Can anyone help with a problem which may result from a software conflict?
This could have been
caused by one or more recent Windows Update downloads.

I was first unable to open additional Works 7.0 word processing files
yesterday while I was writing in one such file. This was immediately after
I'd downloaded and installed three updates from the Microsoft Windows Update
Web site. Two of those three updates related to printing, which may suggest
they caused this word processing file problem. I'd been recording the
details of my Windows Update "transaction" in a Works 7.0 word processing
file while I was visiting the site. I was able to continue working in that
file (it didn't crash), but I wasn't able to open other files which had been
saved and closed previously. After I closed the file in which I'd been
working when I installed the updates, I wasn't able to open it immediately
again in Works. I can open that file, and all my other Works 7.0 word
processing files in NotePad now, but NotePad adds an extra
space for each keystroke in Works' formatted text, and the text expands
laterally. I've pasted a small sample of the NotePad text below my
signature, with the extra spaces removed. Of course, NotePad's only
suitable for limited purposes..

An old copy of Microsoft Word97, in the Professional Version of Microsoft
Office 97, is able to open many of my WPS files in Word97, particularly if I
use the "Open with" option in the context menus of the Works 7.0 files.
They're displayed nicely in Word 97, with my desired formatting, but Word 97
often tells me that it can't open these files. (Works' word processor has
all the features I require, and it's too bad I experience such problems with
it. I guess the exposure I'm getting to Word will tend to "wean" me of
Works' word processor once and for all. I may be forced to admit that
Works' word processor simply is a sub-standard application, but, for the
moment, I'd like to regain access to my extremely large collection of such
files. I regret entrusting so much content to such an unreliable
application...)

I've pasted some information about my use of word processing files below my
signature. I suspect my use is unusual. Works seems to be a limited,
simplified application, so I assume I may have asked too much of it, but the
close association of my current problem with the Windows Update
printing-related downloads strongly suggests a causal relationship.

One of the two printing-related Windows Updates was said to enhance Windows
XP Home's own "printing" capability, and the other seemed to be a type of
"patch" for my Dell Laser Printer 1100, the down-market monochromatic laser
printer which seems to have been made for Dell by Samsung. The first update
was offered as a "critical update," and the printer software was offered as
an optional hardware upgrade. The hardware upgrade was said to have been
published by Dell in December of last year.

I believe the Windows Update Site may have "killed" an Epson color inkjet
printer of mine several years ago, also by providing an "updated driver"
which I installed. I was therefore highly suspicious yesterday when I saw
that another printer "driver" was being offered. I checked at Dell's site,
and I found their most recent full-sized device driver was published last
November. It was also much larger than the 2 MB update which Microsoft
offered. I only decided to accept the Microsoft updates after lengthy
consideration. I reasoned that the operating system's "printing upgrade"
might be desirable, or even necessary, and I also assumed that the printer
software might require an update to remain compatible with the augmented
operating system.

I'd only attempted to use XP's System Restore once before, in four years,
and it failed to restore my system to any of six prior points. Only a day
or two before yesterday I cut its space allocation to the minimum necessary,
200 MB. I made my second attempt to use System Restore yesterday, but it
once more failed to return my system to either of two prior states.

I uninstalled Works 7.0 and then reinstalled it, but that had no effect.
From the start, I've been able to open a few Works 7.0 word processing files
in their own application after I reboot the system, but I soon find I can't
open any more. That "changing" nature of this problem seems weird.

I'm operating the Home Edition of Windows XP with SP2 (Build 2600) on a
4-year-old, ultra-low-end Gateway 300S tower-type desktop system unit, with
an 80 GB single-partition HD, 512 MB DDR SDRAM, IE 7 and Outlook Express
6.0, and
Symantec's Internet Security 2007.

Thanks to anyone who can help!

Jeff Hook
NJ, USA (More information's below: )

This is the summary of the three downloads which I obtained from the Windows
Update site shortly after noon yesterday:

++++++++++++++++++

Install Updates Download size (total)
: 6.5 MB
Estimated time at your connection speed: less than 1 minute

High-priority updates Microsoft Windows XP

Update for Windows XP (KB934238)

Download size: 3.6 MB , less than 1 minute

This update contains improvements to the printing components on your system
and to the Microsoft XPS Document Writer. After you install this item, you
may have to restart your computer. Once you have installed this item, it
cannot be removed.

