DLL's
The title of this
article looks like something from an apartment ad. It should be titled
"How Windows 98 Screws Up Common DLL's and Your Existing
Applications When Updating to Windows 98."
Since the
invention of Windows by Microsoft, software developers and users
have been plagued with the nuisance of DLL conflicts. DLLs are
basically small programs that can be shared by several different
applications. The problem that arises is that…
- Software
developer "A" makes a change to a standard DLL.
- The current
version of your DLL gets replaced with the software developer's
revised version when you install their application.
- Everything's
OK so far.
- But now
you install an application from software developer "B",
and it replaces the new DLL with the original standard.
Shazam!
Your application from software company "A" may not work
anymore.
Most problems
that arise in Windows are caused by DLL conflicts where an application
finds the wrong version. To make the problem worse, most install
utilities don't provide any warning of what DLL's they are replacing
on your system. At least some kind of warning would be a start
in the right direction to help cure the headache. Of course, even
if you were provided with a list, your eyes would glaze over,
extreme headaches would develop, and none of us would have any
idea as to which version to accept.
It seems to
me the real cure would be that software developers don't use any
existing DLL's provided by Windows, but instead create their own
unique DLLs. But this has not occurred so I guess this idea can
be filed along with lower taxes and honest politicians.
Microsoft
added a new feature in Windows 98 for handling DLL conflicts.
Well, maybe it is not a feature. To be politically correct, let's
call it "A different method that may cure the problem, but
side effects may occur and it should not be used by pregnant women".
The install
program in Windows 98 checks to see if a DLL already exists on
your system before replacing it with the DLL provided by Windows
98. If it finds an existing DLL, it copies your current DLL to
an unused folder (C:\windows\VCM) and then installs the DLL provided
with Windows 98. The downside is there is no warning message that
such an event has occurred. The install procedure goes without
a hitch. Now you fire up an application and get those friendly
error messages that are impossible to interpret. You call someone
like us who responds, "You did what!" You are now in
DLL hell.
To give Microsoft
some credit on their effort, they have provided a utility to help
fix the problem called "Version Conflict Manager". Finding
documentation on the VCM utility is a task in itself. To find
and run this utility, click on…
- Start
- Programs
- Accessories
- System
Tools
- System
Information Tools
- In the
new window that opens, click on Tools
- Click on
Version Conflict Manager
Getting to
the utility is the easy part. Now that you found it, what do you
do with it? Needless to say, make sure you have a backup of your
system before messing with VCM! The VCM utility provides two features.
- A list
of DLLs that have been replaced during the installation of Windows
98.
- The ability
to swap the original DLL with the version installed by Windows
98. If you execute the swap option, the DLL install with Windows
98 is placed in the VCM folder with a file extension of .000.
If you select
the swap option, you can re-select the swap option to put back
the DLL supplied with Windows 98.
The big problem
is which DLLs should you swap? The VCM utility does not provide
any advice or information as to which applications used the old
DLL.
Fortunately,
a shareware utility called DLLMan is available that will check
your system to find what applications use a particular DLL. This
utility can be downloaded from the site: http://www.aros.net/~press.
If
you download it, you should send the $20 fee to the author.
DLLMan allows
you to select a DLL and then proceeds to check your entire system
to find any applications that use this DLL. A common DLL that
gets replaced is "c:\Windows\System\Mapi32.dll".
You need to
run DLLMan for each DLL that appears in the VCM list. For every
application that DLLMan reports a DLL is used in, you need to
run that application and see if it fails. If it does, use the
VCM utility to swap that DLL. Re-test your application after the
swap, and hopefully it will work again.
One area that
DLLMan does not check is any applications written with Visual
Basic.
The VCM feature
only works when installing Windows 98. Therefore, if you install
any new applications after you update to Windows 98, you will
not be advised of any DLL replacements. Back to DLL hell.
Known
applications that don't work after a Windows 98 update are…
- Scanner
programs
- CD writer
programs
- Internet
Explorer 4 Service Pack
- Personal
AltaVista
- McAfee
Anti-Virus
- WinFax
Pro 6.0
- Microsoft
Picture It, Version 2
- RealPlayer
Plus
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Configuration Tool
msconfig.exe
is a utility that provides an easy method to view and/or change your
configuration files. For whatever reason, Microsoft does not provide
a shortcut selection to this tool.
By selecting
the appropriate tab, you can view or edit . . .
- Flags used
when starting Windows
- Utilities/drivers
used in config.sys
- Utilities/options
executed in autoexec.bat
- Options/parameters
used in win.ini
- Options/parameters
used in system.ini
- Applications
that areautomatically started when you start Windows
To run the utility,
- Click on
Start
- Click on
Run
- Enter msconfig.exe
in the open line
- Click OK
This utility allows
you to un-check different options for troubleshooting purposes. We
recommend not making any changes unless you know what are you doing.
