Windows 98 wearing thin...

[Steve Cassani]

I'n running Windows 98 in a computer purchased eight years ago, maybe ten. It uses a Pentium III chip and I believe Version 5 of Internet Explorer came with the computer.

In the last couple of months I've lost the ability to navigate Amazon.com and the Speed channel web sites, among others. Attempting to move from a general view of the recordings available by Dave Brubeck to a specific listing triggers an error in Internet Explorer, with the options of sending an error report to Microsoft, restarting IE or cancelling the process. The Speed channel site freezes Internet Explorer, usually while the site loads.

There are no memory issues. IE and the support processes Windows drags along for the ride are all that are running and the problem began only a couple of months ago. Before then, the sites ran without a hitch. Word, Excel and others run fine.

Am I suffering the inevitable outcomes of owning an old computer with a system of the same vintage? I'm reluctant to buy a new one due to the need to transfer information, much of it personal. The hard drive is one-third full and most of that is system software.