--------------------------------------
Optional software updates
Microsoft Windows XP

Update for Microsoft Core XML Services
(MSXML) 6.0 Service Pack 1 (KB934268)

Download size: 898 KB , less than 1 minute

MSXML 6.0 Service Pack 1 (MSXML6.1) has improved reliability, security,
conformance with the XML 1.0 and XML Schema 1.0 W3C Recommendations, and
compatibility with System.Xml 2.0. After you install this item, you may have
to restart your computer.

--------------------------------------
Optional hardware updates

DELL Dell Laser Printer 1100

DELL - Printing - Dell Laser Printer 1100

Download size: 2 MB , less than 1 minute
DELL Printers software update released in December, 2006

++++++++++++++++++

I was told that the updates had been installed successfully:

++++++++++++++++++


Review Your Installation Results

Installation Summary

Successful: 3
Failed: 0
Remaining: 0

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Successful Updates

DELL Dell Laser Printer 1100

DELL - Printing - Dell Laser Printer 1
100

Microsoft Windows XP

Update for Microsoft Core XML Services
(MSXML) 6.0 Service Pack 1 (KB934268)
Update for Windows XP (KB934238)


++++++++++++++++++

This text from the NotePad version of that Windows Update Works 7.0 "Log"
word processing file might help by providing information about the printer
and about related topics:


++++++++++++++++++

This gibberish appears a few lines below the top of the NotePad file:

þÿÿÿþÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿR
o o t E n t r y   ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ

²Z¤
zѤ ÀO¹2º À�cÂò^Ç
i ?
C O N T E N T S
 
  ÿÿÿÿ
Ì
C o m p O b j 
 ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ V S P E L L I N
G   ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
 è
þÿÿÿ  


++++++++++++++++++

and this appears near the bottom:

These fonts are listed, but I only used Times New Roman, Arrus BT, and
Garamond in my Works word processor file. I didn't use Courier New or
Arial:

++++++++++++++++++

Times New Roman
Arrus BT
Garamond
 Courier NewArial


++++++++++++++++++

This reference to the printer also appears near the bottom of the NotePad
file:


++++++++++++++++++

  )
winspool Dell Laser Printer 1100 USB001

++++++++++++++++++

My use of Works 7.0's word processor:

This application's been my primary word processor for eight years and, at
the moment, I have 15,314 files in it. I've never used Works 7.0's "Task
Launcher," because I wanted to be able to create new files at the precise
locations to which they'll be saved in their file paths. I do all my
navigation in the Windows Classic View in Windows Explorer, and I want to be
able to create new folders and files "where I am" on my drive at any moment.
The "Task Manager" creates all its new files in the root folder of "My
Documents," a system directory which I don't use. My extensively-branched
data hierarchy is set up in the root of my system's internal hard drive.
I've used a single hyphen to name the root folder, so all my data files are
in the "C:\-\" path, rather than in the "C:\My Documents" path.

I long ago created a basic "new file" format, which I inserted in Windows
Explorer's File/New menu by using TweakUI. (The format simply established a
"preface" and a file-name for each new file.) That allowed me to create new
files with some of the basic formatting which I desired wherever I wished
while I navigated my drive in Windows Explorer. I then customized that
standard formatting for each new file.

I reformatted my internal hard drive and I "manually restored" my system,
piece by piece, in 10-05. I abandoned the Windows Explorer File/New menu at
that time, and I continued to bypass Work's "Task Launcher." I began to
create all my new Works 7.0 word processing files by copying and pasting
additional "sample" files which I'd created in a directory in my data
hierarchy. This allows me to eliminate the "customization" of my former
standard file format by giving me a "pre-formatted" sample file for each
type. I've been copying these sample files, using Windows Explorer's Edit
menu, or using the context menus of the sample files, and pasting the copies
to folders in which I wish to create "new" files. My directory of such
sample files has expanded to include folders, in small subdirectories.


JLH

Scanning through this _long_ post, I didn't see any mention of whether you
removed the 3 updates through Add/Remove programs to see if that helped.

As an aside I recommend never getting hardware updates through windows
update. I would only get those from the device manufacturer's web site.

