Monroe

I have no clue to why my computer won't load Windows 98SE today ... it goes so far and just stops. Then because Windows didn't "fully load" it will go into Safe Mode and actually load there. I have some files that I need to get off the hard drive before I can use my Ghost backup ... so my question, how can I save those files? My flash drive won't load in Safe Mode, Nero won't burn to a CD, keeps shutting down due to an error. Is there any way or method to save files in Safe Mode?

frogman (above) ... New Adobe Flash Player available 11,2,202,233 I just installed the new flash player version and it seems to work. I use K-Meleon and I unpacked the "Firefox" dll package into an empty folder and manually installed only the NPSWF32.dll into the K-Meleon plugin folder (saved my older one, just in case!) ... wasn't sure what to do with the nppdf32.dll so I didn't install it. Have been to some FP test sites and everything seems to work ... so far! I will spend some more time checking this new version out. Flash Player Version Site: http://www.duber.com/LetsTalk/playerCheck.html Note: If you use Proxomitron, you have to check Bypass to do the test. ------------------------------------- Flash Player Version Check If you have the Flash player already installed in your computer, you will see its version type and number below. This player version check requires a minimum of Flash version 4 to work at all. Below, you should see your platform (e.g., Win or Mac) followed by the long version number of the Flash player. WIN 11,2,202,233 If you don't see any results above, then you will need to download and install the free Flash player. Please remember, this site requires version 6 or higher of the Flash player (the first number in the long version above is the player version). If you haven't yet upgraded your system to version 7, we suggest that you consider doing so. It offers better performing audio and video streaming in the LetsTalk forums. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Another version test site: http://www.codegeek.net/flash-version.php Flash Player Test Page Which Flash Player Version Do You Have Installed? Javascript is enabled in your browser. You have Flash player 11.2.202 installed. ...

First of all, I appreciate the additional information on the USB matter, Device Manager and other things that have been posted. In my case, I have limited knowledge about certain things which includes USB and Device Manager ... I use them and can work with them but I'm always on the lookout for more information. Dencorso, I got some answers from the links that you posted ... I never saw anything anywhere over the years that Device Manager should be "cleaned out" at least once or every now and then. When I was in Device Manager - Safe Mode earlier ... I noticed that there were many more items to delete under Universal Serial Bus Controllers than there are in Device Manager - Normal Mode. I wondered about that but the one article sort of clears that up. From article: "Safe Mode Device Manager shows devices that are NOT 'currently installed' (but are still logged in the system), unlike Normal Mode Device Manager." "Removable USB devices don't show up in Normal Mode Device Manager unless they are plugged into the system, so you can't remove them from there unless they're plugged in, and removing them from (Normal Mode) Device Manager while they're plugged in may not be a good idea in certain cases!" .... so that definitely explains why USB items have to removed from Device Manager while in Safe Mode and not Normal Mode. In my case I did follow PROBLEMCHYLD's instructions while working with these USB devices. "USB 2.0 NOTICE - Unplug all USB devices. Install main updates. Remove all current USB/EHCI drivers + controllers from Device Manager in safe mode. REBOOT! Let all drivers redetect on startup. Plug in USB devices one at a time." ... however, I knew nothing about WDMSTUB.SYS and how it is connected to USB items or USBSTOR.SYS in particular. I can't speak for others but all this "extra information" that you and others post are a big help to me in understanding the inner workings of my computer. dencorso : "With all due respect for everyone involved, USBSTOR.SYS (v5.00.2195.6773) *requires* WDMSTUB.SYS for working. So, it's necessary to delete *all installed USB devices* from program manager, and insert them again one by one for redetection (as is stated just about everywhere in big capitals). When one fails to do so, the installation reamains as it was before the uSP, so WDMSTUB is not loaded and USBSTOR refuses to work." I went into Device Manager - Safe Mode last night and found many old items to remove. A good example was under the CDROM tab .... there must have been close to 10 or 12 items that I removed ... from older CDROMs that I no longer use .... From article: "For instance, in Normal Mode Device Manager, you will only see your currently installed optical drives in the CD-ROM tab, whereas in Safe Mode Device Manager, you will see every optical drive that has ever been installed in that computer (even all of the external optical drives that were ever used, as applicable), unless/until you remove them from Safe Mode Device Manager." I have been fooling around with these USB drivers in the interest of seeing if I could possibly get a faster transfer speed between a flash drive and my computer. I dealt with this in another post in asking USB file transfer questions. Anyway, all information and links appreciated. ...

