PC Pest Control

Essential Fixes

If you haven't had time in the past few months to deal with your PC's misbehavior, we've got you covered. Here's our PC Survival Guide, a collection of must-have fixes for operating systems, office suites, browsers, e-mail software, and other common applications.

Operating Systems

The folks at Microsoft are nothing if not consistent. No matter which Windows environment your PC has, you need some crucial fixes to keep your system running smoothly.

Windows 98: The original Windows 98 is a fairly stable system, though it has minor problems with certain Plug and Play devices. To download Service Pack 1, which fixes these and other problems, go to Windows Update, click Product Updates, and scroll down and select 'Windows 98 Customer Service Pack.' Or go to this Microsoft Windows 98 downloads page. If you have Windows 98 Second Edition installed on your system, you don't need to get the Service Pack. SE includes the Service Pack as part of its release. That said, SE did carry its own small set of snafus, such as shutdown problems with networked drives on computers. For Microsoft's SE fixes, go to Windows Update, click Product Updates, and then select the patches available for Windows 98 SE.

Windows Me: If you upgraded to Windows Me--depending on your PC's configuration--the journey may have been rocky. Early adopters reported all kinds of frustrations with hardware incompatibilities, faulty modem connections, and Internet Explorer troubles. Microsoft has posted suggested solutions to a broad range of problems. Visit Microsoft's Windows Me support page, and click Solution Center. You can choose from a long list of help areas broken down by categories like printing, hardware, networking, and display. (For more details about the litany of problems with the new OS, see last month's news story "Life With Me: First 100 Days.")

Windows 2000: Users generally agree that Windows 2000 is far more stable and secure than other versions of Windows, but it's also very complicated to install and maintain. Windows 2000 Service Pack 1 fixes more than 250 minor bugs identified in the original February 2000 release. Some bugs may not apply to your version of the operating system. To find out, see this article.

Even if you don't install SP1, you'll want this security patch to ensure that you're surfing safely. The patch will prevent a malicious Web site operator from unleashing damaging code on your PC.

Every two or three months since Windows 2000 shipped, Microsoft has released updates that help popular games or other programs run under the operating system. So if you want to make sure your favorite apps work under Windows 2000, check out the latest list of programs.

Windows NT 4.0: Microsoft corrected more than 600 separate bugs on this slab of code--including a multitude of security glitches along with dual-booting and password problems--with six service packs. The latest version, Service Pack 6a, accumulates all the bug fixes from previous service packs. At 30MB, though, this patch downloads like several hours of Niagara Falls. If that doesn't sound like your idea of fun, consider coughing up $20 for the CD-ROM version instead. Call Microsoft at 800/370-8758.

Windows 95: If you run an early version of Windows 95, make sure that you install Windows 95 Service Pack 1. To determine which version of Win 95 you have, select Start, select Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click System. If the version number is anything below 4.00.950 A, your system is running an early version. (For additional information about your PC's version of Windows, check out Microsoft's posting.) Service Pack 1 fixes numerous annoying glitches and bugs, including file-saving problems with Office 95 applications, Windows 3.1 printer drivers, and some fuzzy math calculations. Later releases of Windows 95 already incorporate these fixes. If you have version Windows 95 A or later, you are in luck--you don't need SP1. You can find the service pack, along with many additional details about installing it, here.