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AOL Crashed, Now What? Written by: Dan Daily
Hi Gang! Last week, as you recall, I discussed the method to use to avoid losing your data in the event of an AOL crash. Today we'll talk about re-installing AOL both if you followed my advice, and if you didn't. .
So, AOL Crashed, It Won't Start, It Won't Run; Now What Do You Do?
If AOL is in this state, chances are it won't uninstall by itself either. You have a real mess on your hands. So, the first thing to do is rename your AOL directory. Just go to "My Computer/C:" and right click on your AOL5 folder. Click "rename," if it's called AOL5, name it AOL5a, there is a reason for this, (later) If you reinstall from the AOL50 folder, (that I know, you have saved somewhere) click the setup icon and AOL will start installing the same version you had. Or just install it from a CD. When it installs you can now let it use it's default name AOL5 for your new AOL directory. (The same name as it had before) .Before doing this; go to control panel/network. When in this folder, delete everything that says AOL on it. These are your AOL Internet adapters. AOL will rebuild these adapters. Or click on the Aol tray icon, choose system information/utilities/uninstall Aol adapters. If you ever find yourself unable to get on the Internet, these are the culprits. AOL will automatically rebuild these files anytime they are missing. In a new install, you want a new set of adapters. . When AOL asks, tell it you are setting up a new account. This is considered a "clean" install. You don't want to upgrade from a damaged AOL. After it's done, it'll start setting you up as if you had a new account. When it gets to the screen name, it'll ask you if you already have one. Tell it yes, and type it in. It'll ask for your password, type that in as well. Once online, your screen names will automatically be added to this new copy. The copy at this time is dumb; the only thing it has is your screen names, nothing else, don't panic, we're getting there. Remember, you will have to go through the access number routine. A tip; write down your access numbers on a sheet of paper, and keep them. I have over ten; this sheet will make adding your favorite access numbers in the order you like them very easy. . Now that you're online; Go to "My AOL/Preferences/Download/Browse" and find your personal download folder, (remember? The one you created last time) This will set the new copy of AOL, default to your download folder instead of its own. Now, aren't you glad you set up a separate download folder? Make you sleep better at night? A corrupted Un-useable AOL is now just a procedure, not a disaster. Let's Continue: Next, sign off, and exit the program. It's gone now? OK, go to your backup Organize folder that you had already saved and copy it. Open the AOL directory and paste it there. Windows will tell you the folder already exits, tell it to replace it anyway. Start AOL up, all your screen names, address books, favorite places, and PFC's are all there. Depending on how often you back up your Organize folder will determine how far behind your computer is. Now that you know how to do this, try this first: Instead of using the backup Organize folder, copy the one from your old AOL version. Paste that one into your new AOL instead of the backup. If your old AOL's Organize folder is not corrupted, (and I'm betting it probably isn't) your new AOL will be up to date to the minute you last used it. If it doesn't work, or your new AOL won't run, you can always paste the backup Organize folder into it. But it's always worth the try. In my case, it hasn't worked only once. As you know, I beta test for AOL, crashes are something I'm very familiar with. In Beta testing, we try to get it to crash. (Really! It's a lot of fun! Ehh Hah) Fire up AOL and Waa Laa! All done, wasn't that easy? Go into your old AOL directory and click the uninstall icon. It will list both of your AOL's and ask which one to Uninstall. Make sure you pick the old one, don't uninstall the one you just made. I did that once. Ouch! If the old copy doesn't show up, or it won't uninstall, you'll have to delete it manually, and this is why your renamed it. You may not know it, but your Windows program, has a folder called the Registry; it has your AOL5 listed in it. Uninstalling AOL will erase this entry. If you have to manually delete your old AOL, the registry still has it listed. You don't want to play around in your Registry, that is NOT for the faint of heart. Changing it's name doesn't change the registry either, only an install, or uninstall can do that. So by changing the name of your old copy, and installing the new one to it's original name keeps the registry entry correct. It's a work around trick. Understand now? Having the registry list both, even though you only have one, won't hurt it, but you don't want clutter in it; it slows down your system. That's why you always uninstall software in Windows. Not delete it. Simple, huh? If you print out this sheet, (and you should) keep it around, anytime you have an AOL crash, it'll come in handy in printed form; after all, if you can't get online, you can't get back here; wouldn't that tick you off? "Now I know I read that somewhere!" LOL No more, will you ever have to worry about losing anything of yours because of AOL. Next time, I'll show you how to reinstall AOL if you don't have all the backups I told you to create. Ok, this weeks Danny's Daily's humor;
AST technical support had a caller complaining that her mouse was hard to control with the dust cover on. "Dust cover?" the tech asked? "Your mouse doesn't have a dust cover." The cover turned out to be the plastic bag the mouse was packaged in.
I hope this helps you on your road. Your Road? Yes, Your Road To Computer Sanity Danny
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