problems with My Documents

[sliema]

Hi, I have Windows 98 SE and the last few days I am having trouble with My Documents drop down from files. Whenever I go to 'New' a message comes up and tells me, that IE performed an illegal programm and it is going to shut down and it will shut down my documents. I scanned for viruses, used Norton Doctor, scanned with HouseCall, deleted IE and reinstalled, all to no avail, it is going to drive me crazy. Everything else is fine, no problems......I cannot understand why IE and MY Documents are clashing....

[GaryRouth]

If this error has just occured in the last few days, and you haven't added any new hardware or software in the meantime, you can try restoring a copy of the Registry from just before the trouble started. My guess is that a Registry entry is off a bit.

To restore the Registry, boot into DOS from either a bootable floppy (you can make one in Start/Settings/Control Panel/ Add-Remove Programs/Startup Disk) or from your Windows installation CD. From the "command prompt" (looks like an arrow or "greater than" sign >) type

scanreg/restore

You should see a list of dates to choose from, choose a successful boot from just before your current trouble started.

Hopefully, that will do it. If it doesn't, post again & we'll look for a better fix. You can also check at the Microsoft Knowledge Base for related articles such as this one: http://support.microsoft.com/default...52&Product=w98

Best of luck,
. . . Gary

[p.s. noticed this is your first post. Welcome to the Pc Mechanic forums!]

[sliema]

Thanks Gary for your prompt reply. I am a novice at the desk infront of a pc, so excuse my ignorance please. I went to restart in MS-DOS, typed in scanreg/restore as you suggested but unfortunately it only went back as far as 01/04/04, not enough for me, I needed seven days backwards. In the meantine about two days ago I downloaded ZoneAlarm as a firewall. Also I went on to microsoft help site and on it I found out that the problem I am experiencing is a win 98 problem which they acknowledge. So as you can see I am stuck, not knowing what to do. Thanks again, anymore suggestions please?...........sliema

[GaryRouth]

ZoneAlarm is a pretty heavy-duty package. Did the My Documents error start Before you installed Zone Alarm or after? I took a look over at the ZoneAlarm forums & there are a few issues that can come up regarding documents access. If your symptoms started just after trying ZoneAlarm, the easiest quickfix try is to uninstall/reinstall ZoneAlarm. It works for a fair amount of computers.

You can also test to see if it's likely or not that ZoneAlarm is involved. Disconnect from any networks (including the Internet), and then stop/disable ZoneAlarm. Then see if you can access My Documents normally. If so, try the uninstall/reinstall.

If it turns out the ZoneAlarm has nothing to do with it, you can try an over-the-top reinstall to provide you with a fresh Registry. It's a bit overkill for a little problem like this, but it generally works OK. Just remember to disconnect from networks, and then disable antivirus and firewalls before trying the reinstall. [you can turn on the antivirus and firewall as soon as you are finished reinstalling] http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.p...threadid=70846

Ask any questions you have & we'll see how it goes
. . . Gary

[sliema]

Gary, ZoneAlarm I downloaded it yesterday, the problem was there before that. Still trying to eliminate the problem.......Sliema

[Redo40]

Try scanreg /fix at the prompt and see if it can repair the registry.

[sliema]

I tried scanreg/fix but unfortunately didn't work either.......Sliema

[Redo40]

Try an over-the-top install , instructions courtesy of Gary.

By the way, welcome to PCMech.

Hey Gary!

[GaryRouth]

sliema - if you're a tad nervous about the over-the-top idea, make lots of backups first. It's really not very exciting, nor difficult, as long as you print out the instructions first and follow them carefully. It doesn't take long, either. But it's your machine, and your call.

Remember, too, that you can post as many questions here as you can type
. . . Gary

[. . . and hey Roger = happy new year! ]

[sliema]

thanks guys I have a think about it, back everything up, I have most of the stuff on backup.......sliema