In the first part of two articles on Troubleshooters, we looked at common problems associated with your computer. In the second article, we turn our attention to network issues.

Many people work at computers that are linked to other computers to form a network. Occasionally, problems elsewhere on the network might prevent you from accessing its resources, or even have you appear to not be part of the network. But you shouldn't let such issues raise your ire.  Troubleshooters will help soothe away network troubles that prevent you from doing your work. We've highlighted here information from three Troubleshooters; you'll find many more by following these instructions:

1. From the Start menu, select Help
2. Click the Contents tab
3. Click Troubleshooting
4. Select Windows 98 Troubleshooters
5. Select the area that's giving you trouble.

No server connection
When you try to visit a Web site or go on the Internet you might see a message that says Internet Explorer can't display a Web page or that a connection to the server cannot be established. These two messages are related to a similar problem: missing or damaged DLL files. These stand for Data Link Library, and the most common missing files are Winsock.dll files, which allow computers with Windows operating systems to connect to the Internet. The Troubleshooter on Dial-up Networking walks you through a series of questions to diagnose which files you might need and how to remedy the problem.

Can't share a printer or files
If your computer forms part of a network, you probably share a printer and may exchange files with other computers that are linked together in the network. If your computer has not been configured for sharing resources, you may see a message that says that you can't share a printer or files. Windows allows you to share your computer, and to have multiple computers share printers. But you must specifically set up your computer to share it over a network connection. Look under the Networking heading in Troubleshooters for full details on how to do this.

Lost in the neighborhood
When computers are wired together in a network, you can check easily to see which computers are connected. Yours seems connected, but others on the network are unable to retrieve material from it or view it as part of the network. A visit to the Troubleshooter on Networking will help you solve the mystery of why your computer is not showing up under the list of Network Neighborhood computers.

Lots More Solutions
In addition to the solutions covered in these two articles, there's a slew of highly practical information on solving a host of other problems (for both network computers and standalone machines) contained in Troubleshooters.

Gordon Black believes that networking is best done over a cup of coffee.

Helpful sites

There are a number of Microsoft Web sites set up specifically to provide aid when you get stuck.

For answers to common questions try the Windows 98 FAQ Web site.

There are many resources at your disposal at The Microsoft Personal Support Center Web site.

When you feel stumped and would like to speak to someone, visit the Microsoft Technical Support for details.