Well after my last post I thought more about what egrabrych posted about 7 messages back ... that I think, was the problem I had when my USB stuff didn't seem to work. I remember now that I did do some research and further testing with the USB problem and discovered that it was the Usbstor.sys file (v5.00.2195.6773) in the U98SESP3.EXE that "seemed" to be the problem ... I had used WinRAR to take all the USB items out of U98SESP3.EXE to check the versions with the USB versions in NUSB v3.5. I guess I just figured it would be faster to just put the Ghost backup back on instead of trying to delete and add USB items from NUSB 3.5. I am pretty sure I isolated the Usbstor.sys file (v5.00.2195.6773) as the "possible" problem but there may have been another file also ... but as egrabrych posted ... when I went to NUSB 3.5 and Usbstor.sys (v4.90.3000.1) ... everything seemed to work just fine. On my Ghost backup which was from Oct 2011 at the time of the problem, I had NUSB 3.3 installed then after the USB problem with U98SESP3.EXE a few months ago (Jan) I decided to install NUSB 3.5 and now have a more recent Ghost backup with NUSB 3.5 installed. So after reading egrabrych's post from yesterday, things started to refresh in my mind about Usbstor.sys being the culprit ... at least on my computer. Hope this helps some ... but it doesn't seem to be a problem with most people when they install U98SESP3.EXE since there hasn't been any mention of USB install problems from anyone. Perhaps installing the U98SESP3.EXE package on a fresh Windows 98SE install works better than installing U98SESP3.EXE over an already installed Windows 98SE ... I have no idea about this, just a thought. ...

Yes Fredledingue you are correct ... I was able to reboot but very quickly I realized I had some kind of problem ... This was sometime in January so that would be several or many versions back. It's just not fresh in my mind what exactly was happening that I had to install my Ghost backup. I remember some USB problems and some freezing up, couldn't seem to repair it, wasn't sure what to repair anyway, just fell back to my Ghost backup and manually installed Unofficial Windows 98 SE Native USB Drivers (NUSB) 3.5 using PROBLEMCHYLD's USB instructions ... all my USB devices seems to be working. Thanks egrabrych for clarifying what Usbstor.sys version is in NUSB 3.5 : In NUSB 3.5 Usbstor.sys file is currently in version 4.90.3000.1 That's about all I can say for now ... sorry about being so light on any hard facts or information. It may have just been an isolated problem with my machine only. ...

Well I can't be 100% sure Fredledingue ... I just suspected that my problem could have been with that part of the install ... the USB 2.0 part but really not sure. As I said earlier, no one else has mentioned anything about any problems with the USB part of the package. It could have been something else on my machine or I might not have followed PROBLEMCHYLD specific instructions to the letter. I will try it again but was just going to wait till PROBLEMCHYLD releases his final version. I seem to be the only one reporting this so it does not appear to be a common problem ... I just decided to keep looking to see if any one else mentioned a possible USB problem. As far as the install of the whole package went, it was smooth and flawless ... didn't know I had a problem till a short time later. I think the computer rebooted OK ... should have written some notes down at the time. thanks,

Fredledingue ... in regards to the "angry" e-mail that you received about that person having to reinstall Windows ... something similar happened to me a few months ago when I installed U98SESP3.EXE ... I also had to reinstall Windows but in my case, I didn't get angry since I have a Ghost backup and I was up and running again in minutes. I didn't post anything about it since I saw no one else mention having this problem and also I wasn't exactly sure what had happened. I think I had trouble with the USB part of the install. I personally would like to manually do that part of the install myself or have it separated in some way but I may have done something wrong when I installed U98SESP3.EXE. I thought I would wait till the final version is done and give it a try again. Nobody else has complained about this so it's probably working OK for others. As I said, I saw no complaints or discussion from anyone else about having problems with the USB install part of U98SESP3.EXE and I'm not even sure that was my problem but if I remember, my USB stuff didn't seem to work right or was freezing up. Also, PROBLEMCHYLD had enough people telling him to add this or drop this and I didn't want to add to the mix when I had no proof it was actually any particular part of his project that messed up my computer. I have manually installed Unofficial Windows 98 SE Native USB Drivers (NUSB) 3.5 ... I just mention this as an observation on my experience with U98SESP3.EXE. ...

