, use of networking software implemented as an NDIS intermediate driver can cause the system to hang during shutdown (and also during startup). This is due to a known bug in Win98 SE that causes the operating system to inappropriately compete with the driver code, forcing a “deadlock” condition that hangs Windows. A patch is available from Microsoft to fix this bug: See the MS Knowledge Base article, Windows 98 SE Problems with NDIS Intermediate Drivers.


MS PUBLISHER HELP

In fact, this has been my week for having pointed out to me what I’ve been missing. I didn’t even know that Publisher MVP Brian Kvalheim had a Web site until he recently mentioned the new URL for his Microsoft Publisher Lounge. If you have questions concerning Publisher, this is the place to go. It has FAQs, Knowledge Base article listings, downloads and links, tips and tricks — just possibly everything you need. If you still can’t find your answer, check out the Publisher newsgroups where Brian and other Publisher MVPs (like David Bartosik, Robin Corn, and Bob Buckland) hang out:

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REGISTRY PATCHES

WIN XP DRAG-AND-DROP FIX CONFIRMED

Thanks to correspondent David Policastro, we now have confirmation that a theoretical Registry repair in Win XP is more than theoretical. It actually works!

Occasionally, Windows will lose drag-and-drop capability. In Win98, this was known to result from Registry corruption in one or more of five keys in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT. A patch was easily created to fix the problem. We knew that this patch shouldn’t be used in Win XP, though, because one of the five keys was different in XP than in 98; so, a “Win XP Safe” version was created that had all the Registry keys right. The problem was, while we knew that the revised version wouldn’t cause any harm in Windows XP, we had no way of testing whether or not it would do anything useful because we couldn’t find a Win XP example of lost drag-and-drop.

Thanks to David Policastro, we now know that it’s more than a theory. Drag-and-drop can be lost in Windows XP in the same way as in Win98, and this Registry patch can fix it. David wrote:

I was having a problem with my XP Windows Explorer, mostly with drag and drop. It would give me an error than the file was in use but on the second attempt it would usually work with no error. Sometimes I couldn’t move or delete a file/folder even after a reboot (the most extreme case). Occasionally using the right click menu cut and paste would also give me the same error. It seems like I got the best results using the Explorer file menu. I applied the registry drag and drop fix for XP and it corrected the problem.

On behalf of all of the people this may help now and in the future: Thanks for the feedback, David!

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KB ARTICLES: Commands, Utilities & Files

SYSTEM RESTORE, REMOTE ASSISTANCE & MORE

System Restore Tool Displays a Blank Calendar in Windows XP WinXP

In case you haven’t noticed yet, there’s a rather sizeable collection of System Restore KB articles on the Commands, Utilities & Files page. This is one of the newer articles. It describes the situation where you launch System Restore, but the calendar to the left doesn’t appear. Cause: The file association for HTML Component files (.HTC) isn’t in the Registry. The fix, of course, is a Registry repair. You can get a .REG file to repair the problem by clicking here.

Restore Points Are Not Saved in System Restore WinME

McAfee Safe & Sound earlier than version 4.00.1034.0 will cause System Restore points to vanish. ’Nuff said?

Computer Stops Responding When You Run a Thorough ScanDisk with McAfee VirusScan 5.1 Installed Win98, Win98 SE, Win ME

The title says it all. Contact McAfee to see if they have a fix for it. Meanwhile, stop using the program; or, at least turn it off and reboot before you run ScanDisk. Note, though, that the same problem can occur if ScanDisk runs at startup due to a bad shutdown, and you probably will not have the opportunity to plan for that one! If it happens, reset the computer, reboot to Safe Mode, disable McAfee, then restart and let ScanDisk run.

How to Obtain Remote Assistance Using Windows Messenger WinMess 4.x; Win XP
How to Provide Remote Assistance In Response To Windows Messenger Invitation WinMess 4.x; Win XP

’Tis the season of giving and receiving Remote Assistance, and often ’tis better to give it than to (need to) receive it. This pair of companion articles walks you through both.

