OK heres the situation.
Two computers connected via thin ethernet both running windows 98 2nd edition
Computer number 1 has a DOS program and all data that is required
Computer number 2 has always had a mapped drive F (no:1's Drive C)
Computer number 2 has a short cut as :- Target f:\senior\app.exe Working folder f:\senior

This has worked fine for over 6 years!!

This week number 1 had a crash, Wordperfect 6 will no longer work (system does not have sufficient memory "it does 128mb ram and over 20gb free on HDD), i have uninstalled wordperfect deleted all traces of it from HDD and used regedit to delete any trace there, However when you reinstall it you get the same error message, so the only way round for that was to install wordperfect version 8 (which looks and handles totally different)

Since the crash however number 2 computer can NOT use the program from number 1 until i do the following :-

Start no:2 computer, go into my computer, right click mapped drive F and disconnect , go into network places into number 1 computer and remap drive c to a drive letter OTHER than the one that has just been disconnected (VERY IMPORTANT, if you use the SAME nothing happens) , Then edit the shortcut to the NEW drive letter, Then the program will work. You can run program, work close it, and rerun program with no problems......

BUT after both computers are turned off, you have to repeat the above process

Number 1 computer does not have this problem (other than wordperfect version 6 not wanting to play the game)

so whats gone on here, and what is (if there is) the solution (other than format and install both computers that is!!)