corrupt file

[towbar]

i have vista basic laptop and have probs. i am on aol and started having probs. i am unable to access any sites on aol, just my emails. i had to uninstall and re-install about 5 times. phoned aol helpline half doz times and was told i have something on my computer that is stopping me installing correctly all the files etc i need. last night i was trying to get on to aol again when a message came up and told me they were checking and would fix any problems. i was told i had corrupt file. they were unable to fix it . i have avg on it and gave it full scan. they found nil. any help would be greatly appreciated . thank you i am on internet explorer writing this.

[RandyL]

We could probably benefit from some clarification.

 

You said you could not access any sites on AOL. Do you mean that the "AOL browser" doesn't display web pages or do you mean you can't access any of the AOL web pages using any browser?

 

You said you reinstalled 5 times. I assume you mean the browser and not Windows.

 

As far as uninstalling have you tried to completely remove AOL and all it's components? Browser, security, messenger etc? Removing all of AOL is not for the faint of heart. It really gets imbedded. You would need to uninstall everything then hunt for files, folders and registry items and delete them manually. Hopefully nothing goes wrong to break your computer. Personally I don't do it anymore. I tell everyone to reinstall Windows. It's easier.

 

Try the easy fix first. Roll back your computer to a date when it was working by using System Restore. When using System Restore you might have to tic the box "show older restore points".

[towbar]

thank you for your reply. i will try to explain. i have uninstalled and re-installed aol 9.0vr at least a doz times last few days. system restore was the first thing i tried when first got both bother. what i`ve found since is even more strange,to me anyway, is that when i sign on as guest and use any of my screen names , i can accesss any sites and my computer is back to normal. yet when i use the normal sign in with one of my screen names i get on but can`t access any sites, only my e mails. i have been in touch with aol helpline doz times also and they say something is blocking the full download. i tried firewall, as to me this is the problem, and the screen names are getting blocked with direct access to aol, but i have no idea what category the names come under to make them exceptions. any ideas to help me.

[Plastic Nev]

Hi, indeed as Randy pointed out, AOL does get everywhere, I assume you will have been using the ordinary Windows uninstall system. This does leave a lot of clutter lying about and doesn't really get all of the AOL files. It may well be one of them that has become corrupted enough to confuse the installer, so therefore not installing the full system as AOL seem to think is happening.

There is an absolutely brilliant program designed to uninstall everything of whatever you tell it to remove and it will find and remove all the AOL files so you can then do a full clean re-install, the program is free for home users and is called Revo Uninstaller, you can download and install it from-

 

Download Revo Uninstaller Freeware - Free and Full Download

 

You can, I see now, get a full 30 days trial of the pro version, or just install the ordinary free version.

I only use it for any uninstall of software I no longer want and have nothing to do with the company by the way, it just such a good program at even the free ware level that all of us on staff here recommend it.

Nev.

[towbar]

thank you i will try that tried every else except a hammer or a match

[Match]

thank you i will try that tried every else except a hammer or a match

Sorry I have no experience with AOL, so looks like your left with the hammer

 

but I did find this

 

How do I uninstall my AOL software? - Technical - AOL Help

[Tootech]

Need some more info...

 

What version of Windows do you use?

 

Do you use a modem or router?

 

What security software do you use?

 

Does Internet Explorer connect up ok?

 

I think in this case Revo will just invoke the AOL uninstaller, which works quite well - I wouldn't bother with that step for now.

 

The best option here is to uninstall AOL (all versions), uninstall the security you have temporarily (disabling won't do), use any removal tools for your security product, to clear up, check your browser runs ok on the Internet and then reinstall AOL. Once it is all ok, reinstall your security.

 

There is a temporary folder AOL uses for its downloads, that will need deleting after uninstall.

 

Post all the info and we will go from there.

[towbar]

thanks for all your help. i invested in macfee and as they have firewall i done away with windows firewall . i think that was the problem. they seemed to be stopping something that was stopping me using the usual way to access all the sites . anyway i used the revo uninstaller ,thank you, also did away with windows firewall and did a re-install aol 9.0vr. lo and behold got on straight away got my favs back and i am now back to normal. fingers crossed. i had avg on the computer and they found no problems after full scan. ran full scan with macfee and they quarantined 1 virus . so again thank for your help que sera

[Tootech]

Thats great, whichever parts of the help you used :)

 

Don't forget that you do need a firewall, so switch Windows Firewall on as a minimum.

[towbar]

well it happened. switched it off and came back an hour later and was back to the horror. not able to access any sites again thru my screen names. i am using this by signing as guest then using my screen name. crazy. must be using the screen names that is the problem. they must be blocked by the firewall. yet they are clear when i use them under guest. i am using windows vista on a home base laptop wireless router. internet explorer no prob. before i found out about using guest , i was using internet explorer. i have macfee firewall and turned the windows firewall back on after the trouble started again.

[RandyL]

With AOL anything is possible. They don't even know as you said. But lets go back to the basics. But keep in mind if AOL can't help you there might not be anything we can do either as they are a company to themselves.

 

Personally the first thing I would do is dump AOL and then uninstall everything as suggested. Are you aware that you can still access all of your AOL without the AOL software installed?

 

OK if your not willing to do that we might have a few suggestions but not being AOL or having their source code there is only so much we can do.

 

Firewalls might be an issue.

Only run one at a time. Otherwise they will conflict.

 

Antivirus programs might be an issue.

Only run one at a time. Otherwise they will conflict

 

Here in the U.S.A AOL comes bundled with security software. So I wonder if you have multiple security installed which might be conflicting.

 

Another thing to consider is malware. Have you ever scanned for malware and if so what did you scan with? CA Trust would not be my first choice. (I speak from my USA only. AOL used that here last I checked or maybe they use another product like a branded Mcafee now)

[towbar]

thank you for your interest. i have never looked for malware. to be honest thought macfee did all that . i have turned off windows firewall as macfee has one running. the latest i have i did finally got thru to aol helpline and find somebody who could understand what i was trying to tell him. upshot is he had never heard of that problem and was giving my prob to the technical team. as the weekend is due he said give them to mon night and call back. don`t try to explain to the person who is on line, just ask them to check my account and see if the technicians have left a message . thank you for trying for me. i will let you know in due course what happens que sera

[towbar]

mon night and finally got it working ok. got help fron a technician who told where me to go and get rid of the registry files and then re-install it all. worked fine. randyl you had right idea get rid of them all including registry. plastic nev gave me revo for uninstalling and works fine, but it doesn`t get everything. at least the free version does not. thanks all any way greatly appreciated que sera

[RandyL]

That's great. AOL does get stuck in good. At least you got it fixed now. We appreciate you taking the time to let us know. Good luck.

[katherine1]

Hi randy,

 

I'm having problems with vista too. Yesterday I kept being prompted to buy the vista 2010 security package as a vista scan showed that I had 29 infections. I already have AVG free security so ran a scan, and this showed no infections. After this, the Vista alerts kept coming up, and when I ignored the alerts I couldn't access any other programmes and the internet was very slow. I decided to restart my laptop and signed in to find a black desktop with the alerts in the middle and only the vista toolbar at the top of the desktop.

 

I'm assuming that I have an infection... please help me!

[RandyL]

Hi katherine1. Please go to the Malware section and start a new thread on this. All will be well once you do. Here is a link to get you started on how to do it.

How to use the forum and post new messages.