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
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