low performance in my pc

[hesilu]

I don´t speak English, then is probably you can´t understand my problem. Please ask me and i´ll try to explain it.
I have a Compaq notebook, AMD K6 II (I think 600 MHz), 160 Mb RAM, 5 Gb H.D., Win 98 SE.
The problem is when I´m using Windows Explorer, I open a folder, its take a time, newly open another folder or subfolder take more time and so on... five, 6 or more times my PC is more and more slow, that´s terrible.
Help me.

A pair weeks ago I do Quick Restore (it´s suposed put the PC like it was when gone out of manufacturing)
I have Mcfee 6, then i belive i don´t have viruses.
Thanks for your help.

[tnguy]

First
You should set your own swap file size. Right click My Computer...Properties...Performance tab...Virtual Memory button...set the Min AND Max to 256MB.

Second
Click START, then RUN, then type MSCONFIG
Choose the STARTUP tab. UNcheck every item that you know you don't need running in the background. DO NOT uncheck SystemTray, LoadPowerProfile, or your antivirus program. If you have any MS OFFICE program listed UNcheck it! Choose the AutoExec.bat tab, click the NEW button, type "del C:\win386.swp", hit enter, choose OK, choose YES to restart your computer.

Third
Once your computer restarts, Click Start, then Programs. You should now have a folder called DisabledStartup or Disabled Startup Items. Choose STARTUP, if you see any programs listed, drag them to the Disabled Startup folder. Restart your computer.

Fourth
Once you have restarted your computer, look at the System Tray, next to your clock. These programs are loading automatically with Windows. You can usually double-click the icon of a program, and change PROPERTIES to make it NOT load at startup. Log Off, or Restart your computer.

Fifth
Once your machine has restarted, or you logon, click START, then RUN, type "Defrag.exe" and Defrag your hard drives.

Last
If you can afford to purchase Norton SystemWorks, it would make a pretty good investment. It has utilities that will search for Windows problems, move your Swap file to the fastest part of your fastest drive, fix problems with the disk itself.

TNguy
Network Administrator
=-= N0, I am not the Computer Nazi, and NO you may not access the Control Panel =-=

[hesilu]

Excuse me but like i was thinking in how to write in english to describe my problem, I forget something. Actuallly i have 1.4 Gb free in C:\, each time i open a folder this number goes down, 1.3 Gb, 1.1 Gb, 780 Mb...
I explain that because your recomendations can be changed before i aply them.

I´m sorry, but i need your help.

[tnguy]

Have you updated your virus definitions on a regular basis? Have you run a full virus scan of your C: drive?

If NO, I suggest you:
1) Turn off your computer, and unplug for 60 seconds.
2) Boot up with your Windows Boot Disk (START, SETTINGS, CONTROL PANEL, ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS, STARTUP DISK), at the A:\ type FDISK, delete all the partitions, then recreate a single active partition
3) Format your new partition (C:)
4) Use your Restore CD to restore your programs,
5) Update your virus definitions, and configure it to run at all times.
6) Make the changes I described in my previous post.

TNguy
Network Administrator
=-= N0, I am not the Computer Nazi, and NO you may not access the Control Panel =-=

[gangsta]

I have the same notebook I think , Compaq Presario AMD 450. I upgraded it to WME & no problems.

I didn't erase the WIN 98.. just used the upgrade option, it transferred (kept) all the compaq drivers/ tools to WME by itself.

[tnguy]

I don't really think that Win98 is causing his poor performance. Sounds more like a virus or trojan. Each time he opens a folder, his free space is reduced in size by several MB.

TNguy
Network Administrator
=-= N0, I am not the Computer Nazi, and NO you may not access the Control Panel =-=

[gangsta]

right tnguy, but he mentioned having mcafee 6. Mine came with Mcafee. On mine I disabled Mcafee because it was slowing down everything. It could be part of the problem. May be he could disable the system scan but leave the download scan on . That way it does not use as much resources; assuming the system is virus free of course.

I recommend he checks the Autoexec.bat & Config.sys for "real mode" drivers & TSRs as they could be causing this.

It sounds as if there is no drive caching ; like the way DOS behaves with no SMARTDRV. Or even perhaps the opposite is going on, too much caching ?.

Question to hesilu, are you using a caching manager or a memory manager or something like that?. Try turning it off & see what happens.
If you use Driveespace or Stacker disk compression , it is a little more complicated, consider that you will not be able to acess any compressed part of the disk if you remove them until you put them back again . These compression drivers cause minor slowdown when the disk is full but it shouldn't be noticable on a 600 mhz PC.

Also go to CP>System Properties>Performance:
you should have:
File System: 32 bit
Virtual Memory: 32 bit
Disk Compression: Not Installed (Unless you use Drive space etc..)

And under that you should see a message:
"Your system is configured for optimal performance"

But if you do not see that message you need to use the Advanced Options (under that) , where you have these three buttons:
| File System | Graphics | Virtual Memory |

click & modify the settings to get max performance from each.

In the File System make sure the "Read Ahead" is set to FULL.

Last thing, Presario VGA chip usually has a Shared VRAM from the main memory; no real independent VRAM, which explains the few MBs less, further complicated by Windows putting it to a swap file!.

check all these possiblities.