: To BILL and NATE
:
: Thanks a lot for your help with this puzzle.

: : It sounds like your explorer.exe is not running properly. Try running scan disk to see if you have any bad sectors (this will not fix the problem but will insure your hard drive is in good working order). A re-install of win98 would seem to be in order.

: I have run scandisk many times without ever a sign of difficulty, but I agree with you that the time has come to reinstall. This time I will start with the minimum system and add components one at a time and see if I can locate the source of my problem in that way. Who knows, there might not even be a problem then.
:
: Thanks again, Dick.
:

You access the message you would like to follow up on, and go to thee bottom of the page, there is a follow up text box there.

: Enviornment failed to display and reported: "The component which displays this information is not functioning properly, or is not present."

Looks like things got really screwed up.

As Bill said, it's time to re-install windows. You may consider looking into what OLD programs you don't need any more, and un-install them first to get a "cleaner" system. This would be a good time to look into software upgrades for those programs you use all the time.

If you are running a really old program all the time, this might be the cause.

Do a back up of important info of course.

It sounds like your explorer.exe is not running properly. Try running scan disk to see if you have any bad sectors (this will not fix the problem but will insure your hard drive is in good working order). A re-install of win98 would seem to be in order. Make sure you have your sound card and video card drivers handy as these sometimes get replaced in a reinstall. Also be sure to have your windows serial number. Make sure you have backups of all important data before trying any reinstalls.

: Follow up BILL 5/04 [query: where do you imput text to create a proper followup in this system?]

: I ran the System Information file check as you suggested but it turned up no changed or missing files.
: However, in using the left-side window to display system information, Hardware Resources and Components displayed properly, whereas Software Enviornment failed to display and reported: "The component which displays this information is not functioning properly, or is not present." Is there somewhere that I can identify this missing component?
: Added info on my problem: the error message appearing in boot up occurs just prior to STARTUP implementation. Immediately after the message, 4 icons appear in the left task tray and the boot up is complete. It appears that the reported error and the failure of the STARTUP procedure are connected.

: It sounds like your explorer.exe is not running properly. Try running scan disk to see if you have any bad sectors (this will not fix the problem but will insure your hard drive is in good working order). A re-install of win98 would seem to be in order.

I have run scandisk many times without ever a sign of difficulty, but I agree with you that the time has come to reinstall. This time I will start with the minimum system and add components one at a time and see if I can locate the source of my problem in that way. Who knows, there might not even be a problem then.

Thanks again, Dick.