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 Disclaimer:
The information below is simply my advice. Computers are a very complicated piece of
machinery and everything you do to them has the infinite potential for good or bad. I take
no responsibility for any repercussions that may result from the opinions I have written
below.
Optimizing Windows 98 (Software)
The Windows98 operating system can slow down to a crawl on any machine short of a
Pentium II 200 with 32 meg of RAM. Fortunately there are a number of software fixes that
can speed up your computer’s performance. Application performance (programs like
MSOffice, Quicken, etc…), as well as, Internet connection time can be tuned to
perform much more efficiently.
Step One…
Eliminating Unnecessary Programs….
StartUp Folder: Click Start/Programs/StartUp. Normally you don’t really
NEED anything located in the StartUp folder. If you have MS Office installed, you can
increase the performance of your computer by removing Find Fast and Office start-up –
neither program is necessary.
System Tray: Click Start/RUN then type MSCONFIG (Select the STARTUP Tab). This
program allows you to eliminate programs that populate that little area on the bottom
right of your screen. Most of these programs are unnecessary and eliminating them can
significantly shorten the time it takes for your computer to boot up. Try to identify the
programs your never use. This may be a little tricky but trust me; the benefits are worth
it.
Step Two…
Disabling the Active Desktop…
The Active Desktop is convenient but it’s also costly (in terms of memory and
processor usage). As a technical person I’ve really noticed that machines running
active desktop run slower then comparable machines that don’t use it. For those of
you that don’t know what active desktop is here’s a very brief definition. The
Active Desktop allows you to integrate the Internet into your background wallpaper (by
using plug-ins available from Microsoft), Store fast access program icons into your
taskbar (those teeny icons located on the gray strip at the bottom of your machine), and
it gives you greater ability to edit your Start Menu (you can drag items to different
places, delete them, etc..).
Here’s how you get rid of it (the below information is for experienced users only)
- Type ScanREG /backup at the command prompt to backup your registry.
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
Create a new Binary Value
Name it NoActiveDesktop
Give it a value of 01 00 00 00
Step Three…
Optimizing I/O Transfers by Using Direct Memory Access
Enabling DMA allows your devices to work together much more efficiently (especially
Hard Drives). If you can you’ll want to make sure its enabled.
Enabling DMA:
1. Open System Properties in Control Panel (select Start > Settings > Control
Panel)
2. Select the Device Managertab
3. Click the + sign next to the Disk drives entry
4. Select the drive you want to enable for DMA and click Properties
5. On the Settings tab, there should be a DMA check box, if this box is unchecked, place a
checkmark. If there is no check box (or it is grayed out), your motherboard chipset does
not support the bus master interface.
Step Four…
Faster Connections to Internet Service Providers
You may be able to reduce the time it takes to connect to your Internet Service
Provider (ISP). Go to the Dial-Up Networking connection that you use, right-click and
select Properties, and then on the Server Types tab, clear the check boxes for Log on
to Network, NetBEUI, and IPX/SPX Compatible Protocol. Then verify that
you can still connect. Most ISPs don't use this setting, and it can take up to 60 seconds
to time out.
Increasing the speed of your 56k modem Optimizing Your 56k Modem
Jan10, 2000 jmb |