Have you posted to the Works newsgroup to see if anyone else has experienced
a similar issue?
microsoft.public.works.win

"Jeffrey L. Hook" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote

> Can anyone help with a problem which may result from a software conflict?
> This could have been
> caused by one or more recent Windows Update downloads.
>
> I was first unable to open additional Works 7.0 word processing files
> yesterday while I was writing in one such file. This was immediately
> after
> I'd downloaded and installed three updates from the Microsoft Windows
> Update
> Web site. Two of those three updates related to printing, which may
> suggest
> they caused this word processing file problem. I'd been recording the
> details of my Windows Update "transaction" in a Works 7.0 word processing
> file while I was visiting the site. I was able to continue working in that
> file (it didn't crash), but I wasn't able to open other files which had
> been
> saved and closed previously. After I closed the file in which I'd been
> working when I installed the updates, I wasn't able to open it immediately
> again in Works. I can open that file, and all my other Works 7.0 word
> processing files in NotePad now, but NotePad adds an extra
> space for each keystroke in Works' formatted text, and the text expands
> laterally. I've pasted a small sample of the NotePad text below my
> signature, with the extra spaces removed. Of course, NotePad's only
> suitable for limited purposes..
>
> An old copy of Microsoft Word97, in the Professional Version of Microsoft
> Office 97, is able to open many of my WPS files in Word97, particularly if
> I
> use the "Open with" option in the context menus of the Works 7.0 files.
> They're displayed nicely in Word 97, with my desired formatting, but Word
> 97
> often tells me that it can't open these files. (Works' word processor has
> all the features I require, and it's too bad I experience such problems
> with
> it. I guess the exposure I'm getting to Word will tend to "wean" me of
> Works' word processor once and for all. I may be forced to admit that
> Works' word processor simply is a sub-standard application, but, for the
> moment, I'd like to regain access to my extremely large collection of such
> files. I regret entrusting so much content to such an unreliable
> application...)
>
> I've pasted some information about my use of word processing files below
> my
> signature. I suspect my use is unusual. Works seems to be a limited,
> simplified application, so I assume I may have asked too much of it, but
> the
> close association of my current problem with the Windows Update
> printing-related downloads strongly suggests a causal relationship.
>
> One of the two printing-related Windows Updates was said to enhance
> Windows
> XP Home's own "printing" capability, and the other seemed to be a type of
> "patch" for my Dell Laser Printer 1100, the down-market monochromatic
> laser
> printer which seems to have been made for Dell by Samsung. The first
> update
> was offered as a "critical update," and the printer software was offered
> as
> an optional hardware upgrade. The hardware upgrade was said to have been
> published by Dell in December of last year.
>
> I believe the Windows Update Site may have "killed" an Epson color inkjet
> printer of mine several years ago, also by providing an "updated driver"
> which I installed. I was therefore highly suspicious yesterday when I saw
> that another printer "driver" was being offered. I checked at Dell's
> site,
> and I found their most recent full-sized device driver was published last
> November. It was also much larger than the 2 MB update which Microsoft
> offered. I only decided to accept the Microsoft updates after lengthy
> consideration. I reasoned that the operating system's "printing upgrade"
> might be desirable, or even necessary, and I also assumed that the printer
> software might require an update to remain compatible with the augmented
> operating system.
>
> I'd only attempted to use XP's System Restore once before, in four years,
> and it failed to restore my system to any of six prior points. Only a day
> or two before yesterday I cut its space allocation to the minimum
> necessary,
> 200 MB. I made my second attempt to use System Restore yesterday, but it
> once more failed to return my system to either of two prior states.
>
> I uninstalled Works 7.0 and then reinstalled it, but that had no effect.
> From the start, I've been able to open a few Works 7.0 word processing
> files
> in their own application after I reboot the system, but I soon find I
> can't
> open any more. That "changing" nature of this problem seems weird.
>
> I'm operating the Home Edition of Windows XP with SP2 (Build 2600) on a
> 4-year-old, ultra-low-end Gateway 300S tower-type desktop system unit,
> with
> an 80 GB single-partition HD, 512 MB DDR SDRAM, IE 7 and Outlook Express
> 6.0, and
> Symantec's Internet Security 2007.
>
> Thanks to anyone who can help!
>
> Jeff Hook
> NJ, USA (More information's below: )
>
> This is the summary of the three downloads which I obtained from the
> Windows
> Update site shortly after noon yesterday:
>
> ++++++++++++++++++
>
> Install Updates Download size (total)
> : 6.5 MB
> Estimated time at your connection speed: less than 1 minute
>
> High-priority updates Microsoft Windows XP
>
> Update for Windows XP (KB934238)
>
> Download size: 3.6 MB , less than 1 minute
>
> This update contains improvements to the printing components on your
> system
> and to the Microsoft XPS Document Writer. After you install this item, you
> may have to restart your computer. Once you have installed this item, it
> cannot be removed.
>
> --------------------------------------
> Optional software updates
> Microsoft Windows XP
>
> Update for Microsoft Core XML Services
> (MSXML) 6.0 Service Pack 1 (KB934268)
>
> Download size: 898 KB , less than 1 minute
>
> MSXML 6.0 Service Pack 1 (MSXML6.1) has improved reliability, security,
> conformance with the XML 1.0 and XML Schema 1.0 W3C Recommendations, and
> compatibility with System.Xml 2.0. After you install this item, you may
> have
> to restart your computer.
>
> --------------------------------------
> Optional hardware updates
>
> DELL Dell Laser Printer 1100
>
> DELL - Printing - Dell Laser Printer 1100
>
> Download size: 2 MB , less than 1 minute
> DELL Printers software update released in December, 2006
>
> ++++++++++++++++++
>
> I was told that the updates had been installed successfully:
>
> ++++++++++++++++++
>
>
> Review Your Installation Results
>
> Installation Summary
>
> Successful: 3
> Failed: 0
> Remaining: 0
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>
> Successful Updates
>
> DELL Dell Laser Printer 1100
>
> DELL - Printing - Dell Laser Printer 1
> 100
>
> Microsoft Windows XP
>
> Update for Microsoft Core XML Services
> (MSXML) 6.0 Service Pack 1 (KB934268)
> Update for Windows XP (KB934238)
>
>
> ++++++++++++++++++
>
> This text from the NotePad version of that Windows Update Works 7.0 "Log"
> word processing file might help by providing information about the printer
> and about related topics:
>
>
> ++++++++++++++++++
>
> This gibberish appears a few lines below the top of the NotePad file:
>
> þÿÿÿþÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿR
> o o t E n t r y  
> ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ

> ²Z¤
> zѤ ÀO¹2º À�cÂò^Ç
i ?
C O N T E N T S
>  
  ÿÿÿÿ
> Ì
C o m p O b j
> 
>  ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ V S P E L L I
> N
> G   ÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿÿ
>  è
þÿÿÿ  
>
>
> ++++++++++++++++++
>
> and this appears near the bottom:
>
> These fonts are listed, but I only used Times New Roman, Arrus BT, and
> Garamond in my Works word processor file. I didn't use Courier New or
> Arial:
>
> ++++++++++++++++++
>
> Times New Roman
Arrus BT
Garamond
 Courier NewArial
>
>
> ++++++++++++++++++
>
> This reference to the printer also appears near the bottom of the NotePad
> file:
>
>
> ++++++++++++++++++
>
>   )
winspool Dell Laser Printer 1100 USB001
>
> ++++++++++++++++++
>
> My use of Works 7.0's word processor:
>
> This application's been my primary word processor for eight years and, at
> the moment, I have 15,314 files in it. I've never used Works 7.0's "Task
> Launcher," because I wanted to be able to create new files at the precise
> locations to which they'll be saved in their file paths. I do all my
> navigation in the Windows Classic View in Windows Explorer, and I want to
> be
> able to create new folders and files "where I am" on my drive at any
> moment.
> The "Task Manager" creates all its new files in the root folder of "My
> Documents," a system directory which I don't use. My extensively-branched
> data hierarchy is set up in the root of my system's internal hard drive.
> I've used a single hyphen to name the root folder, so all my data files
> are
> in the "C:\-\" path, rather than in the "C:\My Documents" path.
>
> I long ago created a basic "new file" format, which I inserted in Windows
> Explorer's File/New menu by using TweakUI. (The format simply established
> a
> "preface" and a file-name for each new file.) That allowed me to create
> new
> files with some of the basic formatting which I desired wherever I wished
> while I navigated my drive in Windows Explorer. I then customized that
> standard formatting for each new file.
>
> I reformatted my internal hard drive and I "manually restored" my system,
> piece by piece, in 10-05. I abandoned the Windows Explorer File/New menu
> at
> that time, and I continued to bypass Work's "Task Launcher." I began to
> create all my new Works 7.0 word processing files by copying and pasting
> additional "sample" files which I'd created in a directory in my data
> hierarchy. This allows me to eliminate the "customization" of my former
> standard file format by giving me a "pre-formatted" sample file for each
> type. I've been copying these sample files, using Windows Explorer's Edit
> menu, or using the context menus of the sample files, and pasting the
> copies
> to folders in which I wish to create "new" files. My directory of such
> sample files has expanded to include folders, in small subdirectories.
>
>
> JLH
>
>



--
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]

Hi Jeff,

Just to clarify, were you having no problems with the Works Word
Processor, before these three updates.