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Control Panel Clean Up
Occasionally you
can get pesky or unwanted icons that may appear in your Window's Control
Panel. This can be caused when an application is deleted or uninstalled
and the removal process does not correctly remove the icon in Control
Panel. It doesn't really hurt anything, but it can be annoying when
you click on the icon and nothing happens.
To get rid
of these icons . . .
To delete
. . .
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Calculate Used Disk Space
Windows Explorer
automatically displays the amount of disk space that is used for files
within a selected folder, or at least appears to. What it doesn't
automatically calculate is how much disk space is used for folders
within the selected folder, i.e., sub-folders.
For a clearer
example,
- Open Windows
Explorer
- In the left
window, click once on the Windows folder.
At the bottom
of the screen you will see something similar to:
406 objects and 161MB (Disk free space: 2.99GB)
This is telling
you that the selected folder has 406 objects (files) and is using
up 161MB of disk space and you have 2.99GB of free disk space.
At first glance
you would think that all of the files and folders within the Windows
folder add up to 161MB. Wrong! What it is telling you is that
the Windows folder and only the files within the Windows folder
are using 161MB. It doesn't include the space used in the other
sub-folders within the Windows folder, which is substantial.
- If the Windows
folder is not expanded, click on the + sign in front of the Windows
folder.
- In the left-hand
window, click once on the System sub-folder.
At the bottom
you will see something like:
1493 objects and 211MB (Disk free space: 2.99GB)
Obviously
if one sub-folder within the Windows folder contains 211MB, how
can the entire Windows folder only show 161MB? As stated above,
because Windows Explorer only calculates
used disk space on the selected folder and files and not the other
sub-folders.
We can
label this as a bug or mistake, but however you want to describe
it, that's how it is. So what if you want to really determine
how much total disk space is used by a folder and all it's files
and sub-folders?
- Click on the
Windows folder in the left-hand window.
- In the right-hand
window, click once on the System sub-folder.
What's displayed
at the bottom? Nothing! But don't despair, we are getting
close to the correct answer.
- In the right-hand
window, right-Click on the System sub-folder
- Click on Properties.
A pop-up window
will display the number of files, folders and disk space used
within the System sub-folder. For example you will get something
like:
Size: 247MB (259,953,960 bytes), 262,995,968 bytes used.
Contains: 1993 files, 45 folders.
We have finally
got the correct information for the System sub-folder. The last
value on the 'Size' line represents actual disk space used for
all files and folders within the System folder.
The 'Contains'
line provides a count of how many files and folders are in the
System folder.
This works
well for a single folder, but what if you want to get the total
for several folders, such as all of the folders and files within
the Windows folder?
- In the left
window, click once on the (C) folder.
- In the right
window, right click on the Windows folder
- Click on Properties.
The pop-up
window will calculate and display the total results for the Windows
folder. Wait until the numbers stop changing to make sure it has
calculated the total contents.
You can select
multiple folders to get the results of more than one folder at
a time.
- In the left
window, click once on the Windows folder.
- In the right
window, click once on the System sub-folder.
- Hold down the
'Ctrl' key and click on other folders that you want to include in
the calculation.
- After you have
selected the folders you want included, release the 'Ctrl' key
- Right click
on one of the highlighted folders
- Click on Properties.
The pop-up
window will calculate and show the total bytes used, number of
files and number of folders for the selected folders.
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mscreate.dir
Ever wonder what
the files 'mscreate.dir' are? When using Windows Explorer, you may
have seen the file mscreate.dir in several different folders.
mscreate.dir files
are special files that are created by the install procedures for Microsoft
applications. Every folder that a Microsoft application uses during
it's install procedure will contain one of these files.
They are only
used if you run an uninstall procedure for a Microsoft application.
The uninstall procedure checks for the occurrence of this file and,
if it exists, will automatically delete the folder if it is empty.
You can delete
the files and the uninstall feature will still work, except it may
leave several empty folders behind. Because the files take up little
space, it is recommended to not delete them.
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Handy Note-Pad
Are
you aware you can use your Windows Notepad to store easy-to-find notes,
right on your Desktop? It is simple to use, allows you to print or
edit the notes and doesn't require any other software to be installed.
From
your Desktop (the first screen you see when Windows starts)
- Right-click
in an empty area (a box will pop-up)
- Click
on New
- Click
on Text Document (a new icon will be created)
- Enter
a new description (make sure it ends with .txt)
- Press
Enter
- Double-click
the icon and Shazam, Notepad will open.
- Enter
your note contents
If
you need to print the document, You can print either the document
when Notepad is open or right-click on the icon and select print.