Post deleted ... The fast USB transfer that were mentioned in the deleted post are no more. They only lasted for about 30 minutes ... now the old slower USB transfer speeds are back. Just a fluke, no rhyme or reason, nothing was installed, nothing was changed on the computer.

Thanks for the USB 2.0 verification ... I guess the transfer speed I have is as good as it's ever going to be. It's still better than USB 1.1 speed ... not much, but for Windows 98SE I'll take it.

Well I couldn't get the information from Device Manager to print. I have PrintKey 2000 and a Syntax error kept popping up. I copied everything exactly as shown below and everything is installed and working. These computers are IBM Thinkpads (T41 and T42 notebooks) with USB 2.0: Note ... These notebooks came with XP Pro installed but I removed all that and installed Windows 98SE. Product Specification: Lenovo ThinkPad T41 2373 Laptop Computer Product Type Notebook Operating System Windows XP Professional Networking IEEE 802.11b, Gigabit Ethernet Interface Type 2 x USB 2.0, S-Video Yes Included Drives CD-RW/DVD-ROM Video Chipset ATI Mobility RADEON 7500 Processor Type Intel Pentium M Screen Size 14.1 Processor Speed 1600 Installed Memory 512 Hard Drive Size 40000 Additional Specifications Modem Yes Product Series T41 Screen Mode XGA Number of Total Memory Slots 2 Expansion Bay Type Ultrabay Slim Hard Drive RPM 5400 Total Number of USB Ports 2 Number of USB 2.0 Ports 2 (T42 is the same) ------------------------------------------------ (T41 Reading) Device Manager: Universal Serial Bus Managers: Intel® 82801DB/DBM (ICH4 Family) USB2 Enhanced Host Controller - 24CD Intel® 82801DB/DBM USB Universal Host Controller - 24C2 Intel® 82801DB/DBM USB Universal Host Controller - 24C4 Intel® 82801DB/DBM USB Universal Host Controller - 24C7 Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port USB 2.0 Root Hub USB Root Hub USB Root Hub USB Root Hub ------------------------------------------------- From Astra32: Motherboard System System Vendor: IBM Product Name: 23738RU Version: ThinkPad T42 Serial Number: 99PZVTC UUID: AB624881468911CBB99DAB5AD752C6C3 Wake-up Type: Power Switch Motherboard Motherboard Vendor: IBM Corporation Vendor URL: www.ibm.com Board Model: IBM 23738RU Version: Not Available Serial Number: J1W8S48523L BIOS Version: Phoenix FirstBIOS Notebook Pro Version 2.0 for IBM ThinkPad for IBM BIOS Date: 06/02/06 Chipset Name: Intel 855PM (Odem) Chipset Vendor: Intel Corporation Chipset: 82855PM Processor to I/O Controller Southbridge Vendor: Intel Corporation Southbridge: 82801DBM (ICH4-M) LPC Interface Bridge Onboard Device 1 Description: IBM Embedded Security hardware Device Type: Other Status: Disabled System Enclosure Manufacturer: IBM Type: Notebook Version: Not Available Serial Number: Not Available Asset Tag: No Asset Information Boot-up State: Unknown Power Supply State: Unknown Thermal State: Unknown Security Status: Unknown OEM-defined: 00000000h ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

pointertovoid ... thanks for the Atto version numbers. I couldn't locate a working link for v2.02 but I did get v2.34. Probably a better version anyway for Windows 98 ... it does work. As far as the USB 2.0 driver for the Southbridge ... I really wouldn't know. I installed the Unofficial Windows 98SE Native USB Drivers (NUSB) 3.5 - adds native USB + USB 2.0 support for most internal + external USB devices (free). So that is what I'm working with. In "rough timing" with a stop watch ... a 700 MB file will transfer around 5 1/2 minutes ... so a 700 MB file is transferring at around 2.1 to 2.3 MBs a second. I guess that's slightly better than USB 1.1 speed. Just disappointed that USB 2.0 speed isn't better. As dencorso said about the OS having something to do with it, that XP would be faster over Windows 98SE.

Thanks for the detailed explanation on everything.

