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More Tools Not in Win Me

In "Windows 98 Utilities Missing in Windows Me?" [April 2001 Answer Line], you didn't discuss Microsoft Fax. Unlike previous versions, Windows Me does not include a fax program. What happened?

Harvey Nice, Lake Forest, Illinois

I keep discovering additional Windows 9x utilities that Microsoft left out of Windows Me. While excising Fax from Me, Microsoft also removed the Backup and QuickView utilities from the new OS.

Microsoft's simple, no-nonsense Fax program was an integral part of Windows 95. The company hid it on the Windows 98 CD-ROM (see "Where's Microsoft Fax?" in the January 2000 Answer Line), made it visible again in Windows 2000, and removed it entirely from Windows Me. In fact, the old Microsoft Fax won't work in Windows Me--"by design," according to Microsoft.

An alternative is RKS Software's $20 Mighty Fax shareware program (available at PCWorld.com's Downloads library and from the vendor), which receives and sends faxes from any Windows program you can print from.

The retail and upgrade versions of Windows Me have Microsoft Backup on the CD-ROM. Open the CD-ROM's Add-ons\Msbackup folder and double-click the file Msbexp.exe to install it. Note, however, that the backup program that came with your tape, CD-R, or Zip drive is almost certainly better than Microsoft Backup.

Windows 9x's QuickView won't work at all with Windows Me. An alternative file viewer is Ontrack's $20 PowerDesk Pro. PowerDesk Pro's file viewers are more extensive and more versatile than those in QuickView, but you can only view files from within PowerDesk. You can't right-click to view an e-mail attachment or, say, a file on your desktop. If you want to evaluate Powerdesk Pro, download the free, basic version, Powerdesk 4.