If it had been up to us, the Windows logo wouldn't be a multicolored flag. We would have picked something that all Windows users could relate to, something that illustrates how Windows makes us feel day in and day out, something that instantly sums up Windows 98's pluses and minuses. Perhaps something like the comedy and tragedy masks often used to symbolize drama would've been better-you know, where one mask is smiling and the other crying.

The reasons to smile about Win98 are now familiar: It's compatible with far more hardware and software than any operating system (even its siblings), is better able to perform basic maintenance on itself and can even self-repair-to a degree.

But that's light years away from saying it's the "best possible" desktop OS. It's not-and that's where the crying starts. So we tapped several sources for the most common Win98 problems and then set out to fix them. Surprisingly, we found that most could be remedied, or at least ameliorated, by following the simple fix-it process we'll describe. Although the full fix-it list has 10 steps, not all problems require all the steps-some can be fixed in just one or two.

For Crying Out Loud
As soon as Win98 came out, bug reports started to surface. To try to discern any patterns in the reports, we set aside a portion of our Web site's Dialog Box chat area ( http://www.winmag.com/discussions ), where we collected literally thousands of real-life bug reports from users like you.

We sorted those reports and checked a number of bug-related sites and newsgroups. We also visited the sites and bulletin boards for the major hardware vendors, scoured the labyrinthine Microsoft site and called Microsoft for official comments on the worst problems.

The most common Win98 problems fall into one of six general categories:

Luckily, all but two of the problems can probably be remedied using our 10-step checklist. These two-ACPI and networking issues-are the thorniest Win98 problem areas. They deserve special attention, so we'll come back to them later.

Two final thoughts before we begin: First, this article focuses on problems that Win98 can cause for your system, not the other way around. If your system has broken or misconfigured hardware, or improperly installed software, the problems they cause may masquerade as a Win98 problem. To rule out this kind of problem, check out "Do It Yourself" (Features, October 1998, http://www.winmag.com/library/1998/1001 /).

Second, while none of the steps listed here is especially risky or dangerous, it's always wise to have current, known-good backups of your data before you make any significant alterations to your system. Why take a chance? Make a backup first.

Step 1: Read the READMEs
Start with the basics: Win98 ships with some 300KB of information i n 13 separate README files that cover a wide range of known problems, workarounds, tips and support options for a range of hardware and software. All the documents are TXT files located in your C:\WINDOWS directory.

To see if your specific problem is covered, start with README.TXT, which is a kind of table of contents for all the other README files. Also check GENERAL.TXT, which contains information too new to have been incorporated elsewhere. It takes only a minute and costs nothing to check out the READMEs-and they just might solve your problem.

Step 2: Get Up to Date (Part I)
Microsoft itself has already released a number of updates and patches to Win98. Around the time you read this, the company should also be releasing a large service pack to remedy many of Win98's internal bugs and problems. To see what's available, run Windows Update (Start/Windows Update).

Step 3: Get Up to Date (Part II)
Most major hardware and software vendors have also released Win98-specific updates:

Also, poke around vendor sites for BBS areas, searchable FAQs and other resources for solving Win98-related problems. You may find solutions to your immediate problems, as well as information that will help you avoid future obstacles.

Note: If you haven't yet installed Win98, it's still a great idea to visit the appropriate hardware/software sites for your system beforehand, so you'll learn of any known gotchas or problems. That way, you'll have the fixes or workarounds handy when you do finally install Win98.

Step 4: A Fresh Start for Hardware
If the first three steps haven't solved a hardware problem, try removing and then reinstalling the device: Open Control Panel and click on the System applet. Click on Device Manager and select the category and specific device that's not working properly. Click once on the malfunctioning item, then on the Remove button. If Win98 asks to remove files that are no longer needed, click on Yes and reboot.

Windows 98 should now wake up, redetect the hardware you just removed and automatically run the Add New Hardware Wizard (you can also run it manually within Start/Settings/Control Panel). If you downloaded new drivers in Steps 1 to 3, use the Wizard's Have Disk option to ensure that Win98 installs your new drivers and not the old ones.

Step 5: A Fresh Start for Software
Similarly, if Steps 1 to 3 haven't solved a software problem, reinstall the app or do a complete remove/reinstall cycle:

Step 6: Strength in Numbers (Part I)
One advantage of using the world's most popular OS is that millions of other users are in exactly the same position you are: Chances are, someone, somewhere, has had the same problem or one very similar to yours-and there's a reasonable chance it's already been reported to Microsoft.

The Microsoft Knowledge Base began as an internal resource for Microsoft support technicians: As they solved support problems, they'd document each one and its appropriate remedy in a database that other tech support personnel could reference. See the sidebar "Free Tech Support (with the Web)."

After a while, Microsoft made the Knowledge Base available to the public. It's free, although you do have to provide some basic registration information to fully exploit its features. Go to http://support.microsoft.com, register and then spend some time learning the advanced features of the Knowledge Base. It's very powerful-and just may be your ticket to solving very specific problems that otherwise may seem intractable.

Step 7: Strength in Numbers (Part II)
You can also tap a huge volume of specific personal experiences with Win98 by visiting any of the 30 or so separate Win98-related Usenet newsgroups. Log on to your ISP, fire up your newsreader, and search for discussion groups with "win98" and "windows98" as part of their names. As a place to start, you'll find one large series of discussions under the heading "microsoft.public.win98.xxx" where xxx stands for various subsystems and components (modems, displays and so on).

