dacs.doc electric

Q. I installed a program and then uninstalled it. It left a DLL file in the system, and when I went to delete the DLL file I got a message that said, "Cannot delete the file because it is in use by Windows." How do I get rid of it? There is an icon in the StartUp folder for the application.

A. Before you delete it, you would probably be best to rename it first. If it has been loaded, you won't be able to rename it either. Here is the process to follow: First, go to Start/Settings/Taskbar/Start Menu Programs/Remove/Programs/StartUp and remove the icon for the program. This should stop it from starting.

Restart the machine, but press the F8 key when you see the message "Starting Windows 95" (This happens before you get the blue cloud screen). Select Command Prompt Only. Change to your Windows directory, then to the SYSTEM subdirectory within. (CD \WINDOWS\SYSTEM). Then rename the file, say it is XYZ.DLL, and change it to XYZ_XXX.DLL or something similar. Restart your machine and let Windows run normally. If all is well, then you may delete the file (which is now named XYZ_XXX.DLL). If there is a problem, rename the file to its original name.

If you have many applications that you want to remove, you may also want to look into some of the cleanup programs such as Uninstaller or CleanSweep. These programs will inventory your system, the programs within, which programs call which DLL files, and vice versa. They will identify which components may be safely removed.

Q. I have a 486 machine with a SCSI controller with an external (Iomega) ZIP drive attached and working. I tried attaching a SCSI CD drive, and now neither work. The Adaptec EZ-SCSI software recognizes that both devices are present. I am running under Windows 3.1. What should I do?

A. First, see if the CD works without the ZIP drive attached. If so, both devices may have the same SCSI ID setting (a number in the range of 0 to 7 inclusive.) They must be different. Also, the last device in the chain must be "terminated" either via a physical plug attached to the device, or via a switch setting in the device. For example, you might have the PC connected to the ZIP drive with a cable, then another cable running from the ZIP to the CD drive. In that case, the CD drive must have a terminator switch set, or a terminator plug in the empty socket. Try to get the CD-ROM working on its own, then get the ZIP drive to work on its own, then get them to work together.

Q. I have a Pentium II with 64MB of RAM and Windows 95. After installing Internet Explorer 4, I and am now getting a lot of Kernel 32 crashes. Suggestions?

A. Record the address of the crash, then go to the Microsoft Knowledge Base and do a search on the address. This will often identify a fix. Make sure you have the latest Service Pack and releases. Turn off the "Active Channel Bar" -- it has problems.

Q. I have Windows 95 OSR 2.5 . It won't shut down. If I do a shutdown, it cycles as if I had hit the Reset. It goes through the memory test, and then boots. The machine has an AMD K6, and Windows 95 OSR 2.5 was on the system.

A. OSR 2.5 is not a user-installable version of Windows 95; it is intended to be installed by an OEM, and usually requires some configuration by the OEM to match the machine. Some reported similar problems when there was bad cache, but this is not probable in your case. It was suggested that you check to make sure all applications are stopped before you shut down (check in the task manager).

Also, does the machine have a "soft off" function, whereby the Windows 95 Shutdown will also power down the machine? The software may "think" that you have this feature, and if it isn't present in the hardware, that could do it.

Q. I have WinFax 8.0 on a Pentium-based machine. It will send and receive faxes with many machines, but with one correspondent I can receive but not send.

A. Some older "real" fax machines have problems with fax modems, in which case you won't be able to fax to them. But before you abandon it, check the release in your software (usually in HELP/ABOUT), and then compare it with the update release in the Symantec support Web site. You may also want to check the modem settings: The setup strings in the modem database are often "close" but not exactly right for faxing. Check with your modem manufacturer's site.

Q. I am running Windows 95 on a Pentium 150. If after I have been using the machine for a while I start Netscape Communicator 4, I get the hourglass for just a second, then it goes away, but Netscape Communicator isn't running. If I restart the machine and then start Netscape Communicator 4, it runs fine.

A. Some application is not freeing resources, and thus not leaving enough of them for NC. You can take a look at your resource availability by going to HELP/ABOUT in any of the Microsoft products. Note that even if you have "50%" free, this does not mean you have 50% usable, since it could be fragmented. For example, you could have 2% used, 2% free, 2% used, in which case you would have 50% free but only 2% usable. Some programs are notorious for being resource leakers--you mentioned you sometimes use PowerPoint. See if you can identify which application doesn't clean up its act.

Q. Under Windows NT, how can I determine if a device is supported?

A. Go to www.microsoft.com and follow the references to Windows 95 support. Find the HCL (Hardware Compatibility List). You also might check the manufacturer's Web site, as it will usually announce the company's compatibility before Microsoft gets around to updating the list.