Q. I want to get rid of the listing for America Online in the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel of Windows XP. Here’s the situation: I have a Toshiba Satellite notebook, purchased in May 2005, and AOL apparently was installed at the factory. I have tried repeatedly to remove the program via Add/Remove Programs, but every time I try to do this, I get a message that says that no traces of AOL can be found on my computer. However, it remains in the list of things to remove and is taking up nearly 70 megabytes of disk space. What in the world can I do to get this program off my computer?
Mary Gibbons, St. Paul
A. I just love answering questions like yours, Ms. G., because the solution to this housekeeping issue is to perform the computer equivalent of sweeping the offending matter under the carpet. Here’s the background: Those listings on the Add/Remove Programs list are accessed by clicking on the icon by that name under the Start menu and then Control Panel. They are controlled by the Windows registry. The registry is a collection of files holding settings for the computer’s operating system, and it is more complicated than a teenage romance. And it’s about as dangerous as well, because a bad move can cause serious problems.
So to remove the AOL listing, click on Start and then Run and type in regedit. The registry editor will pop up, and you first need to back up the current version by clicking on File and then Export. This puts a copy of the registry on your desktop so that you can click it to restore the machine should a problem arise.
You will see that the registry has a series of main outline topics called keys, which all start with “HKEY.” As one opens, the entries beneath it appear in descending outline style. You need to drill down to this location: HKEY(underscore)LOCAL(underscore)MACHINE Software
Microsoft
Windows
CurrentVersion
Uninstall
This is the list of all the programs in the Add/Remove control panel, and each heading is shown as a line of gibberish (actually hexadecimal numbers) on the left. If you select one of them, the display in the right will change to show its contents. You need to scroll down the lines to find the AOL item. Then give it a right-click and select Delete. This will stop the display.
As to occupying 70 mb of hard-drive space, I’d guess that this is an incorrect message because the software already was removed.
If you want to go further, right-click on Start and select Explore. In the folder list this summons select C: and then go down to Program Files and open it. If you see an AOL folder there, you can remove it.
Q. My computer freezes up a lot when I run the Microsoft Flight Simulator program. I will be flying and without rhyme or reason the video freezes while the sound continues to “fly on,” including the engine sounds and the air traffic control chatter. I cannot “un-freeze” the video and must perform a “crash reboot” by shutting off the computer and restarting. I get the “fatal error” info box and I am attaching a copy of a recent data block. The errors all seem to be similar for each lockup.
I have sought help through Microsoft and eMachines without resolution. I am running an eMachines model T3302, 512 mb SDRAM, an AMD Sempron Processor 3300+ and S3 UniChrome 3D video.
Elliott Fowler @aol.com
A. This almost always is caused by problems with system driver software for your video card conflicting with the software for programs like Microsoft’s Flight Simulator 2004. You probably can fix it by going to the Microsoft Web site and downloading the latest upgrade patches for FS2004.
Here is that Web address: www.microsoft.com/games/flightsimulator/ downloads.asp.
Next download the latest driver software for that Unichrome video feature, which is integrated into the motherboard rather than as a stand-alone card. Go to www.viaarena.com to seek out and download the latest drivers.
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The gamers I consulted agreed that your computer should have the horsepower to handle this FS2004 software, but an obvious last-ditch fix would be to buy and install a dedicated video card. Your T3302 computer from eMachines includes an empty AGP (accelerated graphics port) slot available for upgrades to more powerful video cards.
Q. I have an 8-year-old Presario PC running on Windows 98. It has USB ports but does not burn CDs, and I just bought a mini Mac. Is there a sensible way I can move my AOL download files from my old PC and either load them into my new Mac or have them reside on a CD or flash drive or something so that I can access files in the old AOL download files and use them on my mini Mac? I tried transferring the AOL downloads to a flash drive, but “Windows could not locate a driver” for the flash drive. Would an external CD burner be any different? I’ve got years’ worth of stuff in that PC AOL download file that I want to continue to use. Do I have to forsake it?
Nik Cecere, Santa Fe
A. Your Windows wheezer with those USB ports was among the first to offer this type of high-speed connection, Mr. C., and that’s the problem. The version of Windows 98 called SE for Second Edition was built for USB 1.0, which was far faster than earlier ports but now is about 30 times slower than the USB 2.0 devices just about everybody now uses.
So you need to find a storage device that comes with driver software for Windows 98SE, and that can take some serious shopping.
You need either a flash drive or a USB 1.0 CD-R drive in order to move the documents and images and sounds collected in that AOL downloads folder.
Makers of these devices routinely post drivers for download on their Web sites and these latest drivers should work fine with Windows 98SE with the exception that the transfer will be quite slow by today’s standards.
Check out the SanDisk Web site (www.sandisk.com) for USB flash drives, and check the site’s driver list to make sure there is a driver available to download for the one you pick.
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Contact Jim Coates via e-mail at [email protected] or via snail mail at the baiduhai, Room 400, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago IL 60611. Questions can be answered only through this column. Add your point of view at chicagotribune.com/askjim.