Can you help please?

Emrys Davies wrote:

Are you paying for 2 different DSL accounts, and accessing each
with it's own modem?

No one account. One accesses via modem and the other via wireless

Wireless?

You mean some sort of cellular internet? Like from a cell-phone tower?

Open a DOS window and enter this: ping 4.2.2.2

Why haven't you done that?

That would tell us right off the bat if you have a working internet
connection.

As I said we are quite happy with our present arrangement and
until fairly recently all was well until the two icons - Google
and Internet Explorer - began to take a minute to open the
respective pages ...

Doesn't matter how long those programs take to start up. If they're
trying to access the interent (which a lot of browsers want to do right
off the bat before you try to go to any website) then they're going to
stall and time-out.

Go and see if you can ping 4.2.2.2.

If you can't, you don't have a working internet connection.

Your IPconfig results indicate you have no internet connection (no
assigned IP address, no gateway, no nothin.

Incidentally, I found Zu wenig Arbeitsspeicher in the PCs Registry,
via regedit, a couple of days ago but I cannot find it tonight.

You found it because you were looking for it earlier. Regedit maintains
a cache of previous search items, and that's where you found it. It
means nothing.

Can you ping 4.2.2.2 ?

"Emrys Davies" wrote

She does most of her very limited work on Google, which is the Home Page
and does no use IE, or so she says.

IE (Internet Explorer) is a web browser, a software program that requests pages
from various web sites on the Internet, and displays them on your screen.

Google is a web site, not a browser (unless you've managed to install some version
of Google Chrome, which is highly unlikely), and needs a browser to connect to it.
--
Try right-clicking your IE and Google icons, and selecting "Properties".

My desktop IE icon returns "Internet Properies", with 6 tabs across the top, the first
tab "General" showing my homepage as a local file on my computer.

If I right-click my Firefox icon, I get a smaller box with only 3 tabs, with the middle tab
"Shortcut" showing "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe".

Your Google icon should have something similar to one of the above.
--
Just for fun, while the computer is on, try using the "reboot" sequence without actually
rebooting... hold down Ctrl and Alt, and press Delete (once).

You should get a popup called "Close Program", with a list of running programs in
the window. I have Explorer, Systray, Rundll, Stimon, Em_exec, and several others.
What do you get?
(You'll have to write them down, you're stuck in that window until you Cancel it).
--

"98 Guy" "98"@Guy . com wrote in message
...
Emrys Davies wrote:

Are you paying for 2 different DSL accounts, and accessing each
with it's own modem?

No one account. One accesses via modem and the other via wireless

Wireless?

You mean some sort of cellular internet? Like from a cell-phone tower?

Open a DOS window and enter this: ping 4.2.2.2

Why haven't you done that?

That would tell us right off the bat if you have a working internet
connection.

As I said we are quite happy with our present arrangement and
until fairly recently all was well until the two icons - Google
and Internet Explorer - began to take a minute to open the
respective pages ...

Doesn't matter how long those programs take to start up. If they're
trying to access the interent (which a lot of browsers want to do right
off the bat before you try to go to any website) then they're going to
stall and time-out.

Go and see if you can ping 4.2.2.2.

If you can't, you don't have a working internet connection.

Your IPconfig results indicate you have no internet connection (no
assigned IP address, no gateway, no nothin.

Incidentally, I found Zu wenig Arbeitsspeicher in the PCs Registry,
via regedit, a couple of days ago but I cannot find it tonight.

You found it because you were looking for it earlier. Regedit maintains
a cache of previous search items, and that's where you found it. It
means nothing.

Can you ping 4.2.2.2 ?

Done that. It says "This program cannot be run in DOS mode".

"Emrys Davies" wrote in message
...

"98 Guy" "98"@Guy . com wrote in message
...
Emrys Davies wrote:

Are you paying for 2 different DSL accounts, and accessing each
with it's own modem?

No one account. One accesses via modem and the other via wireless

Wireless?