I would remove these updates via Add remove programs and then check if
the problem is gone. Please do reply and let us know the state of the
Works Word processor after the update is removed. If this does not fix
it, we can try other options

To Rock and Gowriv:

Thanks to both of you. I've solved the problem by uninstalling the previous
printer driver and by replacing it with a new driver which I downloaded from
Dell's site. I greatly appreciate your interest, and thanks for your
assistance.

I know my "posts" are regarded as far too "comprehensive" for most readers,
but I always have in mind the wide distribution of these threads. I expect
any computer users who can fight their way through the English language will
read these newsgroup threads anywhere in the entire world at any future
date, so I try to provide as much information as I can, for the benefit of
such readers. I'm confident that NO amount of information is too much for
someone who's been up for more than a day without sleep, desperately looking
for a solution to a vexing problem!

Is it said that the Chinese language writes the word "crisis" by combining
the character for "danger" with the character for "opportunity"? I think
that's close, if not right on target.

In this case, I was experiencing a true crisis. You may not have read the
"appendix" of my first message in which I explained that I was storing
15,314 Works 7.0 word processing files in my data directory, and I seemed to
have NO access to ANY of them. "That ain't good..." I feared my
four-year-old Western Digital internal hard drive might be failing, but I
hoped my problem was only that my printer driver might have been corrupted
somehow by a Microsoft Windows Update which seemed to be a "patch" of the
printer driver. That seemed to be the case.

I bought this very nice little ultra-low-end "Dell" printer (as I mentioned,
it seems to be a Samsung model which was manufactured for Dell) at an even
lower-than-retail price as a reman unit in January of this year. I
installed its software from Dell's installation CD, unaware that the disk
had only given me Dell's 6-05 drivers, rather than the more recent 11-05
drivers.

You may not have read my brief summaries of the Windows Updates which I'd
installed just before my Works 7.0 word processing files "went down the
tube" this past Friday. The Windows XP "printing" update was said to be
impossible to uninstall. The "Update for Microsoft Core XML Services
(MSXML) 6.0 Service Pack 1 (KB934268)" didn't appear to be listed in
Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel, and I hoped an XML feature wasn't
involved in this problem. That left the apparent "patch" of the driver
software, which seemed to be the type of change which could affect the
operation of a word processor, (even a "**Proto** word processor," like
Works 7.0's so-called "word processor"...)

I uninstalled the 6-05 printer driver which I'd initially installed for my
new printer on 1-15-07, and which might have been "broken" by Microsoft's
"excellent" update. I then downloaded Dell's 11-05 most-recent driver, and,
as hoped, when the new, "clean" driver was installed, I regained access to
my Works 7.0 word processing files.

However, during this "crisis" I was forced to do what I'd put off 8 1/2
years ago, when I first began to use personal computing technology: I
finally "chained myself to the chair" here, and I studied Microsoft Word,
which I only have as Word97. I'd been baffled 8 1/2 years ago by Word 97's
"wild, out of control" style features, and by other features which I was
completely unable to master, because I was a personal computing neophyte.
By comparison, Works 4.0's word processor was simple to operate, and, as
other users have said was true for them, Works proved adequate for my
limited word processing needs. In effect, I was "coddled" by Works' "kiddie"
word processor. It's not a serious, adult, functional tool, it's a "CHILD'S
TOY" for Pete's sake! I "matured" as a personal computer user. I'm still
not a "power user," but I'm now a reasonably-competent user, and yet I
allowed myself to remain "an infant" with respect to my word processing
skills, even long after I became capable of learning how to operate
Microsoft Word.

