Emie writes:

<<I have a friend whose computer is slowly heading South.
An error message which used to be intermitent is now becoming persistent.
The error addresses the "kernel32.dll" (I'm sorry I don't have the full
description of the error message) and has constantly popped up since then.>>

Much depends on when the message appears, what happens when it does (can
they carry on, or does computer crash?) and what programs are running at
the time.

This is a Windows system file, which will create error messages in a very
large number of possibilities.  The first thing to do is to narrow down
those possibilities as far as possible, but without much more detailed info
we're very much in the dark.

Repetitive errors of this sort, if followed by "power-off" crash, will
almost certainly feed on themselves and eventually end up with registry
corruptions which themselves will create more errors, and so on in
ever-diminishing circles until Windows becomes very unstable.

But if you can carry on regardless of the error, then it's most likely a
software conflict, which you may eliminate by step-by step
procedures.  Without knowing more detail about which programs are running
when this occurs, it's unlikely you will get a very detailed answer.

I suggest you repost with more info. As much detail as possible please.

The usual first remedy to try is to restore registry from a backup made
prior to the errors first appearing.  This may be difficult in ME---others
will have to enlighten you there.  I understand you may have to use a boot
floppy to access dos.  If that doesn't work, try uninstalling, then
reinstalling, the offending programs.

It's also possible there's too much running in the background---many
big-brand computers seem to be set up these days with everything under the
sun running at startup, most of which is unnecessary and is likely to cause
conflicts resulting in the kind of instabilities your friend is now
experiencing.

Your computer looks like it's fairly new.  The first thing I'd be doing is
to run msconfig and eliminate practically everything showing in the Startup
tab. (If on cable permanent connection, you'll need a-v and firewall, which
in themselves are possible sources of conflicts ).

Don Penlington






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