You mean some sort of cellular internet? Like from a cell-phone tower?

Open a DOS window and enter this: ping 4.2.2.2

Why haven't you done that?

That would tell us right off the bat if you have a working internet
connection.

As I said we are quite happy with our present arrangement and
until fairly recently all was well until the two icons - Google
and Internet Explorer - began to take a minute to open the
respective pages ...

Doesn't matter how long those programs take to start up. If they're
trying to access the interent (which a lot of browsers want to do right
off the bat before you try to go to any website) then they're going to
stall and time-out.

Go and see if you can ping 4.2.2.2.

If you can't, you don't have a working internet connection.

Your IPconfig results indicate you have no internet connection (no
assigned IP address, no gateway, no nothin.

Incidentally, I found Zu wenig Arbeitsspeicher in the PCs Registry,
via regedit, a couple of days ago but I cannot find it tonight.

You found it because you were looking for it earlier. Regedit maintains
a cache of previous search items, and that's where you found it. It
means nothing.

Can you ping 4.2.2.2 ?

Done that. It says "This program cannot be run in DOS mode".

I did that wrong. I had used Restart in MS DOS mode. As you can see my
knowledge in DOS is virtually nill.

I have now used command prompt whilst on line and this is what I got:

C:\WINDOWS\DESKTOPping 4.2.2.2

Reply from 4.2.2.2: bytes = 32 time 41ms TTL = 58
Reply from 4.2.2.2: bytes = 32 time 39ms TTL = 58
Reply from 4.2.2.2: bytes = 32 time 42ms TTL = 58
Reply from 4.2.2.2: bytes = 33 time 33ms TTL = 58

There were lots of other data and an average.

Emrys Davies wrote:

I have now used command prompt whilst on line and this is what I
got:

Reply from 4.2.2.2: bytes = 32 time 41ms TTL = 58

So you have a working internet connection.

Anytime you are asked to perform a "ping" or run ipconfig from a dos
prompt, it is expected that you are running windows (not restarted in
DOS mode) and you have activated (dialed or logged into) your internet
connection.

So again, while you are running windows and have logged into your
internet connection, open a dos window and enter this:

ping google.com

or

ping google.co.uk

If there is a long delay, and ping comes back with something like
"unknown host", and if you can ping 4.2.2.2 (you get a reply from that)
then your DNS settings are not correct / functional. If you get a reply
when pinging one or both of those, then your DNS settings are working
and you should be able to access any working website on the internet
with any installed browser (IE or Firefox).

I understand that you currently have IE as your only web browser. You
should be able to access any website with it - again assuming you have a
working internet connection and you can ping google.com. If not, then
there are probably some settings for IE that are screwed up.

You could download firefox 2 using your HP computer and then transfer
the file (using USB thumb drive) to the windows 98 computer:

https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla....202.0.0.20.exe

"98 Guy" "98"@Guy . com wrote in message
...
Emrys Davies wrote:

I have now used command prompt whilst on line and this is what I
got:

Reply from 4.2.2.2: bytes = 32 time 41ms TTL = 58

So you have a working internet connection.

Anytime you are asked to perform a "ping" or run ipconfig from a dos
prompt, it is expected that you are running windows (not restarted in
DOS mode) and you have activated (dialed or logged into) your internet
connection.

So again, while you are running windows and have logged into your
internet connection, open a dos window and enter this:

ping google.com

or

ping google.co.uk

I got a positive reply from both.


If there is a long delay, and ping comes back with something like
"unknown host", and if you can ping 4.2.2.2 (you get a reply from that)
then your DNS settings are not correct / functional. If you get a reply
when pinging one or both of those, then your DNS settings are working
and you should be able to access any working website on the internet
with any installed browser (IE or Firefox).

I understand that you currently have IE as your only web browser. You
should be able to access any website with it - again assuming you have a
working internet connection and you can ping google.com. If not, then
there are probably some settings for IE that are screwed up.

