Reinstalling AOL

AOL software worms itself throughout your system - droppin' .VXDs and .DLLs everywhere. It pretty much commandeers your network and dialup settin's. Whether you use AOL's own uninstall routine, or use Add/Remove Programs, its tentacles are still there; your Registry and various System folders retain a whole buncha AOL entries.

Dunno if any of this'll help, but you might wanna open the AOL client, go to its configuration settin's, and see if you can set it to not start with Windows, and to not dial automatically.

You may try removin' it from your Startups folder (Start>Programs>Startup, find-and-delete the AOL entry.) That doesn't remove AOL, but it should take it out (if your lucky) of your bootup chain.

Also, try disablin' its startup entry in the System Configuration Utility (Start>Run> type -without the quotes- "msconfig", click "OK", go to the Starup Tab, unclick the AOL entry, click "apply", click "OK", reboot).

Another possibility, in Internet options (Start>Run>Settings>Control Panel>Internet Options>Connections), might be to un-select "Always dial my default connection", replacin' it with "Never dial ... "; you still should be able to connect manually by openin' the AOL client then confirmin' when the "Connect .to ... ?" prompt appears, but AOL shouldn't make the decision for ya.


And none of that might work; I've found frequently the most reliable way to get rid of AOL and/or its glitches is to do a thorough scour-and-burnout of the critter, then, if AOL really is wanted, to do a full re-install with the "Custom" option and judiciously selectin' the components to be installed and switches to be activated - not really a practical option for the unfamiliar, the timid or the impatient.

AOL is a lot like a tattoo: a lot easier to get than to get rid of.

I had my computer on three times today. It only dialed in to the internet by itself, once. The other two times I had to click on the icon. Yesterday it happened two or three times. I'm not going to worry about it.

I talked my neighbor out of AOL yesterday. He's going with SBC/Yahoo DSL. No 12-step program required. All I said was "It costs $30/month, it's at least 10x faster, and you can use your phone while online". He took off running.