All Consuming AOL!!

Click on "Start" button in lower feft corner, then click on "Run". When "Run" window opens, type in 'msconfig' and then click on "OK". When next window opens, click on the "Startup" tab, and see if the AIM Search thing is there. If it is, uncheck it, then click on "Apply" and then "OK". Reboot for the change to take effect. When you reboot, a window will pop up saying something about changing something in your startup. Check the little box that says "Do Not Show This Again", or something similar. Then you should be good to go.

If the search thing isn't there, uncheck anything to do with AOL or AIM. You'll just have to open AIM from your task bar from then on, instead of it automatically opening on bootup. You can always go back and check it back on, if that doesn't stop it.
Good luck!

Or check your Startup folder; Start - All Programs

Thanks to both of you I tried emoxley's sugesstion and it was in there I unchecked it but I lost my ability to use IM completely. (We have Road Runner but i downloaded AIM so I could talk to my children/grandchildren.)
I went to "Run", AIM was listed under "msconfig" so I clicked on it to see if my IM window would come back. It did but when I restarted my comp AOL Search came back. My problem is that I upgraded AIM and should have stayed w/the old version. There has to be a way to go back to the other version or to get rid of their "search page".
Thanks for your help!

uninstall your version of aim and go to http://www.oldversion.com/program.php?n=aim

download one of the old ones. i recomend somewhere around v 3.0 or so because after that it started to suck and become bloated with wild tangent and all that crap.

Cris
I did wha tyou asked. It would only let me download 5.0. Then I really screwed up. My Dell asked if I wanted AOL it access the internet, I put NO and ask my computer to remember this. Now I can't sign on IM at all. any suggestions??
Thanks Kathy

Forget AIM completely. Screw AOL. Get rid of your AIM program, and any other crap that came with it. (You will have uninstalled the software, not deleted your AIM account.) Then go to http://www.trillian.cc and download Trillian. Follow the instructions to set up Trillian, and you should be back on IM without problems. The only thing I find annoying about Trillian is that some of the AIM smileys won't show up as pictures, and you will have a bunch of smileys that your grandkids can't see. But that's okay. You will be back on the Net without a hitch. Let us know if you have any further problemos.

TGG

Kathy, any improvments?

TeenTechgirl
Nope no change. It wouldn't let me download Trillian. Now I can't even download my Microsoft Security Updates. Must have clicked something "off" by mistake. No "Trillian", No "IM" to be able to talk to my kids, and Microsoft won't let me get into their site to to make security updates. Whoa is meeee.
Lol What a pain!
Thanks for trying
Kathy[/COLOR]

KathyH:
Go back into msconfig and click the option(enable all or somthing to that effect) that says turn everything back on and then restart that would hopefully restore your IM function. As far as getting rid of the aol search popping up your proably going to have to search around in the configuration settings, I don't use AIM but im sure theres a tiny button in there some where with that option turned on. Also there may be some merit to uninstalling AIM completely. If you don't want to mess with trillian or dont like and end up reinstalling AIM and it does the search thing again, when you first close it look for a box that that says would you like to turn this feature off permantley and either click yes or uncheck the box that has it selected.

-Morgan

KathyH said:

TeenTechgirl
Nope no change. It wouldn't let me download Trillian. Now I can't even download my Microsoft Security Updates. Must have clicked something "off" by mistake. No "Trillian", No "IM" to be able to talk to my kids, and Microsoft won't let me get into their site to to make security updates. Whoa is meeee.
Lol What a pain!
Thanks for trying
Kathy

Click to expand...

You're welcome. Sounds like something's wrong with more than just AIM. If you haven't already, uninstall AIM. When the problem is fixed, you can reinstall it and try again (just remember your username and password). Once you've done that, go through your list of programs and uninstall anything else with "AOL" in the label.

I don't quite understand the problem though. Can you go to some websites and just not download things? Are you posting on this board from another computer, or the one that's having the problems? Do you get any error messages? If so, what do they say? Can you get to things like email?

TGG

**bump**

anything? AIM is one of the few things I'm familiar with around here... lol

if you want me to help you, i have access to a desktop sharing console with my company. i can run some fixes and get you up and running... just private message me "click on my name, i hate ram, and hit "send a private message to i hate ram" and i'll set you up with a way to connect to me.

also open to anyone else who wants help..

Kathyh:

Have you tried running System Restore (start-programs-accesories-system tools)? It may fix whatever you did if you can find a point before you went into msconfig.

I gotta be honest, I don't understand this thread.

I'm confused - you upgraded AIM amd then your homepage turned into an AOL Search pop-up?