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Temp Files
When is the last
time you deleted the entries in your Windows
temporary folder and Browser caching folders? It is amazing how fast
these folders accumulate old junk. If they are not cleaned out, it
can cause performance degradation and sometimes even more serious
problems.
C:/windows/temp
This is the
most common location for your Windows' temporary folder. Using
Windows Explorer, it is safe to access
this folder and delete all entries. Don't delete the temporary
folder, just the contents. It is best to have all applications
closed first. Otherwise, you may get a message that a file cannot
be deleted because it is in use.
Internet Explorer
If you are
using Microsoft's browser, open the browser and do the following
. . .
- Click on
Tools
- Click on
Internet Options
- On the General
tab, in the "Temporary Internet Files"
section, click on Delete Files.
- In the History
section, click on Clear History.
Netscape Browser
If you are
using Netscape's browser, open the browser and do the following
. . .
- Click on
Edit
- Click on
Preferences
- Click on
Navigator
- In the "History"
section, click on Clear History.
- Click on
the + sign by 'Advanced'
- Click on
Cache
- Click on
Clear Memory Cache
- Click on
Clear Disk Cache
Now don't you
feel better knowing that your system is no longer temporary. You
will probably sleep better at night.
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Check Your Disk with ScanDisk
When is the last
time you ran ScanDisk? If you run it weekly, collect your $200
and pass go. If you don't know the answer, go direct to jail and don't
collect your $200. In a perfect world, the scan disk utility would
not be necessary. But as we all know, computers are far from representing
a perfect world scenario.
ScanDisk performs
several options. The most important task it performs is to clean
up damaged files. How do you get the damaged files? If
you ever had to re-boot your computer by turning the power off
and on, you have left damaged files behind. Most of the time,
these files are used as work or temporary files. If they are not
cleaned up, you will eventually destroy your file system and find
yourself reloading everything from scratch.
ScanDisk will
also check the surface of your drive and other file system problems.
If errors start showing up on the surface, it could be early warning
signs that your drive is starting to have problems.
Click on Start,
Programs, Accessories, System Tools and finally ScanDisk.
On a weekly basis, you only need to execute the standardoption.
The standard option only takes a few minutes to run. Make it part
of your weekly schedule, such as every Monday morning or Friday
afternoon.
We recommend
that you run the thorough option monthly. Depending on
the size of your drive, the thorough option could take a couple
of hours to run.
If you have
more than one drive or your drive is split into partitions, you
need to run ScanDisk on each drive letter. ScanDisk automatically
shows the available drive letters.
So, when is
the last time you ran ScanDisk? You did answer within the last week?
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If you have installed
any Microsoft "Office" products, you have also installed
a utility called "Find Fast."
What is it?
Find Fast
is a utility that automatically runs at defined intervals to create
a "log file" of all Office documents
found on your system. The theory is when you open an Office document,
the program first checks the "log" to locate the file.
This is supposed to speed up the opening process. By default,
the time interval is set to every two hours and log files are
created in the root directory of each drive letter on your system.
How come I don't see it run?
The utility
runs in "background" and nothing is
displayed on the screen during its execution. You will notice
considerable disk activity when it is running and your computer
runs much slower. Have you ever wondered, when you are doing practically
nothing on your computer, that all of a sudden it seems to go
berserk and is very active? The guess is "Find Fast"
is checking the drive for Office documents and re-creating the
log file.
Does it help anything?
Not
really. Unless you are constantly opening documents,
there is no benefit. If you are storing your documents on a file
server, Find Fast probably won't do a darn thing. By default,
it only scans the files on your local drive.
Does it hurt anything?
Yes,
it slows down your system every time it runs. It uses
a chunk of memory that could be utilized for something else. If
you have a CD creator, this can actually cause a failure in creating
the CD due to an interruption in the data stream to the CD.
How do I know if its active?
The simplest
method is to...
- Hold down
the Ctrl+Alt keys and press the Del
key to display a list of currently running programs.
- If Find
Fast is on the list, it is active. This doesn't mean it
is running currently, but means it is scheduled to run.
- Just click
on the "Cancel" button to exit.
How to Configure
The configuration
tool can be found in the Control Panel.
- Click on
Start
- Click on
Settings
- Click on
Control Panel
- Double
click on the Find Fasticon
- From here
you can change the interval time or cause it
to re-create the log file (re-create index)
- You can
also stop it by clicking on Index,
Close and Stop. Note that
this method of stopping only lasts until the next time you re-boot
your machine.
How to Really Stop
To
permanently close...
- Click on
Start
- Click on
Settings
- Click on
Task Bar
- Click on
Start Menu
- In the
new window, click on the Start Menu Programs
- Click on
Advanced button.
- In the
"Explorer window", double click on the Start
Menu
- In the
right-hand window, there will be a Find Fast selection. Click
on it once and press the delete key.
