Can anyone tell me what IMHosts.sam file does? I opened it in notepad and accidently changed it to a .txt file to view it and I can't change it back. How do I repair or replace this file and/or do I need to? TIA

Mark, You should be able to rename it back. Just go into My Computer or Windows Explorer and right click on the file and choose "rename". You should receive a warning that it may not run properly after changing the extension but just accept that. You nmay nhave to go into "Tools/Folder Options/View" and check off "Show hidden Files and Folders" and uncheck "Hide extensiond for knwo file types" first though. Also right click on the file and click "Properties" and make sure that the "attributes" aren't set to "read only". Good luck. ciao, wired

This extension often has to do with a sample file, but in this case, with the hosts at the beginning, I think it maps IP addresses to machine names. I wouldn't get rid of it until you know more about it. As far as changing the name is concerned, I agree with wired.

Mark ... According to Webopedia, "Specific to Windows, the LMHOSTS file is a plain text file (without a file extension ) that tells your computer where to find another computer on a network. The file resides in the Windows directory, and it lists the computer names (NetBIOS ) and IP addresses of machines you access on a regular basis." Note that changing it from a .sam to a .txt file will not affect it. Salgolf is right, the .sam extension refers to "sample"; it is, in fact, just a text file. The same is true for HOSTS.SAM.