You ask if I had prior problems with Works' word processor. I certainly
have had problems with this "software"... I think this application's an
absolute outrage, and I'm ashamed to have "depended" on it for eight years.
My first problem was the constant "blow-out" of its CUSTOM.DIC contents.
I've been backing that dictionary up for years, and I've regularly been
required to replace its contents. This "flimsy" application can't seem to
"withstand the stress" of Spell Check. I think ?Works' dictionary's
capacity's said to be c. 65 KB. I'm at 58 KB now, but I'm reluctant even to
*try* to add any new content, because any such attempt is likely to "blow
out" what's already in the working dictionary.

Those constant dictionary "blow-outs" were bad enough, but, from the first
hour I began to use Works 7.0's word processor on my current system unit on
1-3-03, when Works 7.0 was a brand-new OEM Gateway installation, it crashed,
"right out of the box," so to speak, as Gateway'd installed it, before I'd
modified it in any way. I've seen other newsgroup complaints about these
outlandish "thefts" of work which anyone is foolish enough to entrust to
this abomination. I wanted to use macros to be sure the "word processor"
saved its files at the end of each new sentence, but, guess what? Works
word processor doesn't *HAVE* macro capability.

Here's the moral of this story, for all new computer users: Please don't be
misled by the apparent "simplicity and ease of use" of Works' word
processor. It just ain't no good! You must grow as computer users, and
you'll be surprised at how quickly you'll be able to master those features
of "true" word processors, such as Microsoft Word, which intimidate you so
completely when you first seem them. Don't short-change yourselves! Make a
commitment to *study* what seems to be so complex, and, in a reasonable
amount of time, you'll gain the skills you need. "Infantilizing" yourself
with a ridiculous fiasco like Works alleged "word processor" simply isn't an
appropriate response!

Thanks again to Rock and to Gowriv!

Jeff Hook
NJ, USA

Prior Works newsgroups threads:

Does Works 7.0's WrdPrcssr Have a File-Size Limit?

Frequent Crashes in Works 7.0 Word Processor in XP Home, with SP1


"gowriv" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
Hi Jeff,

Just to clarify, were you having no problems with the Works Word
Processor, before these three updates.

I would remove these updates via Add remove programs and then check if
the problem is gone. Please do reply and let us know the state of the
Works Word processor after the update is removed. If this does not fix
it, we can try other options

To All, and especially to "Gowriv":

I'd like to apologize for the harshness of my last previous comments, which
denigrated Works' word processor in "high-handed" terms. I'd wanted to
communicate my thanks to the two writers who'd replied to my cross-posted
inquiry, as a way of "closing out" this thread. I felt under some pressure
of time, because I'd not replied previously to Rock's prompt response to my
initial request for help, and because Gowriv had also replied. I unwisely
sent a message after I'd been "up again all night."

When I searched both groups for the names of the two writers who'd replied
to me, I found 49 messages from Rock in the Windows XP General group, and
only one in that group from Gowriv, the reply to my cross-posted inquiry.
When I searched for messages from the two names in the Works group, the
results were reversed. Only a reply to my cross-posted inquiry appeared
there from Rock, but nine messages appeared in the much less active Works
group from Gowriv. It's apparent that Rock is writing as an MVP in the
Windows XP General group, and that Gowriv is writing in the Works group.

I'm grateful for the interest and for the help of both writers, and I regret
that my last prior message could have "wounded" other users of Works' word
processor. It would be much worse to attack writers such as Gowriv, who're
trying to *help* other Works users. That wasn't my intention, and I
apologize for any harm I may have caused. Please keep in mind that *I'm* a
Works user, *too*, a very heavy user of Works' word processor, and of its
excellent "flat-file" database, which I love. (I tried several times to use
Access97, a true "relational" database, but I "just wasn't smart enough" to
operate it. It's **WAY** beyond me.)

Even I can see that Works' word processor is based on Microsoft Word. It
has that "pedigree." Yes, I guess it's "scaled way down," but it may be all
that many users need. It was "good enough" for me for more than eight
years. I may finally be about to move away from it, but, if I'm leaving, I
shouldn't slam the door, or impugn the self-respect of everyone who remains
behind. I'm not qualified to criticize computer software. I have no
programming skills whatsoever. If I can't create software, I don't have the
right to condemn it. It seems obvious that extremely simple versions of
basic office productivity programs have great market value, because so many
users need them. The topic of being "coddled" by such "starter" programs
for too long, of being held in a neophyte's state of intimidation, and of
needing to "grow" beyond simplified applications is interesting, but it can
be discussed without giving offense.

