I received a cry for help via e-mail from a reader of this column who sounded desperate and thought I was some sort of expert on computers. I'm not. I've had no formal computer training and I'm not qualified to give any advice on anything, except perhaps journalism, French cheeses, and whether pigs have wings.

Everything I think I know about technology has come about through fear of losing my files, sweat, frustration and reading the manual (or RTM as the experts know it). It sounds as if the reader who sent me the message has gone through the same range of feelings. I had previously sent him some advice privately on a minor problem. The advice seems to have worked as he wrote back again about two months later.

`'I wonder if you would help me again! I keep getting the following types of messages,' he wrote. `'AOLTray caused an invalid page fault in module wsock32.dll, msipcsv caused an invalid page fault in module wsock32.dll. Msimn caused an invalid page fault in module wsock32.dll. Msipcsv caused an invalid page fault in module kernel32.dll. Rnaap caused an invalid page fault in module kernel32.dll. Ipe30 caused an invalid page fault in module kernel32.dll. Go caused an invalid page fault in module kernel32.dll.

Rundll32 caused an invalid page fault in module kernel32.dll. Gator caused an invalid page fault in module wsock32.dll. I did have the Happy99 virus which I deleted using one of the programs on the Internet, but this has been occurring since then. Do I have to replace these sock & kernel files - if so, how do you do it? One more thing - why does my defrag function not work?

It just takes ages, never getting further than ten percent completed....?''

Do both problems sound familiar? If they don't, then you've either got a Mac or your name is Bill Gates and you happen to have the secret Windows operating system that works perfectly but which Microsoft doesn't want to release for fear of killing its lucrative upgrade market.

The first problem is an easy one to `fix'. The solution is really not a fix at all but a procedure that is not clearly spelled out when defragmenting your hard drive. With all the deleting and additions you make on your computer, the hard drive gets more and more messed up as it attempts to store files on the empty spaces on the disk. The result is the computer gets slower at performing tasks as it has to access files from different sections of the hard drive to perform specific tasks.

Windows comes with a utility, called a disk defragmenter (under the system tools menu), to make the storage system more efficient and get the computer back on track. One should perform a disk defrag every two weeks at least if you use your computer a lot.

You should notice a nice snap to your computer afterwards. However, for disk defragmenter to work it needs a hard drive in which the contents are not being changed while the utility is doing its work, or else it starts all over again.

You must exit all programs, including those in the start up task bar. You must also go into the Control Panel file and turn off your screen saver (in the `Display' utility). In the same `Display' utility turn off all power settings for your monitor.

The second problem needs a real fix. Computers crash constantly and those using the Windows operating system are all too familiar with faults involving kernel32.dll. The `.dll' denotes one type of operating system file, so you touch these at your own risk. When fixing software problems the first thing to do is back up everything of importance on your computer, and ensure that you have a clean copy of all your key software, including your operating system. The site www.windowstrouble.com is quite good on kernel32.dll problems.

Kernel32.dll is one of the Windows core components and takes care of memory management, handling input/output operations, interrupts and other functions. In almost every action you take in a Windows application, kernel32.dll is involved, which is why more often than not it's mentioned in computer error reports. The errors are usually caused when another program or application attempts to access the memory space that is taken up by kernel32.dll, a space that is supposed to be protected.

Don't forget: most kernel32.dll errors are not caused by a corruption of the kernel32.dll module,' the site advises. So don't kill the kernel.

Now tie that statement back to the reader's comment that his computer had been affected by the Happy99 virus. Happy99 will not damage data on the computer, but will rewrite the wsock32.dll file and send out copies of itself from your computer. wsock32.dll is also mentioned in the error faults listed by the reader. wsock32.dll is the control dialup file for getting on to the Internet.

A check at the Symantec Internet site notes that the fix for the Happy99 worm restores the wsock32.dll, and removes two files that were added when the computer was infected. I note that Symantec states that users of the fix will still need to manually delete the Happy99.Worm file, usually named Happy99.exe. My bet is the reader forgot the last part and didn't delete the actual virus file. Happy99 also stores the original wsock32.dll file as wsock32.ska on the computer. So one strategy is to find wsock32.ska, rename it to wsock32.dll and after deleting the infected wsock32.dll, put the original back into the proper folder.

Tech Tattle deals with topics relating to technology. You can contact Ahmed at editoroffshoreon.com or (33) 467901474.