I keep getting this message on Win ME:

"Ddhelp has caused an error in GDI.EXE. Ddhelp
will now close."

What's causing this? It's happening frequently. Should I reinstall Win ME?

Catty (who is losing all kinds of work)

Reinstalling Windows ME will likely not resolve this problem (unless it's a clean reinstall). The error is probably caused by a damaged display or DirectX driver. Both should be reinstalled.

(1) Download DirectX 8.1b, but do not install it yet.

(2) Remove the current display driver. To do this, open the Add/Remove Programs tool in the Control Panel. If the display driver is listed, double-click the entry and choose to uninstall.

If the driver does not appear in Add/Remove Programs, right-click My Computer, click Properties and Device Manager, double-click Display Adapters and the listed videocard, then click Driver and Update Driver (click Next as needed).

Choose "Display a list..." and "Show all hardware". In the left pane, choose "(Standard display types)"; in the right pane, choose "Standard Display Adapter (VGA)". Click Yes to dismiss the driver update warning, and continue the installation. Restart the computer when prompted.

(3) Double-click DX81eng.exe to reinstall DirectX, then restart the computer.

(4) Reinstall your previous display driver. Because I don't know which videocard or onboard graphics device you're using, I can't describe the exact steps. If it's a self-installing driver, just double-click it; otherwise, you'll need to reinstall via the Device Manager. Choose "Display a list..." and "Have Disk", then browse to the location of the driver.

Thank you very much, Tom. I will attempt to do as you suggest.

Catty (who is beginning to feel like a pro)

If U're loosing too many files with ME then GET XP!

If U still have any students around U can buy XP PRO ACA from

http://www.pccdepot.com

http://pccdepot.com/cdc_pdetails.asp?id=305106

for about $105 with 2nd day shipping! Same as regular XP-PRO! No difference except ACADEMIC written on the BOX and CD!

ivnj

Thank you again, Tom. But when I clicked on my display driver (SiS630/730) and clicked Add/Remove, I got an error message that said:

"Error in setuplib.ddl, missing entry uninstall."

Now what? What in the world is happening to my files? My son tells me that MS is coming out with something called Windows 8 that will fix all these problems - around the first of next month!

Catty (who's getting more by the minute!)

Good day, Cat. If you have a driver installation CD for the display adapter, reinstall the driver from the disk. If it's a self-installing driver, you're home free.

If it's not self-installing --

Right-click My Computer, click Properties and Device Manager, double-click Display Adapters and the listed videocard, then click Driver and Update Driver (click Next as needed).

Choose "Display a list...", click "Have Disk", click Browse, choose the CD drive under "Drives", navigate to the folder containing the driver files, then click OK and OK (the Update Driver wizard is looking for the driver's INF file). Continue the installation and restart the computer when prompted.

If you don't have a driver disk --

The computer manufacturer should have a driver available for download. If not, SiS provides a generic driver.

In either case, extract the driver files as required, then follow the instructions starting If it's not self-installing --. Instead of the CD drive, navigate to the drive and folder containing the driver files.

Thank you, Tom. I will endeavor to do this also.

Catty (endlessly grateful)