Well, I am not interested in doing any USB flash drive testing on any file. I just want to transfer files and maybe get a quick flash speed reading every so often. There was no Help (to me anyway) that came with the program and I have "no clue" as how to work with it or "understand" any information the program is giving me. I looked at the figures and wasn't sure what I was actually seeing. I appreciate that you posted the CrystalDiskMark image but I still don't understand what I'm looking at ... as I said earlier I am not interested in running USB Flash Drive tests. OK, ... let's say this is what I want to do. ... here are three examples of me wanting to transfer a 700 MB file from C drive to drive E . First flash drive will be a 4 GB drive, the second flash drive will be an 8 GB drive and the third flash drive will be a 16 GB drive. .... As I said ... I do not want to DO any USB tests ... this is the "real thing" ... transferring one 700 MB file to each USB drive. What settings should be set ? .... would the settings for all three drives be the same? This is over my head as I look at that image ... I guess I would set the 5 to 1 pass, one file, one time transfer. I just want to transfer a file and see some "speed figures" and not fool with any tests. I don't always pick up on things posted here, I feel most people at this forum are "light years" ahead of me with computer knowledge and all the inside workings ... but I still learn something new once in awhile. So you are saying I can use CrystalDiskMark to bypass all those "test tabs" and get my file transfered and get a quick no-nonsense speed reading and move onto another file? I do appreciate your assistance and from everyone else also, but I don't think this is the program I was hoping to find, but I could be wrong. I will work with it again later tonight or tomorrow. ...

OK ... well Flash Drive Tester requires .NET Framework 2.0 so whether it actually works on Win 98SE, I can't say. I only have .NET Framework 1.1 installed and never went any higher. USB FlashSpeed (ZIP download name is FlashBench) also requires .NET Framework 2.0 ... ATTO Disk Benchmark did seem to give some readings but I'm not sure if it really works on Windows 98 ... it wasn't listed as doing so ... my test folder was transferring (from C to E) with 4 minutes remaining and then jumped to 68 minutes remaining and my USB mouse quit working so there seems to be some conflict there. I really am not looking to do any USB flash drive testing ... I have bought several different makes of USB flash drives and I am "stuck" with them, some weren't cheap ... not buying anymore but most all these programs just do a benchmark or have USB flash testing in mind. I just want to do a file transfer from C to E and have it "pass through" a program every so often (when I want to use it) to get the "actual transfer" rate for that file from C to E or E to C. If anyone knows of such a simple flash speed measurement program, nothing complicated with various settings to set ... just a transfer speed being indicated as a file is moved from one drive to another. In my earlier post (#14) I listed that article title: 5 Apps to Check the Speed of Your USB Flash Drive (Windows) ... that's what I would like, a simple program (working with Windows 98SE) that will give a speed reading of a flash drive. Also in that article, there was one program that sounded like it was exactly what I was looking for ... HD Speed: HD_Speed is a pint sized software that can be used to gauge the speed of data transfer on your hard disks, CD/DVD ROMS and USB flash drives. This program is compatible with Windows 2000, XP and Vista only, though it supports both FAT and NTFS volumes. The 80KB utility does not require installation and runs with a click. Select the drive and hit start. The read/write results show up as a graph and also as real values. ... but I couldn't get it to work with Windows 98SE, still sounds like a neat simple program though. ... thanks Update: I just found a warning posted about HD Speed: ( 10-24-2009 ) The read test is quick and time limit can be manually set. However, if you proceed to do a write test on your drive, a popup message alerts you as follows. "This will destroy the contents of \drive" "are you sure you wish to continue" ... You must be kidding, no way! NOT recommended. ... so beware if anyone might decide to "test" HD Speed on another OS. Only found that one warning. ...

jaclaz ... thanks ... ATTO Disk Benchmark is not listed for Windows 98SE but I downloaded it anyway to try. Every so often I come across a program not listed to work with 98 but it does. Also found another program called USB Flash Drive Tester, also not listed for Windows 98SE. ...

