Re: puzzling win 98 SE event

["Patricia M. Godfrey" priscamg@xxxxxxxx]

Bruce Felknor wrote:
> The second time I could not find my main directory
> where I keep all my Xywrite document directories and
> files (c:\docs). (Not \XY4 with its operating files.)
>
> When I did a search for it I found it under a new
> directory: c\csextras\docs. The only two other
> subdirectories there were \desktop and \icons. I have
> no idea how they got there and where to move them.
>
> I'd like to MKDIR c:\docs and RMDIR c:\csextras, but
> don't know how to put \desktop and \icons back
> wherever they belong.
You don't need--or want--to do both. Do mkdir c:\docs, then xcopy
c:\csextras\docs c:\docs /s
And then you want to delete c:\csextras\docs\*.* but I cannot recall
if the DOS underlying 98SE lets you do that in one fell swoop with
RMDIR c:\csextras\docs or if you have to del *.* /s and then rmdir. Or
you could always do it the klutzy way of Exploring to that DIR and
then Right-clicking and Deleting. (I practically NEVER delete
anything, so I cannot remember from the last time.)
BUT, BUT Do run a thorough scan for viruses, adware, trojans, spyware,
and other nasties. c:\csextras is not a standard 98SE directory (well,
I don't have it on my system, but then I always do a custom install).
It MAY be part of your DSL setup, but you apparently didn't have it
before, no? So it sounds pretty suspect to me. You might search the
FAQs of your DSL provider's Website to see if it's mentioned anyplace,
or even--if you can get it--call or e-mail their tech support.
Desktop is normally (i.e., on my system; but see the caveat above) a
subdir off c:\windows and again off c:\windows\All Users. Check if
those two copies are still there, and if they are compare the contents
with those of the ones in c:\csextras. Some legit programs do create
their own Desktop folders (my British DTP app, Serif Page Plus does).
I have 5 dirs named Icons: one in c:\Program Files\Windows Media
Player, one in c:\Program Files\Mozilla Thunderbird\chrome, one in
C:\LOTUS\123, one in c:\LOTUS\APPROACH, and one in
C:\Python23\Lib\idlelib (a program that got dumped on my drive with
something or other and I've never even looked at). So that doesn't
seem to be an integral part of Windows either.
See if there's a .exe file anywhere in the c:\csextras dir, right
click on it, and select properties. Go through all the tabs and see
what you can find. (Not that you can BELIEVE everything you'll see,
but it might give a clue.)
At the risk of sounding like a broken record, let me point out that
this is another instance of the advantages of having a properly
partitioned drive. If you have an always-on connection--even if you
don't--you do NOT want, ever, to have C: a shared drive. (It's not
quite so bad in NT/W2K/XP, where you can set real user permissions and
then not log in with Administrator rights when you're online. But 98's
permissions are a joke. And logging in as a user, then having to log
off and log back in as Admin if you want to install software or change
a setting gets prety tiresome if you're given to tweaking.) Have DOS
apps on D:\ (unshared); have data on e:\; even if it's shared,
executables there aren't likely to do too much harm, and you can
quickly spot them. Or have a separate partition (f:\) for downloads.
Apropos of that, there is now a freeware partitioning tool, Partition
Logic; haven't tried it yet, though I mean to the next time I do a
wipe and reinstall.

--
Patricia M. Godfrey
PriscaMG@xxxxxxxx