David L
07-31-2006, 05:56 PM
Hi: sorry for the long story, but it might shed light on my problem:
I have a Compaq Presario laptop, about 5-6 years old, that originally had Windows 98 SE on it. A few weeks ago, I wanted to re-load the operating system -- to start fresh, get all of the junk off the computer -- but mistakenly used a Windows XP backup disc from one of my Dell desktop PCs. It actually loaded XP fine but gave me 30 days to activate, and I couldn't activate it (probably because that copy of XP was already activated on my other computer). So I got a windows 98 boot disk, ran fdisk and formatted the drive, and re-loaded windows 98SE from CD.
I immediately noticed that the display properties had changed ... the font (i.e., the lettering that is used for the items on the desktop, etc.) looks blotchy, as if typed with a smudgy typewriter, and I have only one choice for screen area - 640 by 480 pixels, and only two choices for colors, 16 colors and 2 colors.
So I figure if I can get on the internet perhaps I can update Windows. But when I try to install the drivers (from CD) for my ethernet card, I get a setup dialog with this message: "this program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down." When I click on Details, it says: "SETUP caused an invalid page default in module DIRAPI.DLL ...
So I googled "DIRAPI.DLL" and got a few links that said I should re-install the Macromedia Shockwave player. I did this, and it failed to fix the problem.
Then I found this link:
http://www.oatmedia.com/dds_dirapi.asp
It seems to indicate that the fact that I can only get 16 colors is the culprit. I tried the two other procedures this link recommends, however, there is no "options" folder in my Windows folder, so I can't do it. :mad:
Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
I have a Compaq Presario laptop, about 5-6 years old, that originally had Windows 98 SE on it. A few weeks ago, I wanted to re-load the operating system -- to start fresh, get all of the junk off the computer -- but mistakenly used a Windows XP backup disc from one of my Dell desktop PCs. It actually loaded XP fine but gave me 30 days to activate, and I couldn't activate it (probably because that copy of XP was already activated on my other computer). So I got a windows 98 boot disk, ran fdisk and formatted the drive, and re-loaded windows 98SE from CD.
I immediately noticed that the display properties had changed ... the font (i.e., the lettering that is used for the items on the desktop, etc.) looks blotchy, as if typed with a smudgy typewriter, and I have only one choice for screen area - 640 by 480 pixels, and only two choices for colors, 16 colors and 2 colors.
So I figure if I can get on the internet perhaps I can update Windows. But when I try to install the drivers (from CD) for my ethernet card, I get a setup dialog with this message: "this program has performed an illegal operation and will be shut down." When I click on Details, it says: "SETUP caused an invalid page default in module DIRAPI.DLL ...
So I googled "DIRAPI.DLL" and got a few links that said I should re-install the Macromedia Shockwave player. I did this, and it failed to fix the problem.
Then I found this link:
http://www.oatmedia.com/dds_dirapi.asp
It seems to indicate that the fact that I can only get 16 colors is the culprit. I tried the two other procedures this link recommends, however, there is no "options" folder in my Windows folder, so I can't do it. :mad:
Any ideas? Thanks in advance.