Error Message When You Run System Information Tool: “Cannot Display Information” Win98, Win98 SE

System Information is a great tool! Usually its most tedious aspect is how many layers of menus you have to click through to launch it — which is why most of us simply type MSINFO32 in a Run box, the fastest way to bring it up. Sometimes, though, there are other problems, such as an error message that reads Cannot Display Information. The Component which displays this information is not functioning properly, or is not present on this machine. This is another instance where a Registry problem is the cause, either because certain keys have been corrupted, or because they are missing. However, a .REG file isn’t the best way to solve it. A batch file does the job much better. If you have this problem then, after reading the article and backing up your Registry, pop in your Windows CD and click here to download a batch file to execute the necessary fix for you.

KB ARTICLES: Error Messages

WUAUCLT.EXE Has Caused an Error in WUV31S.DLL Win ME

This occurs when browsing the Web. WUAUCLT.EXE is damaged. Extract a fresh copy.

Error Messages When You Quit the Sounds & Multimedia Tool in Control Panel Win ME

Under the circumstances described in the title, you can get cascading error messages described in detail in the article, of which the most searchable elements are:

The exact number and nature of messages that appear will not always be the same, but the problem should always be pretty recognizable from the above. In any case, this is the result of a bug in Win ME that causes a necessary system file to be destroyed, and there is a patch available. Get the patch.

Fatal Exception 0E at xxxx:xxxxxxxx in VxD SCSI1HLP Win ME

Known causes for this include the presence of a DVD 113R DVD-ROM drive on a Compaq Presario model 5716 or a Hewlett-Packard 8100i SureStor CD-Writer with the Easy CD Creator, the Easy CD Audio/Copier, or the Direct CD program. There don’t appear to be outright fixes, but there are workarounds. The article also gives relevant links to HP and Compaq pages. MVP Alex Nichol takes the point even further. He wrote:

It is widely thought that this [SCSI1HLP.VxD] is best disabled by renaming on almost any system — it is known to be a potential source of trouble with CD burners in general. It is only needed now for very old (aka obsolete) SCSI controllers, anyway.

SETUPAPI.DLL is linked to missing export Cfgmgr32.dll:CM_Get_Log_Conf_Priority IE 5.x for Win98 or Win98 SE; IE 5.5 for Win ME

Somehow, CFGMGR32.DLL got replaced with a version earlier than 4.10.1998. Replace it with the right copy from your Windows CD.

”The following file is missing or corrupt: COMMAND.COM. Type the name of the Command Interpreter.” Win98, Win ME

This one is a little complicated. The exact scenario is that Win98 or Win ME is installed in a dual-boot environment with MS-DOS, then you install Windows again, then you uninstall Windows. In all this fooling around, the Master Boot Record can get screwed up to that it forgets how to spell and loads the file JO.SYS instead of IO.SYS. JO.SYS can’t load the MS-DOS version of MSDOS.SYS and COMMAND.COM (which shouldn’t be confused at all with the Windows files called MSDOS.SYS and COMMAND.COM) and, well, there are problems. The solution is much less complicated than the statement of the problem, but you should get it, step-by-step, from the article rather than from my trying to summarize it here.


INVALID PAGE FAULTS

MSMSGS has caused an Invalid Page Fault in KERNEL32.DLL Win95, Win98, Win98 SE, Win ME

You have a version of MSN Instant Messenger that is too old. Uninstall it, then get a newer version. The article gives the necessary instructions and links.

IEXPLORE or IEXPLORER caused an Invalid Page Fault in module <unknown> or ALSP.EXE Win98, Win98 SE, Win ME

Are you running Aventail Connect VPN? That’s the cause of this problem. Uninstall it. (It isn’t as easy as it sounds, apparently: Microsoft recommends contacting Aventail for “complete information about the uninstall process.”)