You could download firefox 2 using your HP computer and then transfer
the file (using USB thumb drive) to the windows 98 computer:

https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla....202.0.0.20.exe

I transferred the firefox file to Win.98 and Google and IE continued to open
in about 1 minute whereas Firefox opened in about 2 minutes and all three
relied on the 'German' window to open them. When I remove my 'Memory Stick'
from Win. 98 I lose the Firefox file shortcut from the Desktop although I
put it in a folder. How do I get it to the 'C' drive to make it permanent
without need for the Memory Stick?

Emrys Davies wrote:

ping google.co.uk

I got a positive reply from both.

So you have a working internet connection. God knows how - it's not how
I'd do it.

You could download firefox 2 using your HP computer and then
transfer the file (using USB thumb drive) to the windows 98
computer:

https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla....202.0.0.20.exe

I transferred the firefox file to Win.98 and Google and IE continued
to open in about 1 minute whereas Firefox opened in about 2 minutes
and all three relied on the 'German' window to open them.

How badly do you want to get to the bottom of what-ever problem you're
having?

I ask because at this rate, it's going to take a week or two.

Something you can do is look up a program called "autoruns". It will
figure out all the programs that your system is configured to
automatically run at start-up. Including extensions for IE (which I
think is where your problem is). Here's a link to a verion that should
run on your system:

http://download.oldapps.com/Autoruns/Autoruns853.zip

You can save the entire output to a text file and post it here.

When I remove my 'Memory Stick' from Win. 98 I lose the Firefox
file shortcut from the Desktop although I put it in a folder.
How do I get it to the 'C' drive to make it permanent
without need for the Memory Stick?

Copy the file "Firefox setup 22.0.0.20.exe" from the memory stick to the
desktop of the windows 98 computer. Remove the memory stick. Then
double-click the file and run it. It will install firefox somewhere on
the C drive. It sounds like you've installed it on the memory stick
instead.

"98 Guy" "98"@Guy . com wrote in message
...
Emrys Davies wrote:

ping google.co.uk

I got a positive reply from both.

So you have a working internet connection. God knows how - it's not how
I'd do it.

You could download firefox 2 using your HP computer and then
transfer the file (using USB thumb drive) to the windows 98
computer:

https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla....202.0.0.20.exe

I transferred the firefox file to Win.98 and Google and IE continued
to open in about 1 minute whereas Firefox opened in about 2 minutes
and all three relied on the 'German' window to open them.

How badly do you want to get to the bottom of what-ever problem you're
having?

I ask because at this rate, it's going to take a week or two.

What do you think in view of the history of this PC? Is it worth the
hassle? I have the energy and the motivation but what are we going to
achieve bearing in mind that the PC is fifteen years old and no longer
updated by Microsoft.

Something you can do is look up a program called "autoruns". It will
figure out all the programs that your system is configured to
automatically run at start-up. Including extensions for IE (which I
think is where your problem is). Here's a link to a verion that should
run on your system:

http://download.oldapps.com/Autoruns/Autoruns853.zip

You can save the entire output to a text file and post it here.

I have downloaded and opened 'autoruns' to the desktop and it has revealed
the information which you seek. You say : "You can save the entire output
to a text file and post it here". You will need to 'talk' me through that
in detail as it does not respond to anything on my desktop other than Print
Page Word Pad My Documents Memory Stick where it opens clearly on my
PC in Word Document. All of this, apart from the latter, is on Win.98 SE.

When I remove my 'Memory Stick' from Win. 98 I lose the Firefox
file shortcut from the Desktop although I put it in a folder.
How do I get it to the 'C' drive to make it permanent
without need for the Memory Stick?

Copy the file "Firefox setup 22.0.0.20.exe" from the memory stick to the
desktop of the windows 98 computer. Remove the memory stick. Then
double-click the file and run it. It will install firefox somewhere on
the C drive. It sounds like you've installed it on the memory stick
instead.