I may have caused my own Works' word processor problems by using the
application incompetently. The program's simplicity suggests that it's
inherently more stable than other much more "functional" word processors
which are much more complex. I may have first "tainted" the Works 6.0 word
processor in W98se when I used TweakUI to "insert" one of my "sample"
formatted word processing files to Windows Explorer's File/New menu. I may
then have "propagated" that "taint" to Works 7.0 in Windows XP when I seem
to have installed the *W98se* version of TweakUI in my new *Windows XP*
system. That may have been bad enough, but I think I then may have used
that *wrong* version of TweakUI to "install" my **Works 6.0** word
processing "sample" file in Windows Explorer's File/New menu in Windows XP,
even though I was then running an OEM installation of **Works 7.0** in that
new system. I've long suspected that I may have caused my own chronic Works
word processor problems in that way. They began in Works 6.0 and they
continued to Works 7.0.

Part of that possible "cross contamination" from one system to another may
have occurred when I pasted my back up copy of my Works 6.0 custom
dictionary to Works 7.0 on my new system unit, although that file may be so
"primitive" with respect to its formatting that it may not have been a
source of any harm. (Despite all of this, however, no Works word processor
ever actually *crashed* on me until I used Works 7.0, and I do think the
first crash occurred within an hour of my first use of my OEM Gateway
installation of Works 7.0 on my new system unit, before I'd added any of my
prior content, or had changed that software in any way at all, as I
mentioned previously. I documented all of that well at the time. I still
have the file in which I'd been working when the first crash occurred. I'd
reopened the file and reported the details contemporaneously.)

Again: Thanks to Rock and to Gowriv, and apologies to all my *fellow* Works
word processor users.

Jeff Hook
NJ, USA


"Jeffrey L. Hook" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:1KhZh.3611$iR2.1007@trnddc05...
To Rock and Gowriv:

Thanks to both of you. I've solved the problem by uninstalling the previous
printer driver and by replacing it with a new driver which I downloaded from
Dell's site. I greatly appreciate your interest, and thanks for your
assistance. (snipped)

You're welcome.

