Dean writes:

<<My problem is that I am unable to download >>

Hmmm. Perhaps we could have some more info, although your letter is
certainly very informative considering your experience.

1. Do you have normal browsing?

2. Have you NEVER been able to download files, or has this problem only
started recently?  If so, when?  Did it suddenly appear, like normal
downloading one day, then nothing next day? Or has it gradually got worse?

3. Can you download anything at all? Can you right click and save pictures
from websites? Does the same problem happen if you go to a regular software
download site such as CNet and try to download a small utility?

4. Is there any apparent downloading activity showing on the taskbar icon
(blinking) when you attempt a download?

5. Have you currently, or ever, installed/uninstalled a download manager
(eg Getright, DAP etc)?

I doubt that Nortons would be causing this problem, though I suppose
anything's possible.  Nortons is (understandably) notoriously difficult to
uninstall completely, so I understand.

6. I assume the downloading problem started BEFORE you started uninstalling
Nortons?

7. Have you tried minimising all open windows (getting back to desktop) to
be certain that the download isn't in fact running?  Sometimes when
clicking a download link, your browser will go to a "Not available" page
and you think "Dammit, this download isn't working". But then, if you look
"behind" that window, you will see that your download manager--or ftp
site---has taken over and that the download is actually proceeding, albeit
rather invisibly until you get to the download message window "behind"
whatever else is showing.
This may happen particularly if you are downloading from a ftp site (which
functions slightly differently from a "normal" download).  The winking
connection icon is a giveaway if this is in fact what's happening.
I've been fooled by this myself many a time!

I'm not sure that I have the answer to your problem, but at least this
further info will help narrow the possibilities somewhat, from which an
answer might present itself.

There are 2 more things you could try, which you don't seem to have covered:
1. Try a registry restoration, go back to a date well before the problem
started.
2. Reinstall IE.
3. I'd add, if that doesn't work, reinstall Win98 over the top, but as you
don't have the install disk, I assume that's a no-go. Nor will it do much
to repair a stuffed registry.

If you don't have registry backups available, then you may need to
uninstall, then reinstall Windows anew. But that's assuming a worst-case
scenario. Registry backups will usually keep you out of trouble.

It's even possible, with DSL, that small downloads are coming in so quickly
that they're disappearing into limbo somewhere in your computer--just
because they aren't in your regular downloads folder, it doesn't mean that
they're not somewhere else. But you seem to be savvy enough for this not to
be the case.

It's happened to this dummie enough times, that a download has completely
disappeared into some unknown nether region of my computer, for reasons of
its own. This can be hard to track down sometimes.

A general hint here for readers---if you think you've lost something you
know you've downloaded, have a look in the browser cache.  It just might be
recognisable there. Although you can't drag and drop files out of the
cache, you CAN copy and paste. Just another of Windows little quirks.

Don Penlington
Free computer tutorials at: http://www.geocities.com/donaldpen/
Also Fractal Galleries,  free icons,  poetry,  and beautiful Queensland beaches.

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