IF you are receiving an error when you try to open profiles ( while using Internet Explorer) that says " unable to open this file, lacks association...." or a similar message.... it is often because you are missing CRITICAL WINDOWS UPDATES . there is a reason they are critical. they are often URGENT security issues in the updates. do not think new comp= current, do not think aol 8 = current..... do not assume auto update = current... Many are doing the updates and the problem is fixed.

All ready current on all updates and installed AOL 8.0 ? ( or Prodigy, or Earthlink, Or Compuserve, or almost ANY of the isp softwares that come with their own browser....( so doing updates is not a fix option) My buddy KCMAL sent this fix in.....type "preferences" in the address box in AOL.

you will get a window that has some choices in it.>>> select "association" 

 It should ask you if you want to associate this file with this application....pick YAHOO messenger!  ( you will see a confirmation message ), say "yes".

Then restart mess*y*, profiles should work now. * apologizes, i did some digging  and discovered i actually was sent the tip by monk... who sent a copy of an AOL page and a support email to me in Sept of 2002 with the fix. and to my sis who pointed me at a Real Player help page on associating IE with real player if you use AOL. So, new thankies~~~ thanks sis, monk, and kcmal.

Don't use AOL and still getting that error? KCMAL gave us this tip > 1) If you use Internet Explorer, go to tools>>internet options>>programs and at the bottom, place a check by "Internet Explorer should check to see whether it is the default browser". 2) Open a new internet explorer window in the normal way, if it asks if you want to make internet explorer the default, select "yes". 3) Restart Yahoo! Messenger, try and view profiles

STILL a problem? try setbrowse to reset your default messenger. 

Either way, trot on over to windows updates NOW anyway. Folks have tried  to remove yahoo, uninstall ie, and  even suggested one person FORMAT to fix this problem. folks. ( don't format to fix a yahoo problem. please!)

Windows Updates is the first thing you can do to make sure it is NOT your computer, and allows you to then see if it is a program : in this case mess*Y* or AOL: that is misbehaving.

Change your buddy icon * on new versions, to select buddy icon, it is MY AIM, EDIT OPTIONS, EDIT PREFERENCES, scroll to buddy icon.

for older versions..... when aim is open, click on people, then scroll down to SELECT BUDDY ICON,
You should see something like this...( this is an older AIM)  I click where it says *My Buddy Icon*, then click on browse  PC to find the image i want to use. i save the images in c drive, so i dont have to dig through a thousand pics... you can save them in the aol directory, or in your user name file .. what ever works best for you.  You can also  browse the thousanddddds of buddy icons aol has available, or  check the web for buddy icons. And yes, small animated gifs will work too.

is your buddy my buddy? check the visual mapping on buddyzoo and see

  ~ aim icons? Not really... but you can use any small animated gif as an aim icon. I use my  custom animations.  To make it super easy to use these as AIM buddy icons.... i made it so you just click the images below to load them as aim buddy icons.

Aim must be open for this too work, and you WILL get an alert asking if you want to change your buddy icon.

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more buddy icons later... These images; specifically custom created smileys, gifs, animated gifs, buddy icons, smiles;  may not be included in any other website, any programs, collections, cd's, or redistributed with out explicit WRITTEN permission from Nhyrvana. This means you may NOT offer them on your site! .

if you wander over to the holiday page, you can chose any of the gifs to use as an aim icon ~ they change each month, so make sure to check back!

need yahoo messenger shared picture/ avatars? or some pictures to use as buddy icons?  * no they are not set to auto install at this time. you will need to save manually.

Logitech Cam plug in for MSN and AIM ~ well hidden on the Logitech site... but worth the dig if you get lost. Pretty cool.

AOL chat add on? Check WavMan check the other AOL tools like buddy plus and fadeit!

Smiler ROX! 2500 freaking smiley codes for AOL INSTANT MESSENGER.

How to make an AIM icon ~ Any image can be used ~ an animated GIF or a JPG can be used ~ just make the image 48x48 or it will get all smooshed. You can use the AVATAR help page as an example of how to make the icon...

Aim trix

get that annoying message about too many messages to  fast on AIM?  just connect to buddy to send image- then type all you want.

need to use aim 

but don't/ can't download it? ( don't recall who sent this.. mail me if you know who you are :-P)  oscar.aol.com/  you do need to have an aim account tho to use it.

kill the aim ad >

Go to wherever you installed AIM (usually c:\program files\ aim95\) 
Delete the file "advert.ocm" 
Make a copy of "admin.ocm" 
Rename the copy of "admin.ocm" to "advert.ocm" 
Done.... so much easier than yahoo.

you can also try DeadAim ~ a program to remove the ads on AIM. and much more.

Clear your AOL cache....    

To clear cache AOL v4 or v5 .....Click MY AOL... Preferences... then  WWW.... general or advanced.... delete files the files and  REBOOT or

To clear cache version AOL v5....Start.... programs..... AOL..... system info .... utilities ..... then clear cache or

If you have the AOL icon in your taskbar by your clock, you can also RIGHT click on it to clear your cache.

To clear cache in version v6.0, go to: settings, then  preferences.... internet properties ... general tab ....delete temp internet files done :)

It is also a good idea to go into C:\windows\temporary internet files and delete any leftovers there

Clear your AOL history 

To clear history v5.0: Click MY AOL ....Preferences.... Toolbar.... Clear History Now To clear history ver6.0: Click Settings... Preferences.... Toolbar.... Clear History Now
Select Clear History Trail after each Sign Off or Switch Screen Name and click OK.