Windows 98 Warnings

I am posting the following warnings concerning Microsoft Windows 98 and applications which have been found to cause problems. I would be glad to withdraw these warnings should the companies contact me with resolutions for the problems. I have attempted to resolve these problems using the technical support provided by the companies without any resolution. I have also spent an extensive amount of research into the problems. If I do happen to resolve any of the following problems I will post the resolutions on my web site for all my visitors.

WinFax Pro

Installing WinFax Pro version 9.0 can disable your modem. One of my visitors brought this problem to my attention. I had always been a fan of WinFax Pro, but I did look into the matter and was able reproduce the problem on one of my computers by installing WinFax Pro. I used two modems on the test computer - one was a US Robotics WinModem and the other, my old standby Acer 33.6 kb modem. Both modems were completely disabled. I checked to see if the modems sustained any physical damage by using them in another computer. Both modems worked fine in the other computer which did not have WinFax Pro installed.

I removed the modem cards and removed the modems from the Device Manager and rebooted the computer. Next I installed one of the modem cards and allowed Windows to detect the modem. The US Robotics WinModem was not recognized by Plug and Play. I attempted to install the modem manually and the modem would not respond. Error messages encountered were "Port already open or in already in use". Checking the COM Ports indicated no conflicts. I spent many hours with each modem and the end result was neither modem would work on the computer with the WinFax Pro.

I checked the Microsoft Support Web Site and did find the problem reported with a fix. I applied the suggested fix and was still unable to resolve the problem. I called Symantec's Technical Support and received nothing but a real run around. The Technician failed to do anything except to blame the problem on Windows 98 or the US Robotics modem. I also called US Robotics with the same results.

This problem points to a registry problem/conflict and as of this point, I have not been able to find the resolution to the problem.

I feel that Microsoft is aware of this potential problem which may be why the Microsoft WinFax program is not loaded by default when you install Windows 98. Or this could be just an oversight.

Possible solution to the WinFax Pro Modem problems

After many hours of troubleshooting this problem, my wife Dotti, found a possible solution to this problem. Try to upgrade the HyperTerminal. Begin at the Start button, select Programs, Accessories, Communications, and then HyperTerminal. When HyperTerminal opens with their window, select 'check for upgrade' and follow the upgrade instructions. After upgrading the HyperTerminal (choose the free program PE 4.0), reboot and test your modem using the HyperTerminal and then test WinFax Pro.

Windows 98 Upgrade

During my experience with desktop support, I found that Windows 95 registry problems could be quickly resolved by reinstalling Window 95 over itself. This does not work with Windows 98. In Windows 98 the registry is left intact.

The problems encountered by upgrading Windows 95 to Windows 98 are directly related to the problem above. The registry is left intact and can not possibly work properly with the Windows 98 operating system. Some features of Windows 98 will work properly because they have not been upgraded in Windows 98, while other features which have been upgraded, will eventually fail and report errors. This is a major flaw in the Windows 98 operating system and it is the reason I recommend doing a clean install of Windows 98 and not the upgrade from Windows 95.

The latest Internet rumors have brought up the fact that Microsoft is delaying the production and release of Windows 2000 because there is a problem upgrading from Windows 98.

Yes, I still recommend Windows 98 over Windows 95 because if it is installed as a clean install it will be more stable than Windows 95.

My recommendations for Windows 2000 is to prepare now. You will probably find that Windows 2000 will have problems if you upgrade, better plan on doing a clean install. To do this you must insure that you keep copies of the installation medium for your applications. If you purchase software over the Internet, make sure you make copies of the installation files on floppies or CDROM if you have a CDROM writer. I have found most of the software I purchase over the Internet is available in CDROM for a few dollars more than just the download. You should consider retaining the installation medium as a routine. You never know when you might encounter hard drive problems.

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