AOL Message Re QuickTime. 1

[alpha24]

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Hi. I uninstalled QuickTime about a month ago and ever since, I get an annoying message at every boot-up, telling me to "reinstall your AOL software". I can't find any way of getting rid of this message except by reinstalling QT (which I never use and don't want on my PC) or going back to AOL 8.0. My understanding is that although QT is bundled with my AOL9.0,AOL8.0 doesn't have it. Bearing in mind that QT comes with an uninstall facility, I don't see why AOL should pester me to reinstall it when I've used that facility and they are,in effect, saying reinstall it (or go back to AOL8.0) and,if you don't, you'll have to put up with this annoying message until you do. !! I have been unable to get any satisfactory answers from AOL about this issue and would be grateful if anyone could suggest how I can disable the offending message,please.?

Cheers, Alpha. (Win 98SE)

 

[electronicsfreak]

Go to start, run, then type msconfig and hit enter. CLick the startup tab, find anything on there referencing to aol and uncheck it. Now hit apply and ok and then restart. See if that stops it.

 

[smitee]

If EF's doesn't do the trick

Read this thread

http://snipurl.com/khhh

smitee

 

[alpha24]

Thanks E.F. No luck with your suggestion,I'm sorry to say. The only reference to AOL in Start-Up was an "acs" item but I tried unchecking it anyway.!!

Thanks smitee. Couldn't find anything at your link to help with my problem,I'm afraid. I have been told that the message is probably written into the software and it would need a programmer's expertise to tackle it but perhaps a "super-tech" out there could tell me if that's correct.?!!

Cheers, Alpha.

 

[electronicsfreak]

As I doubt you might find this ill give it a shot just for the heck of it. You might look around on the software itself and see if you can find any way of disabling it telling it not to use it. Also Id reccomend sometime getting rid of aol and using a local provider. Just my 2 cents though.

 

[smitee]

Hi Alpha24

It seems to me you have pursued this issue with as much perserverance as anyone I have ever encountered on message forums. Your tenacity is admirable.!

From Googleing your sig I was amazed at the enormous amount of time and bandwidth expended trying to find a solution.

The most obvious answer is the one I think you wish to bypass..

[Aol 9 and Quicktime are bundled] and when a component is removed you get your annoying message...
Perhaps like XP and WMP from Microsoft...

All other reasonable efforts and there were many (two hours of reading), haven't pointed at any other solution. From file association to registry cleaning, et al.

There is a simple way to find out ALL of the changes made to your box when installing an application. You can easily create a logfile of file,folder, & registry changes with a tiny application called Regshot...

Uninstall AOL 9
run regshot (1) shot (set parameters..easy and intuitive
minmize
Install AOL 9
Restore regshot and take shot 2
Compare
Logfile created either text, or htm file.

You could easily do the same with Quicktime or ANY other software you are installing..

I leave it to you to find it on Google, and there are others that are a bit more comprehensive like InCtrl, etc.

The reason this is more effective than registry searches is because one never knows the exact name of the keys or CLSID's installed. In your example did you search "apple", iTunes, iPod, etc.

I wish you the best of luck but since my reading has shown you have tried just about every thing in the book I would hate to see this thread go over already suggested and tried solutions.


smitee

 

[alpha24]

Sorry for delay,have been away.(poetic!!) Thanks EF but I've tried other servers and returned to AOL. Thanks for your helpful suggestions smitee, which I've tried without success. I guess the time has come to admit defeat and get used to zapping the message every time I open.!! Cheers, Alpha.

 

[smah]

In that case, wouldn't it be easier to just put QuickTime back on & not use it?

 

[smitee]

Good of you to check back..Sorry you have had no luck.

Seasons Greetings to ALL in this thread

smitee

 

[alpha24]

Thanks smah. To clarify your suggestion, do you mean I should go back to 8 (which doesn't have QT bundled with it),install QT then return to 9 in the hope that installing QT in 8 will satisfy AOL's demand and kill-off the offending message - or am I on the wrong track.? I realise that going back to 8 and staying with it would rid me of the message but I much prefer 9 and aren't prepared to compromise over this issue. As you indicate, I could,of course,reinstall QT in my 9 and not use it but that's also a compromise.!! I just can't understand why AOL bundles QT (which INCLUDES A UNINSTALL FACILITY) and then penalises folks who don't want it with this annoying message. I now have reason to believe that AOL 10 will be much more flexible regarding the ability to reject the bits you don't want, so perhaps I should pipe down and wait for it.!! Regards, Alpha.

 

[hotfusion]

I don't know if this thread is still hanging, but AOL now has a feature called 'AOL dialler' or something similar, which enables you to connect to AOL without installing their ridiculous browser bloat.

Simply install this dialler to connect, then use IE to browse, as you would with any 'normal' internet connection. I'm assuming AOL have provided this feature in response to complaints, and reasons given for cancellation by ex-customers including me.

Look into it, it will solve your problem if you are on a dial-up connection, and they may have something similar for broadband too.

Regards, Andy.
**************************************
My pathetic attempts at learning HTML can be laughed at here:

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/andyspatch/index.htm

 

[alpha24]

Many thanks Andy. I've heard about the Dialler but had no idea that it provided the facility you mention and I'll certainly look into it. One problem with looking for a way to zap the annoying message is that all the the solutions suggested so far are basicly ways of accessing the net without opening AOL but I have to open it to deal with my email.!!

All The Best For The New Year, AL.

 

[electronicsfreak]

You might be able to have it forwarded to outlook express or a client of the sort. Check on that.

 

[smah]

As for electronicsfreak's suggestion, see:
Get AOL mail with normal client software thread605-880049