Troubleshooting techniques

I have a personal computer with a Network Neighborhood icon displayed on the desktop. How can I remove this icon from my desktop?
Network Neighborhood icon is placed on the desktop during the installation of Windows Operating System. This is irrespective of whether you are under a LAN or not. However, you could hide this icon by using the following steps:

You can use TweakUI tool to hide Network Neighborhood.

Steps to hide Network Neighborhood:

1. Click Start - Settings - Control Panel
2. Double-click TweakUI
3. Click the Desktop tab
4. Uncheck Network Neighborhood box to hide it
5. Click OK, and then click OK.
6. Log off your computer to make changes

If you are using Windows 98, you can install TweakUI from the Windows 98 CD.

To install TweakUI, follow the steps given below:
1. Insert the Windows 98 Original CD in the CD-ROM drive
2. Click Start-Find. Select Files and Folders
3. Choose the letter of your CD Drive in the "Look-in" section.
4. Search-file called tweakui.inf
5. Right click File, select Install

Following are the links for downloading TweakUI.

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q190/6/43.ASP
http://www.bondgroup.net/TweakUI.htm

Also, you can make registry settings to hide Network Neighborhood icon from the desktop.

Visit the link given below for more information:
http://www.regedit.com/detail/150.html

I have Windows 98 installed on my system. When I right-click Properties on the My Computer icon to check the device status for rtl8029, it shows an exclamation sign in front of the device. I tried to reinstall but was not able to do so. I bought a D-Link sn3200 (modem) in place of that and the same problem still persists. When I go to the Properties, the following message is shown:

“The NDIS.VXD, NTKERN.VXD device loader(s) for this device could not load the device driver. (code 2) To fix this, click update driver to update the device driver.”

I updated the driver for sn3200 but in that device driver floppy Windows 95 was the only folder. Whereas the operating system I have is Windows 98. Even after taking care of these things, I still get the same error message when I select Properties. What is the problem?

This error message is due to a device driver problem, so we would suggest that you download the driver for D-Link Sn3200 from the following link.

http://murray.newcastle.edu.au/users/students/1999/c9611429/download.html

If this is not the driver, get back to us with the brand and the make of the modem.

After downloading the driver, extract all the files by opening the file downloaded. Then follow these instructions to update the driver:

1. Go to Start - Settings - Control Panel.
2. Select System. In the System Properties select Device Manager.
3. Here you'll see a + mark beside the Network Adapters, select Network adapter Sn3200.
4. Then select Properties tab at the bottom.
5. In the Modem Properties, select Driver.
6. Here select Update Driver, and then follow the on screen instructions.
7. However in the third screen of 'Update Device Driver Wizard' select or check 'Specify Location' and specify the path where you downloaded the driver.

I have a Celeron 433 system with 32 MB RAM and 4.2 GB hard disk drive (HDD), the operating system is Windows 98. I am purchasing another system and want to network both of them so that my LAN accounting package can work along with other routine office work. Kindly suggest the configuration of the system and type of LAN to be installed. Can the other system be purchased without HDD and still be networked? Do I require Windows NT or Windows 98? Will I be able to access my regular software like MS Office, Word Star etc. from both machines? In case the second system does not require HDD, How will it boot?

If you are purchasing a system without a HDD it will need to have a Boot RAM. This system will boot by what is known as Remote Booting.

You could use either Windows NT or Windows 98. So there won't be any problem while using other software applications that you mentioned.

Here are some links depending on the operating system.

Windows 95:
http://www.lanworks.com/rboot_win95_ISA_NT.htm

Windows 98:
http://download.mycomputer.com/detail/28/52.html

Windows NT:
http://www.netguru.net/_disc1/0000014d.htm

We have two computers connected to each other with NIC cards and cables. We use the same electric point for supplying power to both computers and use only one stabilizer. The problem arises when we start one PC and the second is already on; it automatically shuts down and reboots. On one PC we installed Windows NT and Windows 98 on the other. The Windows NT machine starts, the desktop appears, but we are not able to use the keyboard or mouse. We can just use ctrl+alt+del to shutdown the machine. Kindly specify a solution for this problem and also give us some tips for accelerating network speed.

This problem may occur if the PC requires more current than what the stabilizer is able to support. Instead of using a stabilizer, you can try using a CVT (Constant Voltage Transformer). Visit the following link for more information on CVT.

http://www.electrogard.com/cvt.htm

Now regarding your question on networking tips. Usually, there should not be more than 25 computers in a single domain. The distance between the two networked computers should not exceed 10 feet. The speed of access depends on the NIC cards--the data transfer depends on the number of bits the data will transfer. There are various cards that support different levels of speeds, and also there should not be too many hubs.

How should one connect two standalone PCs located at two different physical locations (say, at two houses located 2 km away from each other)? Assuming that it is possible, what are the hardware and software requirements?
Let's assume that both computers are running on the Windows 98 operating system.

You can use HyperTerminal to transfer a file to a remote computer. HyperTerminal is a utility that comes along with Windows installation. In order to use HyperTerminal, you will need to have the following:

HyperTerminal is particularly useful to transfer files and data between two remote computers.