"Jeffrey L. Hook" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote
> To Rock and Gowriv:
>
> Thanks to both of you. I've solved the problem by uninstalling the
> previous
> printer driver and by replacing it with a new driver which I downloaded
> from
> Dell's site. I greatly appreciate your interest, and thanks for your
> assistance.
>
> I know my "posts" are regarded as far too "comprehensive" for most
> readers,
> but I always have in mind the wide distribution of these threads. I
> expect
> any computer users who can fight their way through the English language
> will
> read these newsgroup threads anywhere in the entire world at any future
> date, so I try to provide as much information as I can, for the benefit of
> such readers. I'm confident that NO amount of information is too much for
> someone who's been up for more than a day without sleep, desperately
> looking
> for a solution to a vexing problem!
>
> Is it said that the Chinese language writes the word "crisis" by combining
> the character for "danger" with the character for "opportunity"? I think
> that's close, if not right on target.
>
> In this case, I was experiencing a true crisis. You may not have read the
> "appendix" of my first message in which I explained that I was storing
> 15,314 Works 7.0 word processing files in my data directory, and I seemed
> to
> have NO access to ANY of them. "That ain't good..." I feared my
> four-year-old Western Digital internal hard drive might be failing, but I
> hoped my problem was only that my printer driver might have been corrupted
> somehow by a Microsoft Windows Update which seemed to be a "patch" of the
> printer driver. That seemed to be the case.
>
> I bought this very nice little ultra-low-end "Dell" printer (as I
> mentioned,
> it seems to be a Samsung model which was manufactured for Dell) at an even
> lower-than-retail price as a reman unit in January of this year. I
> installed its software from Dell's installation CD, unaware that the disk
> had only given me Dell's 6-05 drivers, rather than the more recent 11-05
> drivers.
>
> You may not have read my brief summaries of the Windows Updates which I'd
> installed just before my Works 7.0 word processing files "went down the
> tube" this past Friday. The Windows XP "printing" update was said to be
> impossible to uninstall. The "Update for Microsoft Core XML Services
> (MSXML) 6.0 Service Pack 1 (KB934268)" didn't appear to be listed in
> Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel, and I hoped an XML feature wasn't
> involved in this problem. That left the apparent "patch" of the driver
> software, which seemed to be the type of change which could affect the
> operation of a word processor, (even a "**Proto** word processor," like
> Works 7.0's so-called "word processor"...)
>
> I uninstalled the 6-05 printer driver which I'd initially installed for my
> new printer on 1-15-07, and which might have been "broken" by Microsoft's
> "excellent" update. I then downloaded Dell's 11-05 most-recent driver,
> and,
> as hoped, when the new, "clean" driver was installed, I regained access to
> my Works 7.0 word processing files.
>
> However, during this "crisis" I was forced to do what I'd put off 8 1/2
> years ago, when I first began to use personal computing technology: I
> finally "chained myself to the chair" here, and I studied Microsoft Word,
> which I only have as Word97. I'd been baffled 8 1/2 years ago by Word
> 97's
> "wild, out of control" style features, and by other features which I was
> completely unable to master, because I was a personal computing neophyte.
> By comparison, Works 4.0's word processor was simple to operate, and, as
> other users have said was true for them, Works proved adequate for my
> limited word processing needs. In effect, I was "coddled" by Works'
> "kiddie"
> word processor. It's not a serious, adult, functional tool, it's a
> "CHILD'S
> TOY" for Pete's sake! I "matured" as a personal computer user. I'm still
> not a "power user," but I'm now a reasonably-competent user, and yet I
> allowed myself to remain "an infant" with respect to my word processing
> skills, even long after I became capable of learning how to operate
> Microsoft Word.
>
> You ask if I had prior problems with Works' word processor. I certainly
> have had problems with this "software"... I think this application's an
> absolute outrage, and I'm ashamed to have "depended" on it for eight
> years.
> My first problem was the constant "blow-out" of its CUSTOM.DIC contents.
> I've been backing that dictionary up for years, and I've regularly been
> required to replace its contents. This "flimsy" application can't seem to
> "withstand the stress" of Spell Check. I think ?Works' dictionary's
> capacity's said to be c. 65 KB. I'm at 58 KB now, but I'm reluctant even
> to
> *try* to add any new content, because any such attempt is likely to "blow
> out" what's already in the working dictionary.
>
> Those constant dictionary "blow-outs" were bad enough, but, from the first
> hour I began to use Works 7.0's word processor on my current system unit
> on
> 1-3-03, when Works 7.0 was a brand-new OEM Gateway installation, it
> crashed,
> "right out of the box," so to speak, as Gateway'd installed it, before I'd
> modified it in any way. I've seen other newsgroup complaints about these
> outlandish "thefts" of work which anyone is foolish enough to entrust to
> this abomination. I wanted to use macros to be sure the "word processor"
> saved its files at the end of each new sentence, but, guess what? Works
> word processor doesn't *HAVE* macro capability.
>
> Here's the moral of this story, for all new computer users: Please don't
> be
> misled by the apparent "simplicity and ease of use" of Works' word
> processor. It just ain't no good! You must grow as computer users, and
> you'll be surprised at how quickly you'll be able to master those features
> of "true" word processors, such as Microsoft Word, which intimidate you so
> completely when you first seem them. Don't short-change yourselves! Make
> a
> commitment to *study* what seems to be so complex, and, in a reasonable
> amount of time, you'll gain the skills you need. "Infantilizing" yourself
> with a ridiculous fiasco like Works alleged "word processor" simply isn't
> an
> appropriate response!
>
> Thanks again to Rock and to Gowriv!
>
> Jeff Hook
> NJ, USA
>
> Prior Works newsgroups threads:
>
> Does Works 7.0's WrdPrcssr Have a File-Size Limit?
>
> Frequent Crashes in Works 7.0 Word Processor in XP Home, with SP1
>
>
> "gowriv" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
> news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> Hi Jeff,
>
> Just to clarify, were you having no problems with the Works Word
> Processor, before these three updates.
>
> I would remove these updates via Add remove programs and then check if
> the problem is gone. Please do reply and let us know the state of the
> Works Word processor after the update is removed. If this does not fix
> it, we can try other options
>
>



--
Rock [MS-MVP User/Shell]

"Jeffrey L. Hook" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>I know my "posts" are regarded as far too "comprehensive" for most readers,

Actually, we "most readers" get the impression that you have an orgasm
when you read your posts.

That's the only explanation that works.

You are welcome Jeff. Its good to know that the fix worked. We can
keep this in mind the next time, another user faces a problem with a
Dell Printer.