I've posted this before but only got one reply so I'm going to try and post it here. Almost everytime I install a program (whether it be a game or an application), I get an error message saying "Abort, Retry, Ignore". I hit Abort and it usually installs, but sometimes the app won't even run. Can anyone tell me how to get this to stop giving me that error message? I've tried turning off my virus checkers (even in the BIOS). Thanks in advance. Gremlin

"Abort, Retry, Ignore" is DOS way of telling you there was a problem reading your media. In practice, sometimes a program does run but often times it doesn't when you "Abort" as you have forced the OS to ignore the CRC - it's just that sometimes, the corrupted information isn't particularly critical. What kind of drive/media reports this? If CD or floppy, I would 1st - physically inspect the media for damage or dirt, and try to clean it off as carefully as possible. If these media work OK on other machines, go to next step 2nd - try a good quality CD-ROM drive cleaner or floppy drive cleaner. 3rd - on a floppy, I would try running scandisk to map out the bad sector (but this usually doesn't help"). If this still fails, they your drive could be out of alignment so 4th - have a technician check it out OR buy a brand new drive. If it's a HD, I would run scandisk to map out the bad sector, backup the HD and reformat it to observe bad blocks OR purchase a new replacement drive as a single bad block usually indicates eventual drive failure comng soon. Hope this helps

Mad Max is giving good advise. If an fdd is involved, try taking off its top cover and blowing out any muck with a hairdryer set to cold. Then gently clean both its heads with a bent cotton bud soaked in isopropyl-alcahol. This is the cleaner that comes with cassette and cd cleaners, but is easily obtainable from a chemist. It could be that the drive heads are on the borderline of adjustement. To prove, borrow a known good floppy drive that is able to read without problem and try. Good luck - keep us posted.

Well, it's my hard drive that's doing it. I guess it's about time to get a new one, unless you guys have suggestions on how to fix it. Thanks, Gremlin

Dear Mr Gremlin, I think your terminology threw us, as you advised the problem occurs when installing, which suggested a CD or FDD problem. Now you advise it occurs when using the hdd, which suggests you are LOADING programs that are already INSTALLED. Has your PC been bounced around such that the heads may be slightly out of alignment? A possible way out of this without purchasing a new hdd is by re-formatting. Make sure all data required is secured first, as the hdd is wiped by this procedure. Good luck - keep us posted.

Yeah...I just currently moved so it's very possible that it may be out of alignment. I'll try that and let you know. Thanks, Gremlin