Given below are the procedures for using HyperTerminal in Windows 98:

For transferring to a Computer Bulletin Board:

1. Open HyperTerminal. (Open the Start menu, and click Programs-Accessories-Communications.)
2. Enter the telephone number of the computer bulletin board that you are going to access.
3. Click Dial. The modem will dial the bulletin board and make a connection, unless the line is busy or there is some other problem.
4. Follow the instructions that have been provided by the bulletin board operator (called the Sys Op).
5. Move around in the bulletin board until you find the place for uploading files. If this is a public bulletin board, there may be a section, for example, lablled Shareware Files.
6. Once you have located the file, follow the bulletin board's instructions for transferring. You may be asked to use the Transfer menu and select Send File.
7. When you have finished transferring the file, exit the program to break the connection.

How do I incorporate the Multilinking Modems feature of Windows 98 into my present OS Windows 95?
Even if you don't have a network, you may still find success multilinking over two modems on the same system. If there's an extra phone line and modem around, an afternoon's experimentation could pay big dial-up dividends. With Dial-Up Networking (DUN) 1.2b installed, right-click on a connection within DUN, select Properties and open the Multilink tab. Click Use Additional Devices radio button, and then add the second modem; it should dial when you establish a connection.

When I ping an IP on our Intranet trying to resolve the IP number to host name, most Windows 95 machines do not reply with the host name but only with the IP number. But, all machines resolve and show the IP number when pinged with hostname. On all Windows 98 machines the Ping gets properly resolved from names to IP or IP to names.

How do I make my Windows 95 machines respond the same way as Windows 98 machines? Why does this happen in the first place?
Check if the following network components are properly installed or not.

Then do the following steps to check the configuration:

Also, make sure that Windows 95 supports the Ping command, but unlike Windows NT, the hostname command is not available in Windows 95.

I have two systems, one in my office and the other at home. I want to use both systems at one place, my home. I want to use my office computer or vice versa for the same. Is it possible to browse the other system from the other computer, like a local network with the help of the Internet or any other similar mediator software?

You can use HyperTerminal and a modem to connect to a remote computer, even if the remote computer isn't running Windows. You can also use HyperTerminal to send and receive files, or to connect to computer bulletin boards and other information programs.

Go to Hyper Terminal by doing the following steps:

1. Go to Start - Programs - Accessories.
2. Click Communications and you will see a pull-down menu where you can select HyperTerminal.

To use HyperTerminal, you will need to run it once to create an icon that defines (phone number, etc.) and how you contact the specified address. After you create this icon, you can connect to the specified servers by double-clicking the new icon.

Follow these steps:

1. Run HyperTerminal.
2. Choose New Connection.
3. Enter a name and choose an icon for this connection.
4. You will get a dialogue box with four items to be filled in:

Country code will have a default value of your country.

Area code should be set to the area from which you will be dialing.

Phone number could be any of the numbers you would like to give.

Connect using identifies the type of modem in you computer. The value will default to the type of modem in (or connected to) your computer (assuming it has been set). If the type of modem has not been set, it can be set in the Control Panel option (from the Start menu, select Settings, Control Panel) named "Modems".

5. Once these items are filled in, you can use HyperTerminal to connect you to the telephone number you entered.

I use Windows 98 for my LAN. But when I use the Internet my computer looses the connection to the LAN. The Network Neighborhood shows my computer only. I wonder where the problem is.
To access the LAN while connected to the Net, perform the following steps:

For each computer install TCP/IP (Internet Protocol, the means by which data is transported to and from the Internet) as a network protocol.

The way to do this is:
1. Go to Start - Settings - Control Panel.
2. Double Click on Network
3. Click on Add - Protocol - Microsoft - TCP/IP.
4. Edit the TCP/IP properties so that each workstation has an IP address of "90.0.0.X"and a Gateway of "90.0.0.1," which will be the proxy server's address. X is a number between 1 and 255.
5. Restart the computer.

For the proxy server you can use proxy programs like WinProxy or Wingate. The proxy server must have two NICs. It is best to use two different brands in order to tell the difference. This computer will have the modem installed in it. One NIC needs to have the TCP/IP properties specified by the cable modem Internet service provider (ISP) which, you can get from the ISP. The other needs to have an internal IP address of 90.0.0.1. The number beginning with "90" is your internal Internet, or Intranet subnet. The reason we use an IP starting with 90 is because it will not conflict with other computers on the Internet. The reason a proxy server is used is because it saves a lot of money. It serves each computer to the Internet simultaneously, so that a cable modem does not need to be purchased for each computer.

I am a hardware engineer and my job involves installing computers and networking them in some cases. Here is a problem that I faced while networking my systems with Windows 98 OS. When I run Windows based programs I have no difficulties. But, when I run DOS based programs I get an error "Sharing Violation Reading Drive l" (for example, the drive letter being the mapped area of the machine where I have installed my DOS program). Kindly give me a solution to this. Also, I get the same error when I access the Netware volumes through my Windows 98 Systems.
In DOS programs the error message "Sharing Violation Error reading drive x" means that another program is currently using the file. If the program is a network version and allows multiple access to its data files then set read only attributes on the *.EXE, *.COM, *.DLL

ATTRIB +R *.EXE

ATTRIB +R *.COM

ATTRIB +R *.DLL

For more information and all the related error messages in DOS, visit the following link:
http://www.otex.com/manual/chap15.htm