Missing files

[Nitchiee]

I installed Earthlink on my system only to find out I don't have any access numbers in my area. So, I tried to uninstall it. Since then I've had error messages saying that I'm missing exe files or dll files. I was also trying to install Microsoft Office97 Professional and it continually kept telling me it could not read the files. I am lost with this. Can anyone offer me any kind of help?:confused:

[rjwilke]

Sometimes when you uninstall an application, it asks you about deleting "Common" files, files the application used but were also possibly used by other applications on your PC. Usually the message says something about it would probably be OK to delete them. In your case, it is possible that you should not have deleted them.

As far as Office goes, remember to turn off ALL applications, including those running in the backround, before you try to install software. Antivirus software is notorious for lousing up installs. Does the error message say "cant read" the files or "Can't locate" the files. If it says "can't locate" the files, the install program may be looking for another disk or looking at the wrong drive. "Cant read" suggests a drive or damaged disk problem. It could possibly indicate a dirty CD as well.

Also, I don't know the condition of your Windows installation ( I assume its windows). Over time, Windows files can get corrupted. In Win98, there is a system file checker in the System Information utility located in the System Tools subdirectory of the Accessories directory (Start, programs,accessories,system tools). This is also the place to turn off those applications running in the backround or use Ctl-Alt-Del). Running the system file checker will give you an idea of the condition of Windows. If there seem to be many corrupt or deleted files, consider doing a full reinstall of Windows and your applications. This seems like a big task, but can get rid of many problems that accumulate over time and will greatly improve your PC's performance as well as your peace of mind:)

Hope some of this helps. Have a good weekend.

[Gramma Canapril]

Hi there Nitchie,
1. Which Windows platform are you using?
(Windows95, 98, 2000, ?
2. Have you updated your Windows (whatever, 95, 98) lately.
If not go to http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
Click on Product Updates,
this will tell you if there are any critical updates for your own
computer..it will do any of the updates your computer needs for you.
Then reboot your system and go back there and go back to
http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com/
and take a look on the page there to see if you have any other updates you need for your computer...
Don't be surprised at the amount of updates you may need..the first time I went there I needed to update 52 updates (not all critical but my computer needed these for my purposes.)
Then any of the missing files you may have lost will all be downloaded really easy to do, it does it all. Love it!
Gramma Canapril