On starting my computer the following message appears: ‘Error Starting Program: A required .DLL file, MFC42U.DLL, was not found’. After clicking OK the computer starts and (seems to) operate normally. While it is not a major issue it is an annoying one which I would like to fix. My computer is running Windows 98. Your advice would be appreciated. (more…)

Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer, and other tools such as My Computer, Control Panel will not run. I am running Windows 98 on a Pentium III. An error message states that ‘The program has performed an illegal operation and will shut down’. On clicking ‘Close’, a supplementary message appears saying ‘An error has occurred in Internet Explorer. Internet Explorer will now close’. If you continue to experience problems, please restart the computer’. The problem appears to coincide with the installation of Microsoft Office XP. However, I am not certain of this. But because of the lack of access to the Control Panel, I cannot uninstall Office XP. Do you have any suggestions? (more…)

Norton Utilities is installed on my home computer but unfortunately I cannot get Speed Disc to work. The particular problem is that Speed Disc constantly restarts after running for about 14 minutes. I have systematically shut down all other programs and utilities, done a clean reboot, used task manager to ensure nothing is running, etc’¦ all to no avail. The Windows defragmentation utility doesn’t work either. I am running Windows 98. (more…)

Sometimes my new computer refuses to open programs, shuts down open programs, and runs really slowly. It is a Pentium 4 2.0GHz with 512MB RAM and an 80GB hard drive running Windows XP. The manufacturer’s advice is that there are probably too many programs open simultaneously. This is odd because there are no programs installed apart from those which came with the machine. The only thing I’ve downloaded is the patch kit for Windows XP in an attempt to fix the problem, but it didn’t have any effect. Such a powerful machine should be able to run a few processes and still be able to open the program I want, shouldn’t it? Is there any way my computer will ever meet my expectations without me having to spend a whole lot more money? (more…)

My computer is a Pentium 4 2.4 GHz, 512MB RAM, running Windows XP. After installing all the software on the new system everything was working well until I installed Windows XP Service Pack 1. Now the system will not power down when I click on the ‘Turn Off’ button. The system is ACPI compatible and the driver appears to be functionally correctly. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated? (more…)