Solutions

It's clobbering time for this antivirus program

Q. When I attempt to get on the Web, I get no message when I type the proper address, then hit Go. The Web site doesn't come up. However, when I receive an automatic, daily e-mail message such as Webspirations, I click on the appropriate title and this shows up in the address: C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\SHDOCLC.DLL/navcancl.html. Similarly, when I click on the appropriate title for bigfatbaby, another periodic message, I get a little variation such as, C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEMS\SHDOCLC.DLL/dnserror.htm. This all started when I downloaded an antivirus program that indicated that I had the bugbear virus. I think I probably uninstalled part of the Windows 98 program in the process of installing the antivirus.

A. Sounds like a real mess. First, check with your Internet service provider to make sure you have the correct TCP-IP information entered in your PC's configuration. I have no idea what that antivirus program you downloaded did to your system, but it seems it may have clobbered some critical files. My advice is to uninstall it (Control Panel, Add/Remove Programs) if possible, reload Windows (make sure it is the Windows 98 media CD, not a System Reload disk that some vendors include with their systems). Then go to the local computer store and purchase a real antivirus program, such as Norton or McAfee.

The error message you're seeing in the browser is a DNS error, which means the address you're typing in is not getting resolved by your ISP's domain name server. I would suspect that some of your Internet Explorer system files are corrupt or were clobbered.

Deleting Favorite items

Q. In reference to your Nov. 18 column, I was so excited finally to find a way to delete items from my Favorites by clicking on them and choosing Delete. But no matter how I tried, it doesn't work. I have Windows XP Professional.

A. Using Internet Explorer, click on your Favorites menu. While the menu is showing, move your mouse pointer over the favorite you want to delete. Right-click the mouse and you will see a small, contextual menu appear with several options. Then right-click Delete.

Closing AOL screen

Q. I have a problem with my e-mail screen. I seemed to have lost the blue bar across the top where I should be able to close the screen when done with it. I've spoken to five different techs on AOL, and no one can figure it out.

A. I'm not that familiar with AOL e-mail, so I don't think I'll be any better help than the AOL techs that could not help you. If your problem is closing the screen when done, you can try the Alt-F4 (hold the Alt key down while pressing the F4 key). This is the keyboard sequence for closing the active window.

Capturing a video image

Q. Is there a way to make still pictures off a DVD, family movie or video?

A. Yes, I have done this many times. Most video transfer-editing programs allow you to save individual frames as .jpg (or another format) picture files. Microsoft MovieMaker (Windows Me-Windows XP) is one that is free.

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