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Win 98 runs very slowly sometimes?

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15 replies

by al yakus

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I've been trying to fix a system which is a PIII 750 with 128Mb RAM. What is happening is when the computer starts up sometimes it runs very slowly when you move the mouse it stops and then starts again making it very hard to get around with it. When you click on My Computer it will take a minute or two to open up. I have noticed whn it starts up if it isn't going to run well as windows is starting the HD run then stops then runs then stops so I am not sure if this is a hardware problem or software.

I tried removeing the virus software and disableing everything in the startup and running Windows update. It will run slow then I can reboot it a few times then it runs normally. This computer has been running fine for about a year and nothing new has been installed.

15 replies

by dmiles

Mostly it sounds as thugh you are haveing a hardware problem that may be causing it to run slow
1)Incorrect or Bad memory will cause it to run slow
2)Harddrive may be going out
3)If on a network or there is a NIC installed on machine then it willcause similar problems try uninstalling and reinstalling with updated drivers
Try running diagnostic troubleshoting thru MSCONFIG.

by st_2928

Hi there, here is a couple of things you can try. In the bios setting,
1. Try to alter the boot sequence to 'C'
only.
2. Try to disable ECC checking.
3. If you can try to replace your existing
128MB Ram.
4. I would check the CPU aswell.

Hope those hints work 4 u.

ST

by al yakus

I checked the CPU and it was being pegged. It would go from 2% to 90% constantly. I could not find which application was causing it because all of a sudden it is working OK. I did upgrade IE and a new version of my virus software which may have cleared up hte problem. Thanks for your response.

by big ray

I would tend to look toward a bad hard drive or memory. Boot into MS-DOS mode or command prompt only mode and run scandisk. See if it finds any bad sectors. Also if you have more than one memory stick, remove one and see if the problem goes away. If it doesn't switch sticks and try again. Worse case scenario is to create a backup image of the OS and reinstall to see if it is software related.

Does the machine have an internal ZIP Drive? I recall reading an article that had symptoms similar to yours occuring on PS's with internal ZIP drives being plugged into the Primary IDE controller as a slave. If you have one, try switching it to the secondary IDE controller.

by adn523

it is such a sorry state of affairs to see such mediocre answers posted to a fairly common question. the problem with the p3 is windows inefficient handling of virtual memory. the only effective and immediate remedy is to use the excellent giftware utility called cacheman which you can get from the files section of www.gamebasement.com. just configure it for the job u mainly use the computer for and see your machine fly! i deserve the points so plz grant them to me if u follow my suggested course of action which is guaranteed to give you instant satisfaction. thank u.

by jmatt

I agree with using Cacheman as well , also basic cleaning / maintenance goes a long way .

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by jmatt

http://www.pcnineoneone.com/howto/resources1.html
Windows Resources vs. Memory

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http://windows.about.com/compute/windows/library/weekly/aa081100a.htm

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http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2000/2000-06-08.htm
More Resource Leak-Tweaks

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http://www.pcforrest.freeserve.co.uk/resources.htm
System Resources
GDI and User Resources explained

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Free up Conventional Memory
http://www.geocities.com/thegorx/Windows/Help/Cmem.htm

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http://www.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/2000/11.htm
http://www.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/2000/12.htm
http://www.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/2000/13.htm
http://www.techweb.com/winmag/columns/explorer/2000/14.htm

by izz

Well, I have found this site that has a coold software that can help you find out which hardware is not communicating well with other components. They have a software called Dr. Hardware 2001. Try it hope it helps you find out about your problem

http://www.dr-hardware.com

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