Windows   FAQ:

Q: HELP My computer died!  I can't boot into windows!

A: Well, I'm affraid you have a classic windows "hang".  It's a simple remody though, simply plop in your full version of Windows 98 (that is, if you have one i.e. your computer came with a "Restore Disc" instead of the full copy) disc and "overlay" windows over the previous installation.  This will restore any critical files that are needed and will hopefully NOT delete any important files you may have.  (All I know is, IT WORKED FOR ME!)  If you don't care whats on the Hard Drive, go ahead and do a "Clean Intall" of windows.  (In the next question)



Q: HEY!!!  YOUR ABOVE ANSWER DIDN"T WORK!

A:  Sorry, about the only other thing to do is take it to your local computer store and have them deal with         it, or Format your hard drive (WARNING!!! THIS WILL ERASE EVERYTHING ON YOUR HARD           DRIVE!!!) by going to DOS and typing c:\format c  (where C is the drive Windows is installed.)  It will      take a while, but after it's done, you'll have a "clean slate" to work on.  Just put in your Windows98            disc and freshly install it!  Most of the new store bought computer now days com with a "Restore Disc" of whatever they call it.  If you have on, PLEASE use it to do a "Clean Install" by following the instuction on the disc.  Before you do this, I would recomend backing up any files you care about.  I'll talk about that in the next question.



Q: Help, I need to back up my files but I don't know how!

A: This is a VERY frequently Asked Question.  Backing up should be almost "religeous", especially for people who are in a buisiness.  A good way to backup files is a removable drive such as Zip disc or Jaz drive.  But the cartriges tend to be any where from $20 for a ZIP disc or $100 for a JAZ cartrige!  One of my favorite ways is to get a CD burner and burn the files on to the VERY cheap ($2 or less) CD-Rs.  Though for those of you who don't want to shell out a bunch of cash for one of these expensive little nicetys, you can now upload files to your very own personal WEBspace "Drives".  The sites I (and all THE SCREENSAVERS crew) recomend are: freedrive.com, idrive.com, and xdrive.com.  Of coarse there are MANY other ways to backup files (I recomend NOT using floppies since they're unreliable and can get erased easlily).
 


Q:  Windows doesn't work for me.  Is there anything better?

A:  As a matter of fact, there's something MUCH better out there.  Linux!  Although Linux is for more               advaced users (You're gonna have to read a book), It alomost NEVER crashes!  Linux is more for               Business, Word prossesing, Web Browsing, Projects, etc..., While Windows is more for Gaming,              Video Editing, etc.  The best part is you can run both Windows AND Linux on the same machine!!!            You can do this by Dual Booting (Choosing the OS at the start of you computer).  There are MANY            distributions of Linux, The best and easiest from my view is the Linux Mandrake distribution.  You can        go down and buy it with all the manualls for about $30 at the local computer store, or you can so what I      did and download it (you'll need it a fat pipe i.e. DSL, Cable modem. Or do what I did with a 56k                modem and download it over the week) at Mandrake's website. Please be sure to backup you data              before attempting any of this.