I have spent a few days searching around for a simple program that will give a speed transfer rate for copying (transferring) a file from the hard drive (C:\) to a flash drive and also will work with Windows 98SE. I found a few programs but they are not listed as working with Windows 98SE, just 2000, XP and so forth. I tried them anyway with KernelEx changed to XP but they will not work, always a dll missing or something. One was listed to work with Windows 98 but I can't seem to get any good readings, no help in the "Help Tab". That program was CrystalDiskMark v2.2.0o (Win 9x). Another program, not sure which, changed the total transfer time of a test folder from 4 minutes to 114 minutes, it wasn't listed as working with Windows 98SE as I remember. I got these programs from this article: 5 Apps to Check the Speed of Your USB Flash Drive (Windows) http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/5-lightweight-tools-to-check-the-speed-of-your-usb-flash-drive-windows/ Then I came across this interesting USB site: UsbFlashSpeed.com Welcome The mission of this site is to benchmark all USB Flash drives over the world. http://usbflashspeed.com/ Top 10 of the fastest Flash Drives (Read) ... Top 10 of the fastest Flash Drives (Write) ... but getting back to my above question ... does anyone know of or are you currently using a simple flash speed measurement program that works with Windows 98SE, something that just gives a reading of any transfer being done between the Hard Drive "C" and a Flash Drive ? Thanks ... ...

Just wanted to add some things about using K-Meleon that might be of interest to some. I am not here to beat the drums about K-Meleon, I did that before in another thread but maybe some people who are using K-Meleon as a browser, along with Opera 10.10 and FF might want to experiment or perhaps were not aware of these "modified" Flash Player plugins. I am talking about K-Meleon v1.5.4 but I also have the newer KM 1.6 working on Windows 98SE with KernelEx. I took the updated User Agent links from KM 1.6 and replaced the "older" User Agent links in KM 1.5.4 ... so that now gave me FF 3.5 instead of the old FF 2.0. I have no trouble getting into YouTube to watch a video or download a video. Over at the K-Meleon Extension Center there are three Flash Player plugins that have been "modified" to work with K-Meleon to save a downloaded video. Two of those "modified" Flash Player plugins are for Windows 9x ... I have been able to watch and save many YouTube videos using the plugin for Flash Player 9.0.289.0 (9x). I have never been able to use Flash Player 10.0.45.2 (9x) with K-Meleon 1.5.4 so I use the FP 9.0.289.0 version. I am able to use Flash Player 10.0.45.2 (9x) with K-Meleon 1.6 ... perhaps some will want to experiment with K-Meleon and these plugins. I will also (sadly) add, that I have not been to YouTube for over a month for any videos and maybe things have changed where these plugins don't work anymore but they probably still do. These plugins are under Browser Plugins. So I have two K-Meleon Browsers (KM 1.5.4 and KM 1.6 - only one can be open at a time) and Opera 10.10. Hope this might help ... http://kmext.sourceforge.net/mplug.htm Categories: Privacy & Security enhanced privacy control Feeds, Social & Blogging news & social-networking Communication support for web services Bookmarking & Archiving bookmark management & website archiving Web Development web-developing & design Network connection & protocol related Enhancements advanced browser & site manipulation Miscellaneous educational, entertainment, fun & games Browser Plugins np plugins required by rich-content websites K-Plugins special K-Meleon plugins Flash Player Plugins: Flash Player 10.3.181.34 flash plugin version 10. please note this is a patched release npswf32.dll which enables embedded videos to be saved in your temp folder instead of deleting them after a video has finished playing; those videos will have a *.tmp extension. copy them from your temp folder to another folder and rename the extension from tmp to flv or mp4. patched dll courtesy of andy robinson from ferretsoft. see the flash video saver extension on network page on how to locate and save those tmp files. formats: swf Flash Player 10.0.45.2 (9x) last working flash10 for windows 9x, if that version doesn't work on your system; please use the flash9 version below. please note this is a patched release npswf32.dll which enables embedded videos to be saved in your temp folder instead of deleting them after a video has finished playing; those videos will have a *.tmp extension. copy them from your temp folder to another folder and rename the extension from tmp to flv or mp4. patched dll courtesy of andy robinson from ferretsoft. see the flash video saver extension on network page on how to locate and save those tmp files. formats: swf Flash Player 9.0.289.0 (9x) flash9 for windows 9x. please note this is a patched release npswf32.dll which enables embedded videos to be saved in your temp folder instead of deleting them after a video has finished playing; those videos will have a *.tmp extension. copy them from your temp folder to another folder and rename the extension from tmp to flv or mp4. patched dll courtesy of andy robinson from ferretsoft. see the flash video saver extension on network page on how to locate and save those tmp files. formats: swf ... Forgot to mention that I also still have IE6 but never really use it, just there in case I might need it. I added IE7 to the KM User Agent links ... want to try the IE8 User Agent link one of these days, really don't know how far these UA links can go and still work ... an experiment in progress I guess. The newer KM 1.6 had the Sea Monkey 2.0 user agent over the old Sea Monkey 1.0 user agent in KM 1.5.4 ... also if you are new to K-Meleon, you can quickly turn JavaScript on and off with F7 and Images on and off with F9. I'm still learning new things about K-Meleon at the KM forum. Update: I was just at the KM forum and see that in just the last week or so someone (ndebord) has been able to patch a newer version of Flash Player. They were having problems in Jan but seems to have figured out the changes. However, I don't think it will work with Windows 98SE, maybe only XP and 2000 ... but I am not 100% sure at this point since it is so new and very little information seems to be available. Not everyone in that forum uses Windows 98SE anymore but they still seem to think about us 98 people and try to make things work, if they can. NPSWF32_11.2.202.197 B5 Hex Got it, datafiles used here earlier on. NPSWF32_11,2,202,197_B5_Hex.7z extract and rename to NPSWF32.DLL Look for it here: http://www.datafilehost.com/download-f90cb480.html ...

