Microsoft's Windows bug fix has own bug

Microsoft's Windows 98 Second Edition was released to fix known bugs in the Windows 98 operating system, but it appears it may cause problems of its own.

Windows 98 SE, released last week by Microsoft, is an updated version of last year's operating system. It includes new technology for sharing Internet connections, the latest version of the Internet Explorer Web browser, and numerous patches for bugs in Windows 98, including fixes for Y2K issues in the OS. Microsoft is also expected to release a Service Pack of just bug fixes later this summer.

But the SE update has already been revealed to include at least one bug, albeit a rather minor one. "Windows 98 Second Edition may hang when the machine is being suspended," according to an alert Microsoft posted on its Web site.

Apparently, a typo in one of the file paths used by the operating system causes the system hang, according to the alert. In other words, the system freezes up, forcing the user to reboot. Microsoft could not be reached for comment, but confirmed the bug in the alert.

Although the glitch does not pose any major threat to the overall health of a user's computer, the bug does add to the questions already raised about the necessity of the release. The problem only affects Windows 98 SE.

The Windows 98 SE CD-ROM is available at retail stores for an estimated retail price of $109, while existing Windows 98 users can upgrade to the new version for $19.95.