Carol wrote: <<right click on the pic. and choose "Open With". I don't have that option when I right click on anything. (I have had that option at times, but it comes and goes, which sounds crazy, I know, but it's true.)>> That's perfectly normal. The "Open with" option is only present on some files, not others. Most .exe files, for example, won't give you the option, because they are "hard-wired" to open only in one certain way. Others, eg .txt files, generally do give you an option---depends how your registry is set up. You CAN configure your registry to show this option for ALL files (see my web tutorials for instructions--provided you are reasonably happy to venture into the registry). <<I didn't have a "File Types" tab in my "Folder Options". (I tried it numerous times.)>> Maybe that's only for XP--I don't remember whether you mentioned your OS before. My memory of W98 is fading. <<I do not get "Open With", when I right click on a pic. >> Once again, that depends on your registry setup. From memory, that's normal by default. Some graphic software could change your registry settings so as to hijack all graphics for themselves. Some software programmers seem to be overly intrusive. So, again, what you see may be perfectly normal. You're not insane (yet). <<It drives me crazy, because things keep changing, but this computer has been this way from the beginning.>> It's not by any chance a laptop, is it? They do seem to be more sensitive to power changes/cuts, than desktops. Usually, unexpected changes are brought about by a fluctuating power supply, tiny power surges ("brownouts") which might be enough to delete one character, even a dot, when the registry is currently in use. You wouldn't see it, but it's enough to cause a tiny registry corruption---enough to play havoc with your custom settings. Are you in an area notorious for a poor power supply---or even living in a house with old wiring? The best solution if to have regular registry backups, from which you can always restore the registry quickly and easily whenever things get out of kilter. Use ERD, free from Microsoft---see my tutorial on registry backups. It's very simple to use. It's 10-second job instead of a 1-day (if you're lucky) reformat job. With regular use of ERD, I never once had to reformat in 6 years of W95 use. For readers using Win NT/XP, use ERDNT. When things are working well, that's the time to make a registry backup. If your MGI is now working as you want, now's the time to do a registry backup. Restoring the registry in future will restore yourOpenWith settings. No need for a reformat, unless your computer has gotten so far out of kilter that there's now no alternative. You could always try a reinstall of W98 "over the top". That's much less hassle than reformatting, and may be enough to fix a badly-corrupted registry, though it does tend to preserve the previous registry settings wherever possible. Don Penlington From the Beach at Surfers Paradise in sunny Queensland. Computer tutorials, local scenery, and other things at my website: http://users.tpg.com.au/deepend/index1.html PCSOFT maintains many useful files for download visit our download web page at: http://freepctech.com/downloads.shtml