I decided to update my earlier statements about KMPlayer that CharlesF refers to in Post 32, that I made in another thread. I have used KMPlayer for several years but a few hours ago I decided to download the latest version of GOM Player, which is dated 10 Jan 2012. I admit I am very impressed with everything so far. I haven't installed a recent version of GOM Player for a long time. I checked both players with Memload and they are very close in memory usage ... KMPlayer was 25. M and GOM Player was 28. M. I always did like the fact that GOM Player could play a broken .avi file ... Play Broken AVI Files (Patented). I have removed KMPlayer for now, to only work with GOM Player for a month or two, but I may just keep it installed as my media player for the future. With KMPlayer, I started having the same problem that CharlesF was having ... KMPlayer always wanting to connect to the internet, not a major deal since ZoneAlarm stops it anyway. So far I have no issues with GOM Player and I made no changes to KernelEx when I installed GOM Player. As I said ... just an update on my changing media players. ...

Have a couple of software programs that might be of interest to someone. For a year or so I searched for a good calculator with a tape ... after trying several, I decided that Moffsoft FreeCalc was the one. Works on 95/98/Me/NT/2000/XP/Vista/7. Tape can also be hidden if you just want a calculator. Moffsoft FreeCalc http://www.moffsoft.com/freecalc.htm Moffsoft FreeCalc is a great replacement for your existing Windows calculator. We took the standard Windows calculator functionality and added the following features: Adjustable calculator size - Make it any size you want and Moffsoft FreeCalc will remember the size and position next time you use it. (see example) Tape - Save, print, or clear the simulated paper history tape. Color schemes - Select a color combination or use your Windows color settings. (see example). New keys - Clear Tape {CT}, double zero {00}, triple zero {000}, and memory subtract {M-} keys have been added. Visible memory value - You'll always know what's in memory because it's displayed on the calculator status bar. Also, a good dual-pane replacement for explorer is 2xExplorer ... which is "officially" dead and has been replaced by xplorer2. However, I happen to like that "old" 2xExplorer" program and so I mention it for anyone also interested. There is a link to the newer replacement program if you want to also check that one out. I found the "newer" program too complicated to use and liked the "old" 2xExplorer better. Download link on lower right side, still works. 2xExplorer v1.4.1.12 http://netez.com/2xExplorer/ Lightweight and powerful, fully shell integrated and extremely usable for increased everyday productivity, 2xExplorer is an ideal dual-pane replacement for explorer, compatible with all 32-bit windows platforms. Note: 2xExplorer is officially pronounced dead. You can still download it for free, but that's about it. xplorer² is the way to the future. It comes with a "pro" and a "lite" version. The lite version is free and much more powerful than 2xExplorer, and you should really give it a try! ...

