spring cleaning and dll files.
You may find that your once-handy Windows 95/98/ME Start
Menu has become bloated. That's easily fixed. First, right-click
the Windows Taskbar and from the resulting menu, select
Properties. Then, click the Start Menu Programs tab and you'll
find among other things, a Remove button.
There, you'll be presented with a Remove Shortcuts/Folders
window that gives you the opportunity to delete anything you
want from the Start menu. While you're in this window, take a
moment and clear the items that appear in the Documents Menu
off the Start Menu too.
On a Mac, deleting old items from the Apple menu is as easy as
dragging items to the trash from the Apple Menu Items folder.
After you've deleted everything you don't want, your system
will run much better if you organize the stuff you do want. As
you add, delete and modify files on your computer, different
parts of a single file may be stored in different locations on
the hard drive. This is called disk fragmentation. The more
fragmented a disk, the harder your computer has to work to
retrieve a file. A severely fragmented hard drive makes for a
slower running system.
Luckily for Windows 95/98 users, there's a built-in program
called (appropriately) Disk Defragmenter. It's normally
located in Programs>Accessories>System Tools folder.
But, Apple doesn't include a defragmentation program
with its Macintosh operating system. If you're on a Mac,
you'll have to invest about $100 in Norton Utilities or
something similar to get the job done.
Like anything that sits on your desk long enough, regular use
of your computer takes its toll. Unless you are using one of
the Microsoft IntelliMouse Explorer type of mice that uses an
optical transceiver to take 1,500 "snapshots" per second to
move your mouse pointer instead of a mechanical ball, there's
probably some gunk inside the mouse.
To clean your mouse, remove it from your computer first. Turn
the mouse over with the mouse belly facing up. There's a
plastic circle with a hole in the middle of it. The mouse ball
pokes through this hole. Next, press with both thumbs lightly
and rotate the plastic circle counter-clockwise to loosen the
plastic circle.
Remove the collar and wash the ball with lukewarm water. Don't
use any cleaners, because the chemicals might damage the
mouse. Let the ball air dry and while this is happening, look
in the cavity where the ball usually sits. You'll see three
tiny wheels called rollers. You should clean them now, too; in
other words, scrape off the gunk using a wooden toothpick.
Don't use an eraser, pen, or pencil.
After you finish cleaning all three rollers, drop the dry ball
back into the mouse and replace the collar. Turn the collar
clockwise until it stops. That's it, your mouse is clean
again! Special kits are available for cleaning the mouse, but
most people doit the old-fashioned way as described above.
If your keyboard looks like a mechanic has been using it,
unplug the keyboard from your PC and give it a cleaning.
Use glass cleaner or warm water along with a soft cloth.
Wet the cloth so it's damp, not soppy, and clean dirty areas.
Try not to get any liquid directly on the keyboard or underneath
the keys. Let the keyboard completely dry before plugging it
back into your PC.

DLL (Dynamic Link Library) errors can be caused by problems
in your System Registry, and Microsoft offers a free program
called RegClean that may help you out.
When you install, uninstall or reinstall programs, your
computer creates, modifies or deletes registry "keys." Over
time your Registry may get cluttered with unused and maybe
even corrupt data, and that can cause system errors like
you're experiencing.
That's where RegClean comes in -- this program scans your
Registry for problems and automatically fixes errors. Because
your computer's Registry is a vital part of Windows, RegClean
errs on the side of caution, and may not fix all of your
troubles (it purposely leaves intact any entry that it doesn't
understand or that may be correct).
To use RegClean (Win NT/95/98), download a free copy at:
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?ReleaseID=18924
Once you've downloaded RegClean, double-click it to start, and
it will display a progress dialog box (the RegClean scan can
take anywhere from 30 seconds to 30 minutes, so be patient).
Once the scan is complete (and the progress meters have
closed), you'll be prompted to quit RegClean (if it didn't
find any errors, or if you don't want to fix the problems it
found) or use the program to fix the errors.
Assuming you want to use RegClean to fix your errors, it will
show a progress meter until it has finished. The program also
creates an Undo file if you ever need it (in the folder in
which you ran RegClean).