Q I have a problem with Win 98. I have given my system a clean install and find that the Live Update feature does not work. It appears to connect to the site and then indicates it is done and the screen is blank. Any suggestions?

A The Win 98 Windows Update feature is a wonderful idea. It would be even better if it worked reliably, but unfortunately, a number of Help Screen readers have told us that it doesn't.

When it works, clicking the Windows Update option on the Start menu launches Internet Explorer, which displays a list of currently available product updates. Check the ones you want and they will be downloaded and installed automatically. The technology which underlies this process is Microsoft's Active Setup. Unlike a conventional download, Active Setup is moderately intelligent: it can identify which components need updating on your system, and saves you online time by downloading only those components. The problem is, it's not brainy enough to repair itself if any of its core files are corrupted or missing.

Caption: The Active Setup components of Windows 98 are supposed to simplify product updates. The catch is, they don't always work

If you select Windows Update from the Start menu and find yourself staring at a blank Internet Explorer page, a possible solution is to delete and then reinstall your Active Setup and Windows Update components. Here's how it's done.

First, launch the Internet applet in Control Panel, select Settings on the General tab and then click View Objects. This will open an Explorer window displaying the contents of the Downloaded Program Files folder. You should see a number of strangely named files including Wusysinfo, Wuredirinforb and InstallEngineCTL Object. If these are present, right-click each in turn and select Update from the resulting context menu. Answer Yes when you are prompted to install Active Setup. Finally, close the Downloaded Program Files window and dismiss any open dialogue boxes by clicking OK. Reboot the system and try reconnecting to the Windows Update site. If the blank page reappears, Microsoft recommends you download and install the Scripting Engine version 3.1b from www.microsoft.com/msdownload/vbscript/scripting.asp.