IEXPLORE caused an Invalid Page Fault in module URLMON.DLL IE 5 for Win98/98SE

With IE5, there’s a problem if you install the Instant Delivery program included with the HP DeskJet 932c printer. Contact HP for a fix. In the meantime, uninstall Instant Delivery.


“STOP” MESSAGES

Numerous improvements were made in the Stop Messages page in recent weeks, including adding numerous links to the online Windows XP Resource Kit articles on these error conditions. One small caveat to save you some frustration: The XP RK is fickle about those links. Almost half the time, when I click one, I’m told the page doesn’t exist. Click Back, try the link again, and it works. Anyway, I’m pretty proud of this page as it shapes up into a very usable tool for diagnosing and addressing this standard variety of error message in the NT-based operating systems. If you’re running Windows 2000 or Win XP, you need to know about this page.

Here are a few other recent additions to the Stop Messages page:

Troubleshooting Specific Stop Messages
Troubleshooting Stop messages: General Strategies

These are “basic troubleshooting tool chest” articles. The first is for specific messages; the second provides general strategies. Most of the material from them has been incorporated elsewhere into my Stop Messages page, but the articles are worth perusing on their own as well, if for no other reason than to become familiar with what’s available to you.

Troubleshooting “Stop 0x0A” Messages in Windows Win NT, Win 2000, Win XP

This is an article I missed on the first pass, probably because it hadn’t been updated for Win XP yet. The 0x0A Stop Message (IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL) is probably the single most common. This is a very good general purpose article for tackling it.

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KB ARTICLES: Hardware, Drivers & RAM

Configure Devices By Using Device Manager in Win XP

Here’s another one for your basic tool chest: It discusses how to manually configure device resource assignments in Device Manager. An essential for legacy hardware, and sometimes still useful for PnP devices. Here’s a tip: Yes, it is OK for multiple devices to share the same IRQ on Windows XP, so don’t freak out when you see five devices on IRQ 9.

System May Become Unresponsive When Using a Modem Win XP

Win XP has a surprising number of modem issues, especially with PCI modems. I used to be one of those people who routinely lambasted “winmodems” (modems that rely on Windows itself to carry much of the processing burden that other modems handle themselves) until I tried a really top notch one myself — a 56K V.90 from US Robotics (3Com/USR) — and learned that the brand really does make a difference. I’ve happily used, supported, and recommended top-shelf soft modems ever since. But in Win XP, I’m not quite so sure that the “Win” part of “WinModem” is holding up its end of the deal quite as well. We presently have a couple of ongoing newsgroup threads where several of us with matching symptoms are trying to sort out the common factors. And I mindfully use the word “factors” in the plural, because I suspect several things are involved.

This present article provides one piece of the puzzle. It describes problems of Win XP locking up when trying to use the modem on computers using the Intel 440MX chipset and a soft modem. Primarily, this chipset is used on certain smaller P-III laptops, and so far the problem has only been identified for the AC’97 modem. The solution is a combination of an updated BIOS and a patch from Microsoft. See the article for the details, because there are some extra steps involved.

Unable to Change Settings for IntelliPoint Mouse Devices (Explorer, Optical, & Web) Win ME, IntelliMouse Explorer 1.0

After upgrading to Windows ME with this generation of IntelliMouse software, you can’t reprogram the mouse buttons to new functions. Or, when you try to install IntelliMouse 3.0 or 3.1 software after a clean install of Win ME, you may find that you can’t do it because the software is incompatible. You need new software. The article discusses the problem and provides a current link for downloading the software.

Installation Path Is Required When You Install Additional Print Drivers in Win XP Win XP

If you have multiple operating systems installed, and want to use the same printer with all of them, you may run into the problem that the printer drivers shipped with Win XP only work on Win XP and 2000. For other operating systems, you need other drivers. Solution: Get the other drivers.

