ndm105,

For the errors in Internet Explorer and Outlook Express you can go to Add/Remove Programs and repair the IE installation by selecting it and choosing the repair option from the context menu that appears when you click the uninstall button.

For the other problems, the easiest and most direct solution may be to back up your perishable data and do a clean reinstallation of Windows 98SE.

Thank you, Denny.

I tried doing the repair on IE6, but when I try to check my email, as it is downloading the files, I get this error:

MSIMN caused an invalid page fault in
module KERNEL32.DLL at 017f:bff7a4b2.
Registers:
EAX=00000000 CS=017f EIP=bff7a4b2 EFLGS=00210206
EBX=00000000 SS=0187 ESP=054bf994 EBP=054bf9a4
ECX=00400008 DS=0187 ESI=00400000 FS=4e77
EDX=00000020 ES=0187 EDI=0040000c GS=0000
Bytes at CS:EIP:
8b 03 25 fc ff ff 0f 3b 45 0c 0f 83 81 00 00 00
Stack dump:
788f1d1a 054bfb24 0000001c 00000000 054bf9b8 bff88dc4 00400000 00000020 00000000 054bfa10 65f014f0 00400000 00000000 0000001c 65f01542 65faf00c

I was afraid that I would have to load Windows over again. I think what happened was that I had an intermittent problem with IE6 & Outlook and then I installed the Microsoft Critical updates and it has now given me a host of new problems.

Would you suggest that I abandon Win 98 if I need to start from scrathc and go to XP with my system? And, if so, since I have two large HD's, could I load XP onto the spare drive and then change that drive to C:?

Thanks for your help so much!

nmd105

SYSTEM-
XPS T450 (Powerleap 1400),
640 MB SDRAM,
Windows 98SE, SP1
(2) Western Digital 120 GB HD,
Diamond Viper V770D [display adapter],
TB Montego II [sound card],
Memorex CD Writer,
TOSHIBA DVD-ROM SD-M1212 [CD-ROM drive],
D-Link DFE-550TX FAST Ethernet 10/100 Adapter [network card]

ndm105,

Your system would support XP and since you currently have 98 installed and have two hard disks you have the option of setting up a dual boot system, leaving 98 on one disk and installing XP on the other. The other logical option is to move all your data from your current C:\ partition to the other hard disk and install XP on C:\ after deleting the current C:\, recreating it, then formatting it. You can do a clean install of XP using an XP Upgrade CD (you will be prompted to insert your Win98 CD early in the procedure to verify that you are doing a legitimate upgrade).

In either case, it will probably be quicker than trying to track down the source of the kernel32.dll error that's currently present.

Thanks, again, Denny. That sounds like the best thing to do. But, it will take time and I have to purchase the XP Upgrade. 

In the meantime, I need to get at my email and access the Internet. So I was wondering if I can unintstall IE6 and Outlook 6 and then reinstall them without losing my emails. Can I do that? And, if so, do I just uninstall from Add/Remove Programs and then reinstall it (downloading the file BEFORE I uninstall, of course!)

Thank you so much for you help.

ndm105

ndm105,

If you have installed SP1 to IE6 you will no longer have the option of restoring the previous Windows configuration (which would have taken you back to IE5 and allowed you to reintall IE6). What might work is to uninstall Microsoft Outlook Express then go back into Add/Remvoe Programs, select MS Internet Explorer 6 SP1 and Internet Tools and select the "Add a component" option and reinstall OE.

Thanks again, Denny. I did as you said, but alas, I am still having problems. I can download a few email messages, but if I have a larger number, I just had to use WebMail and than delete the messages. Next time it will work.

Guess I'll just have to upgrade. Can you tell me if I should be able to use most of my software if I upgrade to XP? And, will I need to update XP with critical updates once I install? I am almost positive that installing these critical updates is what caused my problems in the first place.

Thanks so much for your help!

ndm105

ndm105,

You can check out any possible upgrade problems through the link here. If you purchase a copy of Windows XP including SP2 you will have the vast majority of critical updates already installed, although there are several which were released after SP2.