Alternatively, search for discussion groups with your specific vendor, system, peripheral or app in their titles.

Step 8: Tap the Web
There are close to 100 non-Microsoft Web sites dealing with Win98. To find sites for specific Win98 problems, try a metasearch at a search engine such as MetaCrawler (http://www.metacrawler.com ) or DogPile (http://www.dogpile.com).

Or you can save some time by short-cutting right to the top two general Win98 sites, as ranked by a number of metasearch engines: WINDOWS Magazine's own http://www.winmag.com/win98/ and CMP Media's http://www.cmpnet.com/win98/.

Step 9: Get Resourceful
All normal retail Win98 CDs contain a copy of the online Resource Kit, the HTML equi valent of a 1,700-page book that can solve problems and answer a wide range of troubleshooting and tuning questions. Just click on \TOOLS\RESKIT\HELP\RK98BOOK.CHM on your Win98 CD.

Step 10: Go Local
Odds are, there's a helpful group of personal computer users near you which either has already solved a problem like yours or has the know-how to do so. Local PC user groups can be an invaluable way to share information. If you don't know of any local groups, check out the Association of Personal Computer User Groups (APCUG) at http://www.apcug.org/.

Solving the Toughest Problems
While the 10 steps above will help solve the overwhelming majority of Win98 problems, as we mentioned earlier, two of the most-often-cited problems deserve special attention.

Win98 is ACPI-compliant, according to Shawn Sanford, Microsoft's product manager for desktop operating systems. "But," he cautions, "this is just one piece of the puzzle." Everything else in the system-all the hardware and the system BIOS-must also be ACPI-compliant for all the pieces to work.

ACPI is relatively new; many systems now being upgraded to Win98 were originally designed for the older Advanced Power Management (APM) technology. This means many of these older systems may require, at a minimum, BIOS or other driver updates to work properly with the new technology. See Steps 1 through 4 and 6 through 8 for suggestions.

But even with all the latest patches and updates, Win98's ACPI scheme may not work properly. For example, we have an IBM ThinkPad 560 that originally shipped with Win95 and APM. When Win98 came out, we downloaded a new Win98-specific BIOS update and new Win98-specific power-management drivers from the IBM Web site. But even with all that, the 560 comes out of hibernation modes extremely slowly, if at all.

Because ACPI operations function deep within a system, there's very little you can do-except wait for the hardware vendors and Microsoft to sort out the problems and post bug-fixes and patches. It's frustrating, and may well be Win98's single-worst failing.

Sanford says Microsoft is looking into problems like this on a case-by-case basis; he suggests, as a workaround, turning off all BIOS-level power-management functions, so Win98 can attempt to manage all power functions on its own. It didn't help in my case, but it has helped in others. It's worth a try: The specifics vary from vendor to vendor and model to model (check your owner's manual), but there should be a key you press during boot (there's usually an on-screen message that says "Press F2 for setup" or something similar) or a key combination you can hit in DOS that will bring you to the BIOS setup screens. If the BIOS lets you alter the ACPI, there'll be an option to do so. If not, you won't see any power-management options.

These troubles seem most prevalent in upgrade installations where non-Microsoft networking components have been installed. However, some from-scratch installs can suffer too.

A variation on Step 5 will solve many of these problems: Use the Control Panel's Network applet to remove all clients, protocols, adapters and services from any machine with networking trouble. If DUN is also a problem, delete all DUN connections, too. (Of course, you should first make note of all settings so you can properly recreate them.) Now reboot and then reinstall all the necessary clients, protocols and so on in the Network applet; reboot again. Now rebuild the DUN connections.

This process is laborious but not difficult-and it usually ensures that all the necessary network plumbing is installed properly. Follow the rest of the standard 10-step fix-it process to resolve whatever other issues you might face.

What If Nothing Helps?
Sometimes, nothing seems to help; Windows 98 can get so fouled up that no amount of layering-on of patches or adjusting components will make it right. And frankly, sometimes it's just not worth the time and hassle to try to figure out every possible reason why something may not be working right. That's when it's time for a fresh installation of the operating system.

This doesn't have to be a tragedy: Our "Do It Yourself" October feature contains full instructions on three safe and easy ways to reinstall Windows from scratch.

All Smiles?
It would be nice if Windows 98 were that mythical, perfect OS that cures all ills and never has any trouble. But alas, that OS has never been invented and probably never will be. Meanwhile, if you're in the unlucky minority of people for whom Windows 98 is causing serious trouble, the steps, tips and links discussed above should go a long way to helping you set things right.

SIDEBAR: The Ultimate Windows Utility

It's not a bug-fixer by definition, but Win98's Tweak UI will help you eliminate some common OS annoyances.

SIDEBAR: Problem-Solving Sites

Tap these Web sites to help fix what ails your Windows 98 installation.

SIDEBAR: Free Tech Support (with the Web)

Microsoft's Advanced Technical Support Online (http://support.microsoft.com) makes getting help for Win98 easy-if you know how to navigate its behemoth site. Here are some pointers for getting the information you need as fast as possible.

SIDEBAR: Free Tech Support (Without the Web)

Web-based tech support can be a big help-but what if the trouble you're having is that you can't connect to the Web? Here's how to get free Microsoft tech support via e-mail and fax.

SIDEBAR: Top Six Tips for Bug-Free Updates

© 1998 Windows Magazine
December 1998, Page 168.

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