AOL 9.0 locks up on Win 2000 notebook, even after reinstall

[Dan Schwartz]

I am having a problem with a Dell notebook computer running Windows
2000 and America Online 9.0.

When AOL is started, it displays the banner saying "Updating AOL
Database...", with numbers counting up from 0 to 100%. But when it
reaches 100%, it freezes. It just sits there saying "100%" for at
least three minutes and doesn't display the sign-on screen.

I tried re-installing AOL, and even deleting the old AOL installation
and then installing it again as "new". The same thing still happens.

Apparently, there is a corrupted remnant of the old AOL installation
that is not being removed by the Uninstall, and its presence causes
the reinstalled AOL to behave incorrectly. Does anyone know how to get
rid of it so that AOL can be installed cleanly and run correctly?

 

[Alias]

Why in the world would you want AOL on your machine?

Alias

"Dan Schwartz" wrote

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

Sadly, the only practical way I've ever found to _completely_
remove AOL from an operating system is to format the hard drive and
perform a clean installation. It takes a lot less time than manually
removing/replacing all of the Windows system files that AOL replaces
with their own versions and the hundreds of registry entries.


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:




You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

[dcdon]

Hi Dan,

You can try an Inplace Upgrade installation to over write some of the files shared
and others written into the Registry, and bound into the fiber of the OS. Hell to
get out all of it, but if you do below, most all the rest is benign.

I have done this. Go to the Add/Remove programs and uninstall each one at a time by
rebooting after uninstall. Then go into the tree and delete the skeletons in
Programs directory. Afterward, go into the Registry and delete AOL entries in HKLM.
You can do this in Regedit. Doesn't require editing Regedt32. If you are not
familiar with how to Edit the registry, this part is better left alone.

don

Greetings --

Sadly, the only practical way I've ever found to _completely_
remove AOL from an operating system is to format the hard drive and
perform a clean installation. It takes a lot less time than manually
removing/replacing all of the Windows system files that AOL replaces
with their own versions and the hundreds of registry entries.


Bruce Chambers

--
Help us help you:




You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

[Dan Schwartz]

Why in the world would you want AOL on your machine?

Alias

It's not my machine. It's someone else's machine - I am trying to fix it for him.

 

[Alias]

It's not my machine. It's someone else's machine - I am trying to fix it

for him.

Oh, well, I would recommend taking it all off through a reformat.

Alias

 

[George Hester]

I'll chime in here. No you cannot remove AOL any version once it is installed. I know of no way to get it cleanly out. The reason for this is the Network protocol that is installed by AOL. Once in it is in for good. A reformat and reinstall will be necessary. Sorry.

 

[Alias]

And then AOL wonders why they're losing subscribers ...

Alias

"George Hester" wrote

I'll chime in here. No you cannot remove AOL any version once it is
installed. I know of no way to get it cleanly out. The reason for this is
the Network protocol that is installed by AOL. Once in it is in for good.
A reformat and reinstall will be necessary. Sorry.