From Microsoft
Of interest
is that even though Microsoft created this utility and automatically
installs it, in the Sept/Oct 99 issue of Microsoft
Insider there is an article "Boost your
PC's performance by turning off Find Fast."
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Almost all Windows
applications come with the capability of on-line help. This help can
be accessed by selecting the Help prompt on the pull-down menu
bar or pressing the F1 key.
Bookmark Feature
Many times
I have found a topic in the help information, and at a later time
I can't remember where I found the information. You can spend
too much time trying to find the necessary help information. Windows
developers have already solved your problem. After you have selected
help and have displayed the particular area of interest
Removing
Bookmarks
If you ever want to delete bookmarks
- Select
Help
- Select
Bookmark
- Select
Define In the lower box All bookmarks that you have
saved are displayed.
- Select
the bookmark to delete
- Click on
delete
- Click on
OK when you have deleted whatever bookmarks you wanted
to remove.
Annotate Feature
Have you ever
discovered how to do something and would like to retain an example
or explanation of how you did it? You may have used "Help"
to get the basics but would like to further clarify. Windows developers
have solved your problem again.
- First select
the help area that will relate to your notes or explanation.
- Select
Edit from the pull-down menu
- Select
Annotate - A dialogue box will display with an empty
scroll box.
- Type
in your explanation in your terms
- Click on
Save
You will now
see a "paperclip" symbol at the top of this help selection.
This is to notify or remind you that you have added or "annotated"
the help information.
Removing Annotations
You must select
Help and the help area where you added the annotation.
Remember you should see the paperclip symbol.
- Select
Edit
- Annotate
- Delete
- It's gone.
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Creating
Icons
Have you ever
wanted to create your own custom Icons? You know those little pictures
that show on your desktop. You may have thought you needed specialized
software. Actually not. It can be accomplished with "Paint",
a standard design tool provided with Windows.
Here are
the required steps...
- Start Paint
(usually by Start, Programs, Accessories, Paint)
- Click on Image,
Attributes
- Change the
values in the Width and Height
fields to 32
- Units should
be set to Pels (default)
- Colors should
be set to Colors (default)
- Click on OK
You should
now have a small box that is the typical size of an icon.
To enlarge
this box so you can see what the heck you are doing...
- Click on View,
Zoom, Custom
- Click on 800%
and OK
Now you
have an easier size to work with.
To
view the actual size at the same time...
- Click on View,
Zoom
- Click on Show
Thumbnail
- Click and Drag
the thumbnail so that you can view both the enlarged and thumbnail
window at the same time.
Because the
icon is actually a bunch of small colored squares, it is best
to turn on the grid so you can see the squares.
- Click on View,
Zoom
- Click on Show
Grid
Now
the fun begins.
- First make
sure the Pencil icon is checked at the right-hand
side.
- Pick
a color at the bottom and then click on one of
the squares. The square will change to the selected color.
At this
point some artistic talent is required. Keep trying and you should
be able to create a graphic image. You may want to start with
just a simple square.
Once
you have created the desired effect, it is time to save your creation.
- Click on File,
Save
Even though
it doesn't seem to be an option, make sure you save the image
with ".ico" as the file extension. Example:
myicon.ico
To
use your custom icon in place of any of the desktop icons.
- Right hand
click on a shortcut icon and select properties.
- Click on Change
Icon and select your newly created icon.
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Y2K
Updates
If your PC was
purchased before 1998 you should run a BIOS check utility to verify
that the system clock will handle Y2K dates. BIOS check utilities
can be downloaded from many sites on the Internet.
If your PC does
not pass the test, there are BIOS updates available from the manufacturer
for most motherboards. Usually, the updates can also be download from
the Internet.
Here is a short
summary of changes required for Windows operating systems and applications.
Windows
3.x
The update
wfwfileup.exe should be installed. Microsoft
warns that this does not fix all problems with this version and
that basically Windows 3.x is not Y2K compliant.
Windows 95
Install the
Y2K update. If you have the b or c version, you should also install
the updates for Dial Up Networking 1.3 and Winsock 2.
Windows 98
If you have
the first version, you should install SR1 and SR2 for Internet
Explorer 4.01 and Outlook Express.
Internet Explorer 4.01
You need to
install SR1 and SR2.
Because
of a serious security hole discovered in 3/01, Internet Explorer
should be updated to latest version.
Access 2.0
You need to
install the patch acc2date.exe. Note: This does
not necessary fix all Y2K issues.
Office, Word, Excel, Outlook, Access 95
You need to
install the Y2K update for Office 95.
Office, Word, Excel, Outlook, Access 97
You need to
install SR1, and SR2.
This sounds fairly
easy on paper. But, as you know, Murphy's Law is in full effect when
installing updates.
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