Error Starting Internet Explorer and Outlook Express After Performing a Clean Install of Windows 98

After you reinstall Microsoft Windows 98 into a new directory on the same partition of your storage device, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Microsoft Outlook Express, and Microsoft NetMeeting may no longer function.

When you start Internet Explorer, you may receive the following error message:

When you close the error message, Internet Explorer quits.

When you start Outlook Express, you may receive the following error message:
When you close the error message, Outlook Express quits.

Also, NetMeeting may stop responding and does not start.

This behavior may occur if Internet Explorer has been updated from the original version included with Microsoft Windows 98 First Edition. The Program Files folder contains mixed file versions of Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, and NetMeeting.

To resolve this behavior, you must rename the Program Files folder and reinstall Windows 98 into the new directory.

For additional information about the installation of Windows 98 into a new directory, click the article number below to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:
For additional information about installing Windows 98, click the article numbers below to view the articles in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: