mballai
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posted on August 5, 2001 03:58:25 PM
Well I thought adding the RAM was the ultimate smart upgrade--and it is, but I now must add that, especially on a Windows machine, the second best thing you can do is buy a good utility program and let it clean up your machine's software and drive.
For the longest time I just defragmented the hard drive, dumped the web cache and kept anti-virus updates. It's the bare minimum and it is ok. However, Windows is almost impossible to tidy up unlesss you have lots of time and are real smart.
I put Fix-It Fast 3.0 on my machine and let it work. This program has the nicest routine--a one-button wizard that goes through and cleans up everything and finishes with a defrag. You can customize it if you want or just pick what you want to do. The whole biz took much less than time than a defrag alone with the built-in MS program.
It found over 1000 errors in the registry alone, cleaned off over 40 megs of junk files, and a whole lot more. Neat program.
I was very impressed. Even updated itself off the web before it installed!
This is not the only one of its type. Norton has a good one and there are others. If you depend on a computer, it's well worth your money to let a real utility program handle the clunky complexities of keeping your OS
and hard drive out of hot water. They are much better than what's built in.
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Crystalline_Sliver
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posted on August 5, 2001 04:02:44 PM
I hate Norton. Norton Stinks.
That and the white-haired guy on the Norton Boxes scare me.
:\\\\\\\"Crystalline Sliver cannot be the target of spells or abilities.
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Mikecol
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posted on August 5, 2001 05:05:07 PM
I tried a program like that it started messing with my network configuration. I hate when that happens.
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mrspock
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posted on August 5, 2001 05:08:11 PM
I use norton system works I like it and have installed it on customers copmputers.
Haven't had a problems with network settings.
The 2001 version of norton is a big improvement over older versions.
spock here......
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mballai
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posted on August 5, 2001 07:40:14 PM
I was going to buy Norton (I was using their Anti-Virus), but Fix-It Fast was less expensive, seemed more versatile and had a 60 day money back guarantee. How many folks offer that? A real sign of confidence that seems to prove out in practice.
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fishbowl
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posted on August 5, 2001 08:01:15 PM
Well my cd rom drive hasn't worked in almost a year, the sound went out about 6 months ago, etc.... Standard maintenance of defrag, etc.. hasn't helped. Guess I'm not real smart. Gee, it's only three years old. HA! Too busy, lazy, and cheap to take it in. And can't get used to conducting all my business on the lap top. Oh well!
[ edited by fishbowl on Aug 5, 2001 08:02 PM ]
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Libra63
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posted on August 5, 2001 08:39:05 PM
mballai- Where did you buy this program and if I can ask how much was it? It sounds real good so I might try it. I am waiting to get my memory (for the machine). My Son-in-law will install it and them I will do that or should I do the utility program first? So much to learn and so little time to do it. It never fails everytime I sit down to launch auctions I come to this board and end up staying longer than I expected. This is like going to an inservice. Thanks all
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mballai
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posted on August 5, 2001 09:12:19 PM
I hate to admit it, but I actually bought this program at a local Wal-Mart for just about $30. I knew the software company, Ontrack, was reputable--they are well known for ZipMagic. You can use this program whenever you are ready to;it doesn't seem to use a lot of memory to run.
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Libra63
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posted on August 5, 2001 09:28:15 PM
Thanks for the information, gives me an excuse to go to my favorite store.
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tomwiii
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posted on August 6, 2001 12:24:08 AM
WARNING about memory upgrades:
There is a quirk with PII systems where, if you add TOO MUCH memory, your system will actually SLOW-DOWN!
I'm trying to find the data page on that, but I'm pretty sure you should not increase to more than 128 on PII systems -- I think it has to do with the motherboards. Maybe our experts can explain!
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magazine_guy
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posted on August 6, 2001 12:36:30 AM
I use Fix-it utilities also.
Online download here:
http://www.mijenix.com/fixit/
Steve
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soldat2
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posted on August 6, 2001 04:38:32 AM
>There is a quirk with PII systems where, if you add TOO MUCH memory, your system will actually SLOW-DOWN!<
PII here.........64 standard, added another 128.
No slow down.
Your results may vary.
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iowaantiques
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posted on August 6, 2001 04:53:06 AM
I too use an Ontrack product: SystemSuite 2000 a big package of PC uttilities which includes Fix-It. Mine came bundled with a copy of "Windows 98 Secrets" too geeky for many. I'm not very familar with the Norton or McAffee products, so my opinion is of lmited value, but the Ontrack utility software has been very easy to use. In the 18 months I've used it I haven't needed to contact Ontrack support for help because something didn't work or the instructions were unclear etc . Of course like any other piece of software it really, really helps if you study the manual and help files
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marlenedz
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posted on August 6, 2001 06:09:28 AM
Your PC can have problems due to Ram or resource leaks which seem to be the bigger problem with MS 98 according to Dell. My PC had 128 installed which should be sufficient but I was constantly having to reboot probably 2-3 times a day. Most software when loaded goes right into your startup file and runs in the background upon start up whether you need it or not. Go into Start, Run and type in msconfig. You will see everything that you have checked. If you don't need it, uncheck the box. The only boxes I have checked are ZoneAlarm (firewall for DSL), systray, and scan registry. This has eliminated most of my problems.
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ragmop
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posted on August 6, 2001 06:13:06 AM
I read this post with great interest having been plagued with performance problems not associated with the web. I run a Dell 900mz128k. My switch to cable did not help much. I searched out the site, downloaded the software yesterday and ran it last night. What a difference! It is fast and easy to use and was a snap to download. I would recommend it.
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Triggerfish
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posted on August 6, 2001 06:50:16 AM
I agree that Norton's is WONDERFUL! Sounds like that FixItFast is great too...These utilities are invaluable. I do know, however, that the McAfee stuff is absolute crap!!! I have Norton's SystemWorks 2001 and Personal Firewall on my computer and it has made a world of difference. The key, though, is keeping it up.
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mballai
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posted on August 6, 2001 10:51:04 AM
I haven't seen a case where a computer would slow down with "too much" memory, but there are limits set by a computer's bios, OS and the more obvious limitations set by the number of slots provided for memory by the manufacturer. Your manual should state the limit as given. There's a diminshing return--I can't see needing 256mb just to do word processing, but I'm sure we are headed in that direction some day soon 
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mrpotatoheadd
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posted on August 6, 2001 10:56:06 AM
The information in this article applies to:
Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition
Microsoft Windows 98 Second Edition
Microsoft Windows 98
Microsoft Windows 95
If a computer that is running any of the versions of Windows that are listed above contains more than 512 megabytes (for example, 768 megabytes) of physical memory (RAM), you may experience one or more of the following symptoms:
You may be unable to open an MS-DOS session (or command prompt) while Windows is running. Attempts to do so may generate the following error message:
There is not enough memory available to run this program.
Quit one or more programs, and then try again.
The computer may stop responding (hang) while Windows is starting, or halt and display the following error message:
Insufficient memory to initialize windows. Quit one or more memory-resident programs or remove unnecessary utilities from your Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files, and restart your computer.
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q253/9/12.ASP
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avaloncourt
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posted on August 6, 2001 12:07:04 PM
The reason being that those versions of windows have a bug in recognizing >512 and installing RAM over that amount makes windows run completely out of virtual memory and it ignores all the real memory you spent so much money on.
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mballai
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posted on August 6, 2001 04:21:56 PM
It's kind of funny that it would generate insufficient memory errors when it had so much. I always thought computers were rather stupid....
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kerrigirl
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posted on August 6, 2001 08:27:57 PM
My computer stinks, because...
A mouse crawled in it (side was open) and died. Talk about smelling after awhile.
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mballai
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posted on August 6, 2001 09:19:14 PM
That is pretty stinky
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