“Not Enough Extended Memory Available to Run Windows” Win95, Win98, Win98 SE, Win ME

This error message can occur on startup of Win9x when SYSTEM.INI has too many duplicate [TTFontDimenCache] entries. Solution: Boot from a floppy and edit SYSTEM.INI to remove the duplicates.


CD & DVD Drives

Just before Christmas, I added a new section on CD and DVD drives to the Hardware, Drivers & RAM page. The three articles above are the opening offering, but more will be added over time. Between the first two, you should be start digging into any CD/DVD issue on Win9x. The third one is a situation where the NoDriveTypeAutoRun Registry key has become corrupted. After reading the article, click here to download a Registry patch to fix it.

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KB ARTICLES: Internet Explorer & Outlook Express

Norton Antivirus Causes OE6 to Stop Responding OE6 for WinXP/2000

So many system refinements, so little time! That’s the problem here: It’s a timeout issue. And, despite the title of the article, you can’t really blame Norton Antivirus (well, not completely), because the issue only exists in Outlook Express version 6.

The problem is that more recent versions of NAV include the option of enabling virus checking for email. Symantec warns that on some systems this can slow down email downloads slightly. (In using NAV 2002, I can’t tell that there is any slowdown. Email is equally slow either with or without it.) But OE6 times out due to this. Microsoft’s solution: Disable email virus checking.

POP3 Server Information Doesn’t Change & Error Messages Appear in OE 5.5 OE 5.5; Outlook 2000 & 2002

Here’s another antivirus issue. This time the culprit is PC-cillin. And this time it really is the virus checker’s fault! The problem is that, if you change the POP3 server information in OE 5.5 (or, given the caption of the page, apparently for OE 6 and Outlook 2000 or 2002), it may not really change the information. Furthermore, when you try to connect to log onto your email server, you may get an error message such as “Cannot log on using Secure Password authentication” or “Unable to locate the POP3 server you specified.” The problem is that Trend Micro’s PC-cillin uses the POP3TRAP.EXE program file that OE is trying to use. You have to make a manual Registry repair, then reset your POP3 account info.

By the way, if you have this problem and change POP3 accounts often, it seems to me that you would be better off looking into how to use an alias in the HOSTS file. This would completely circumvent the problem, since all future changes would be made in a simple text file on your computer.

“Send To” & E-mail Links Do Not Work Using Outlook Express as Default

This one is pretty common: You find that you have trouble sending email using Outlook Express in one or more of the following situations: You try to send email by clicking on a hyperlink (say, on a Web page). Or you try to use the email Send To feature of some other program, or (something similar) you try to use the New Message feature in Internet Explorer, and it doesn’t work.

The problem is either that OE isn’t registered as your default email program, or there is a Registry problem that makes it look like this is the case. This article provides fixes for both of these situations.

Temporary Internet Files Use More Disk Space Than Specified

Don’t you hate it when they do that? Sheesh! There’s this nice option that lets you say how much space you want allocated to the TIF, and then Windows goes and ignores it. Not only that, but files downloaded from Web sites may stay in the TIF folder even when you tell Windows to delete them. Must be a plot! Yeah, that’s it, a conspiracy between Microsoft and the hard drive manufacturers to get more of your money! Definitely!

Or, of course, it could just be that some of the TIF files are hidden, are in use by other processes, or are otherwise protected. Or Web page content may be only partially downloaded (for example, if you clicked Stop while the page was still opening, or click off to another page before a page has finished downloading). Or maybe you are downloading streaming video with the AxisCamControl ActiveX control (distributed by Axis Communications), used to stream live video from a camera. Any of these conditions could cause the same problems. Want to work around these problems? This KB article tells you how.