Tried that, but as soon as I removed the Memory Stick the shortcut vanished.
In any case errors tell me that my system does not meet the requirements to
run firefox and also that the drive or network connection that the shortcut
(memory stick) Firefox.Lnk refers to is unavailable. So firefox cannot be
opened from the Memory Stick although some 40 other files accompanying it
are not affected. Your Firefox version works perfectly on my machine,
although I do not use it.

"Sanity Clause" wrote in message
...

"Emrys Davies" wrote

She does most of her very limited work on Google, which is the Home Page
and does no use IE, or so she says.

IE (Internet Explorer) is a web browser, a software program that requests
pages
from various web sites on the Internet, and displays them on your screen.

Google is a web site, not a browser (unless you've managed to install some
version
of Google Chrome, which is highly unlikely), and needs a browser to
connect to it.
--
Try right-clicking your IE and Google icons, and selecting "Properties".

My desktop IE icon returns "Internet Properies", with 6 tabs across the
top, the first
tab "General" showing my homepage as a local file on my computer.

If I right-click my Firefox icon, I get a smaller box with only 3 tabs,
with the middle tab
"Shortcut" showing "C:\Program Files\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe".

Your Google icon should have something similar to one of the above.
--
Just for fun, while the computer is on, try using the "reboot" sequence
without actually
rebooting... hold down Ctrl and Alt, and press Delete (once).

You should get a popup called "Close Program", with a list of running
programs in
the window. I have Explorer, Systray, Rundll, Stimon, Em_exec, and several
others.
What do you get?
(You'll have to write them down, you're stuck in that window until you
Cancel it).
--



Thanks Sanity. Very interesting. We are still working on mine and
hopefully we will succeed although the PC is old and decrepit.

Emrys Davies wrote:

How badly do you want to get to the bottom of what-ever problem
you're having? I ask because at this rate, it's going to take
a week or two.

What do you think in view of the history of this PC? Is it worth
the hassle? I have the energy and the motivation but what are we
going to achieve bearing in mind that the PC is fifteen years old
and no longer updated by Microsoft.

If you (or your wife) is sufficiently familiar with that computer, you
will have to anticipate a substantial learning curve if you replace it
with anything available today.

I have downloaded and opened 'autoruns' to the desktop and it has
revealed the information which you seek. You say : "You can save
the entire output to a text file and post it here". You will
need to 'talk' me through that in detail as it does not respond
to anything on my desktop other than Print Page Word Pad
My Documents Memory Stick where it opens clearly on my
PC in Word Document. All of this, apart from the latter,
is on Win.98 SE.

When you run the "autoruns" program, it opens a window with the title
"Autoruns - Sysinternals".

It then displays everything that is set to automatically run on the
computer.

Across the top of the Autoruns window you will see File, Entry, Options,
and Help.

Click File, then Save As. You will be prompted for a name and location
where to save the output of the autoruns program.

I don't know why you are looking elsewhere (such as the other icons and
menus on your desktop) while you are working with the Autoruns program.

Perhaps you can't see the entire Autoruns window. What is the screen
resolution of your display? (to answer this, right-click somewhere on a
blank portion of your desktop, select Properties, select the Settings
tab on the far right, and look at the "Screen Area" setting. It will
say "N by X" pixels under a slider bar. What are N and X?

Copy the file "Firefox setup 22.0.0.20.exe" from the memory stick
to the desktop of the windows 98 computer. Remove the memory
stick. Then double-click the file and run it.

Tried that, but as soon as I removed the Memory Stick the shortcut
vanished.

You are not copying the file. You are creating a shortcut to the file -
because you are clicking and dragging.

Clicking and dragging files do not result in copies being made. Instead
you are creating a shortcut (a kind of pointer) to the file.

To copy the file from the memory stick, you need to right-click on the
file, select copy, then right-click somewhere in the target directory
(your desktop in this case) and select paste.

In any case errors tell me that my system does not meet the
requirements to run firefox

You don't have to give up so easily. Try again. Follow the
instructions.