My Favourites folder is banjaxed. Investigation this morning has revealed that everything really is still there and can be accessed the long way using a file path, but when I click on the toolbar button, what I actually get is the contents of C:\WINNT, which is no earthly use on the Internet. Moreover, to add to the fun, there are files in C:\WINNT which I'm sure shouldn't be there, including a lot which I recognise as belonging to the trial version of JASC Paint Shop Pro 8, which I downloaded a few days ago.

I am wondering if AOL is to blame. My friend Patrick (he of the gloriously rich chocolate pudding) is a Mac user and reacts to all things Microsoft by producing bell, book and candle, so I downloaded AIM in order to chat to him. This resulted in AOL not only sticking unwanted icons on my desktop and in my Favourites folder ("Try AOL Free!" - no thanks), but actually altering my home page without permission so that it went to their site. I was naturally a bit peeved, and removed all the extraneous rubbish. It was shortly after this that everything went pear-shaped. Oh, and I had PSP 8 open at the time, since I was doing some picture work.

Can anyone help me re-point the Favourites button to where it should be? And would it be a good idea to uninstall AIM and not touch it with a barge pole in future (which is the course of action suggested by David)? Thanks!



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That which does not kill us makes us stranger.
(Llewelyn the dragon, Ozy and Millie)

Sarah

Can't help with the Favourites thing offhand, but AOL are terrible for trying to get off your computer. They stick files *everywhere*, and change all your defaults to AOL stuff. I uninstalled it months ago, and I still occasionally find little AOL icons in unexpected folders.

If you're on one of the new Windows (XP, I think) you can take your computer back to the settings it was on a week ago or whatever, without losing any normal files. Apparently.



:--

Do something pretty while you can...

H'mm... I'm going to have serious words with Patrick! Thanks for that - I'd better do some more searching.

Edit: did search, removed all AOL-related files which seemed to have nothing to do with Instant Messenger (ironically abbreviated in search listing to "AOL Instant Mess...", which appears to be what I've got). AIM still seems to be working fine. The problem hasn't gone away, though.

Grrr.



Post Edited (06-12-03 15:04)

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That which does not kill us makes us stranger.
(Llewelyn the dragon, Ozy and Millie)

Sarah

<Deep sympathy>

Trainee geek has now had assistance from senior geek (my friend Stephen), who explained to me exactly where I had to dig about in the system in order to restore the correct file path, so the problem is now solved. I had to uninstall AIM to do it, though.

Please, folks, if you own a PC and you are contemplating downloading AIM, think again. I don't want anyone else's day fouled up for them! (Mac users apparently don't have these problems, so Patrick was not to know.)



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That which does not kill us makes us stranger.
(Llewelyn the dragon, Ozy and Millie)

Sarah

the secret to AIM is to make sure you've closed all your programs, hard booted your computer (power down) THEN install it. If any applications other than ones controlled by windows are open, windows will insinuate AIM into them, hence you seeing files from PSP in there.

I've been happily using AIM for about 7 years now...but there are caveats on upgrading and installs...as mentioned above!

According to Marvel Comics, at least up until I stopped reading them, 'AIM' is a secret society (whose full name is or was 'Advanced Ideas Mechanical') that aims/aimed at using technology to take over the world... I suspect that they lifted the idea from THRUSH.

Bill Gates as the head of THRUSH, anybody?

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"This was willed where what is willed... can get rather silly."

If you want a chat program that will connect to AIM, without fouling up your computer, try Trillian (http://www.ceruleanstudios.com/trillian/index.html). It also does MSN, Yahoo messenger and ICQ, all at the same time.



.

I also use Trillian, find it's very good. Though couldn't connect to a friend's webcam on yahoo, had to install the yahoo messenger to be able to view it..

So does Trillian mean you can chat on AIM (for instance) without actually having to install it on your computer?



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That which does not kill us makes us stranger.
(Llewelyn the dragon, Ozy and Millie)

Sarah

AOL is a nightmare - I have heard too many horror stories about people installing the 'Free Trial' and having to completely rebuild their PC to get rid of it. Only install anything from AOL if you actually use AOL for everything.

yup, trillian emulates icq, aim, yahoo, msn and irc.

Never had a problem with AOL. Don't know what all the fuss is about.



- - -
I am very interested in the Universe. I am specialising in the Universe and everything surrounding it. - E. L. Wisty

Aaah you see you use AOL all the time - just you try switching to something else - impossible!

Thanks for that! I'll double check with Stephen first before downloading (since he set up this computer, he knows if there are likely to be any problems peculiar to the setup), but it sounds as though Trillian is going to be a likely candidate. :-)

Patrick, of course, still thinks all my problems would be solved if I bought a Mac. :-S



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That which does not kill us makes us stranger.
(Llewelyn the dragon, Ozy and Millie)

Sarah

Ha! Mac users believe that once everybody is using an Apple we'll all be back in the Garden of Eden. Linux users are nearly as bad for evangelism ... it always gives me a laugh when it goes down on them ....

On this topic, I refer you to this cartoon;

[www.ozyandmillie.net]



- - -
I am very interested in the Universe. I am specialising in the Universe and everything surrounding it. - E. L. Wisty

Look, I'm willing to forgive him for going on incessantly about the joys of his Mac. He invented that chocolate pudding. ;-)



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That which does not kill us makes us stranger.
(Llewelyn the dragon, Ozy and Millie)

Sarah

Don't try Trillian with XP!!! Works great on my hubby's Win2000 setup but my XP P4 setup HATES it...incompatability problems left and right!! It's a neat program though. And was very handy as I have friends on ICQ, but I hate their Interface...

It's OK, I don't have XP (which always looks to me like one of those rather arcane smileys representing someone screwing up their eyes and sticking their tongue out). I've got Windows 2000 Professional.



..........................................................................................

That which does not kill us makes us stranger.
(Llewelyn the dragon, Ozy and Millie)

Sarah

Another problem with Trillian is that you can't customise your irc script or log your chats, which you can do with normal irc and MSN messenger plus. It's just a bit too spartan for anyone who wants to tweak and meddle ....