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KB ARTICLES: Password Problems

Your Password Is Not Retained in Windows 2000 or Windows XP OE 6.0 for Win XP; OE 5.01/5.5 for Win 2000

Though I haven’t seen it myself, I’m told a number of people have the following problem: Outlook Express on a Windows 2000 or XP computer doesn’t retain the password on a POP3 account, even if you’ve told it to do so. The cause is a corrupt “Protected Storage System Provider” Registry key. To solve the problem, remove the Registry information (after a suitable backup), and then enter the password again. This article walks you painstakingly through all of the steps.

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KB ARTICLES: Shutdown & Restart

Computer May Stop Responding When You Shut Down & Use Only the 802.1x Protocol for User Authentication Win XP

Combining the use of shutdown scripts with 802.1x authentication protocol can cause Win XP to take in excess of 10 minutes to shutdown normally. (IEEE 802.1x is an authentication standard for both wireless networks and wired Ethernet networks.) Here’s how the dominoes fall: The 802.1x authentication stops after the user logs off. Shutdown scripts run after the user logs off. If the script is on a network share and the connection is no longer available (since authentication has terminated), the script can’t run. The default time-out for shutdown scripts is 10 minutes. So the computer sits there 10 minutes before continuing with its shutdown.

Computer Hangs During Shutdown Because of Resource Conflict Win XP

This article points to a problem that may be experienced by people using PACE InterLok anti-piracy software on Win XP. InterLok installs a driver named TPKD.SYS. This driver uses the same IRQ as the standard floppy controller. As a result, you can get any of several types of problems when you try to shutdown or restart Windows. One possible problem is a STOP 0x0000009F or DRIVER_POWER_STATE_FAILURE error message when shutting down from Safe Mode. Another possible problem is the Device Manager error status “This device cannot find enough free resources that it can use. (Code 12)” for the floppy controller (and the floppy drive not appearing in My Computer). Or it can be as simple a symptom as Windows hanging on a blank screen at shutdown, with keyboard and mouse response locked out.

Fortunately, the solution is simple: Pace has an updated driver. Get it and install it.

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KB ARTICLES: Startup & Boot Log

How to Multiple Boot Win XP, Win 2000, Win NT, Win95, Win98, & MS-DOS All

This one’s a beauty! If you plan to boot multiple Windows operating system versions, this is the first article you should read. That’s all I’m going to say about it: This is the one to read first.

The article is also noteworthy because of a rather juicy error message it documents: IEXPLORE caused an Invalid Page Fault in module KERNEL32.DLL. This can result from installing multiple operating systems on the same partition. Microsoft recommends installing each operating system on its own partition.

Fast Boot/Fast Resume for Windows XP Win XP

This is actually a page on the Windows Platform Development site, not the KB. If you really want to get your hands dirty digging into system startup time tweaking, indulge yourself in this orgy of information. Among other things, the page includes links to download the BootVis tool, a performance trace visualization tool for Win XP systems; a white paper on fast system startup on Win XP computers; a presentation on power management and system design; and papers describing energy power management standards relevant to Windows XP. Probably not for the complete newbie, but lots of good information for anyone really interested.

“Windows Could Not Start Because the Following File Is Missing or Corrupt: \Winnt\System32\Config\System.ced” Win 2000, Win XP

If you restart Windows 2000 or XP and get the error message Windows could not start because the following file is missing or corrupt:\WINNT\SYSTEM32\CONFIG\SYSTEM.CED, then you have a problem. The specific problem you have involves the Registry. Either the System hive in the Registry is damaged or missing or too large to load, or you’ve hit a design limit in Intel and ARC (RISC) systems that provide only 16 MB of RAM at one stage of the boot process. As usual, see the article for the fix.

Safe-Mode Boot Switches for Windows BOOT.INI File Win 2000, Win XP

BOOT.INI is the file that controls a boot options menu when Windows 2000 or XP starts. This article describes command line switches to use in BOOT.INI to force certain startup conditions, such as Safe Mode (normal, with networking, or as a command prompt), boot logging, VGA mode, and debugging mode.

