Q: I occasionally get "Illegal Operation" errors. What are they, and how do I avoid or correct them?
A: These are errors generated by the Windows operating system (most notably Windows 95, 98, and Me), which are rather generic in that they simply mean that Windows had a problem with a program, either in memory allocation, or in an instruction it didn't understand, or a conflict between two programs that it could not resolve. The best way to avoid them is to allow Windows to "refresh" itself daily (via restarting the computer), to keep "background" programs to a minimum, and to make sure you have the latest updates to your particular version of Windows (get them in the support section of the Microsoft website).