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KB ARTICLES: Troubleshooting

How to perform a Clean Boot in Windows XP

Companion articles to this one have been mainstays in troubleshooting Win95, Win98, and Win ME for years. This one for Windows XP should prove just as popular and just as helpful. Perhaps needless to say, there are some differences in “clean boot troubleshooting” in Windows XP compared to its predecessors.

In case “clean boot troubleshooting” is a new concept to you, I should say something about what it is. Basically, troubleshooting a computer problem is similar to differential diagnosis in medicine. It is a matter of ruling out a range of possible conditions to narrow the field to a single cause, which turns out to be the actual cause of the problem — your diagnosis. Because most computers have so many things running on them (both hardware and software), it is useful to have a way to clean a lot of stuff out of the way to narrow the field. For example, once you know whether a problem persists when you have booted into Safe Mode, you’ve pretty much “cut the problem in half” because you’ve either ruled in, or ruled out, a specific list of factors that exist in a Normal Mode boot but do not exist in a Safe Mode boot.

“Clean boot troubleshooting” is along the same lines. A clean boot isn’t quite so conservative as a Safe Mode boot. Specifically, it involves disabling common startup programs, settings, and drivers. This is often extremely productive in narrowing the field. This article walks you through the steps. As you might expect, MSCONFIG is the centerpiece of this endeavor. Basically, using MSCONFIG you pick Selective Startup and clear all boxes you can clear. (There’s one you can’t clear.) Reboot the computer and test for the problem. If the problem is gone, you then work your way through the individual tabs to isolate exactly what it is that brings the problem back when you enable it. That’s the basic approach — but the article walks you through it more carefully. (It also describes some particular issues with the Windows installer, which behaves differently in Win XP than it does in earlier versions of Windows.)

How to Troubleshoot Using MSCONFIG in Win XP

This is a companion article to the last one. Do not presume that they duplicate each other. This one is more general, more basic, covers more of what you can do with MSCONFIG, and in particular discusses other troubleshooting and system repair tasks, such as the use of System Restore from MSCONFIG. Read them both, and keep them handy.

How to Troubleshoot Wireless Network Connections in Windows XP

Enough of this “generally useful” stuff! This one is specific! It talks about how to troubleshoot wireless network connections in Windows XP. (The title sort of gave that away.) A nice addition to the tool chest.

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KB ARTICLES: Windows XP

Without any added explanation, you can probably figure out the relevance of MSKB article Q309127, List of Fixes Included in the Win XP Dynamic Update Package, and MSKB article Q310414, Configure & Use Error Reporting in Win XP. They are pretty straightforward items.

But here’s the hot one to come out in the last couple of weeks. You’ve probably been reading about it everyplace you turn, and may even have seen it mentioned on the evening news:

Unchecked Buffer in Universal Plug & Play can Lead to System Compromise for Win XP

Microsoft has caught a lot of flack for this one. Win XP was designed to be (and very well may be!) the most secure operating system MS has ever produced. But it contains extremely robust support for Universal Plug and Play (UPnP), and (wouldn’t you know) this can provide an open gateway for malicious hackers on networked Win XP computers. These problems primarily affect Win XP, but can affect Win98 computers that have had the Win XP Internet Connection Sharing client installed on them, or Win ME computers where the UPnP client has been installed and activated.

Using one of the discovered UPnP vulnerabilities, an attacker could execute code on your computer in an area that affects system privileges, the heart of Win XP’s security structure. Because of the lesser security features on Win98 and ME, this amounts to handing over complete control over the Win9x computer to the invader. Nor is this the only vulnerability UPnP adds.

Fortunately, there are solutions. A simple one is to use standard firewall procedures to block ports 1900 and 5000. Furthermore, there is a patch. The above article gives links to multiple versions of the patch. Additionally, if you are running Windows 98 or ME, you should read up on the related Win98 issue in MSKB Q314941 (for Win98) or MSKB Q314757 (for Win ME).

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KB ARTICLES: Windows Setup

System Requirements for Microsoft Windows Operating Systems All

This is a page of links. Do you want to know what the system requirements are to install some version of Windows? The answer is here.

Windows XP Supported Upgrade Paths Win XP

Just what it says. This tells you if there is a supported upgrade path to Windows XP from any of a dozen different versions of Windows.

“NTLDR Is Missing” Error Message When You Upgrade or Install Over Win95, Win98, or Win ME Win XP

If you’re upgrading to Windows XP on a computer that currently has Win 95, 98, or ME installed, and the installation is on a large-capacity FAT32 hard drive, you might get the error message: NTLDR is missing. Press any key to restart. Why would this happen? Oh, I left out one of the details: cloning. (No wonder the Bush administration is so against it!) This problem only occurs if the existing Win9x installation is a cloned copy restored to a hard drive that has a different geometry than the source drive of the original. Fortunately, there’s a relatively painless way to fix it.

Description of the Dynamic Update Feature in Win XP Setup Win XP Pro

During Win XP installation, you are asked if you want the computer to go online and look for updates. This doesn’t include all possible Win XP updates (you need to check the Windows Updates page for that, after your installation). It just includes drivers and replacement files. This short article explains exactly what it’s doing. It’s a good thing to do.

“An Unexpected Error (768) Occurred at Line 5118in d:Xp\Client\Boot\Setup\Setup.c” Error Message During Win XP Setup Win XP

If you’re installing Win XP as an upgrade, and have GoBack version 3 on the computer, you may get one of a beautiful assortment of horrible sounding error messages, such as these:

GoBack 3 is incompatible with Win XP. It’s possible that other software would be similarly incompatible and generate these error messages, but GoBack is the one that’s been identified. Solution: Back out of the Windows install, uninstall GoBack, and then start the Windows upgrade again.

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HUMOR: Was that Tolkien’s Ring, or Token Ring?

(The following reportedly has appeared on newsgroups, with the original source unattributed. I found it courtesy of Access MVP John Vinson. Enjoy!)

Recently one of my friends, a computer wizard, paid me a visit. As we were talking I mentioned that I had recently installed Windows XP on my PC. I told him how happy I was with this operating system and showed him the Windows XP CD. To my surprise he threw it into my microwave oven and turned it on. Instantly I got very upset, because the CD had become precious to me, but he said: “Do not worry, it is unharmed.”

After a few minutes he took the CD out, gave it to me and said: “Take a close look at it.” To my surprise the CD was quite cold to hold and it seemed to be heavier than before. At first I could not see anything, but on the inner edge of the central hole I saw an inscription, an inscription finer than anything I had ever seen before. The inscription shone piercingly bright, and yet remote, as if out of a great depth:

12413AEB2ED4FA5E6F7D78E78BEDE8209450920F923A40EE10E510CC98D444AA08E1324F

“I cannot understand the fiery letters,” I said in a timid voice.

“No, but I can,” he said. “The letters are Hex, of an ancient mode, but the language is that of Microsoft, which I shall not utter here. But in common English, this is what it says:

“One OS to rule them all,
   One OS to find them,
One OS to bring them all
   and in the darkness bind them.”

“It is only two lines from a verse long known in System Lore:

“Three OS’s from corporate kings in their towers of glass,
   Seven from valley lords where orchards used to grow,
Nine from dotcoms doomed to die,
   One from the Dark Lord Gates on his dark throne
In the Land of Redmond where the Shadows lie.
   One OS to rule them all, one OS to find them,
   One OS to bring them all and in the darkness bind them,
In the Land of Redmond where the Shadows lie.”

(Scary, ain’t it! – Mr. E)

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Happy computing, everyone!

Jim Eshelman


THE NECESSARY LEGAL STUFF
DISCLAIMER: Any information given in this newsletter, or on any other part of the Windows Support Center Web site, 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, but 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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