Been reading through all the posts about the various software that people are using. Several programs are new to me and I have tried some of them. In 2006 I decided I had better start hunting around for all the Windows 98SE software I could find and get it all downloaded and burned to cds/dvds since some programs were already starting to disappear ... with links that didn't work anymore or had plain just disappeared off the radar. I already had a nice collection of software archived but I found many new programs that might be worth saving over the next few years ... maybe to use at a later date. I tried most all the newer software I found and most of the time decided I really didn't need it on my computer ... but I still kept it in the software archive. I have to agree with herbalist about liking a "slim running" PC. I use Memload to check one program with another. For instance, I use RAMpage v1.6 to keep track of RAM and free up RAM, if I should need to do so. I tried FreeRAM XP Pro that was mentioned in one of the posts. It's a nice program but RAMpage does exactly the same thing and just looks a bit nicer ( my opinion only) ... but when I check both programs in Memload for memory usage, these are the figures: FreeRAM XP Pro uses 1.5 M and RAMpage uses only 29.1 K ... a really big difference to someone with an older computer with perhaps not much memory and such. As for myself, I have plenty of memory these days but I still like to find the the best programs (that I like) with the lowest memory usage. I really don't have many multiple programs on my computer except for a few registry cleaners. I have used RegSeeker v1.55 for many years as my main registry cleaner, I have the others as "backup" cleaners but usually RegSeeker does the job complete so I really have no need to run the other cleaners. I didn't see any mention of anyone using RegSeeker ... I could have missed it, so many programs listed ... so I mention it, it also has a "Tweaks" tab with some nice extras it can do. RegSeeker v1.55 http://www.hoverdesk.net/freeware.htm RegSeeker is a perfect companion for your Windows registry ! RegSeeker includes a powerful registry cleaner and can display various information like your startup entries, several histories (even index.dat files), installed applications and much more ! With RegSeeker you can search for any item inside your registry, export/delete the results, open them in the registry. RegSeeker also includes a tweaks panel to optimize your OS ! Now RegSeeker includes a file tool to search for duplicate files, bad shortcuts and more ! RegSeeker is FREE for personal use only ! ...

I might not have been clear enough in my earlier post, if I understand you fully. That 704 MB file was downloaded the day before I did any transfer or copied it to that 2 GB flash drive. I wasn't connected to the internet at the time. I had a folder that I copied to the flash drive and then a few hours later I copied that folder from the flash drive to the Windows 7 machine. I'll try some of those transfer tests when I get some extra time later on. Just one question, what size file do you suggest for a copy or transfer test, is that 700 MB file a good size to work with?

Thanks for the flash drive chart ... think I finally figured out the readings and the meanings. Not exactly sure I fully understand what you mean when you say: Do "local file full copy tests", to have more meaningful results. ...

Well, I'm back with some more USB 2.0 questions and observations ... First, CharlotteTheHarlot ... thanks for the reply ... I have no Antivirus program on my machine, haven't had one installed for many years. I had downloaded the file the day before and did this transfer yesterday morning, so the computer had been shut down and booted several times before the transfer. ... yes, I am rethinking myself that the USB 2 hardware might not be bad afterall. I did some experiments this morning and I will get into more detail below and I have some further questions. loblo ... I was sort of thinking something similar early this morning, that I should try a few things and so I did some "experiments" which I will go into more detail. added: I don't have a Windows 7 computer at present to do any testing. I had a download that someone also wanted so I did a quick transfer yesterday for them. OK ... I decided to try some transfers with some different flash drives. I did not use that same download that I used earlier, it was 704 MB ... so I used a 255 MB download on the same flashdrive (2GB) from before. I decided to use a smaller download to save some time, with that earlier download going around 10 - 12 minutes. I timed the first transfer with the 255 MB download and the 2 GB flash drive at 2 1/2 minutes, then I did the same 255 MB transfer with a new Kingston 8 GB flash drive (bought Oct 2010) ... it also took 2 1/2 minutes. I didn't do anymore flash drives. I came up with a new "idea" ... I have a Belkin USB 2.0 card that I had bought to use with an older computer that only has USB 1.1 speed. Now in that computer (Dell Latitude CPJx) that 2.0 card really does speed transfers up ... a 700 MB might take 20 minutes or more (if I remember correct) at USB 1.1 speed but when I use the 2.0 USB card, the transfer time drops to maybe 4 or 5 minutes, there is a real difference. So after I did the two test transfers on the Thinkpad T41 this morning, I thought about installing this USB 2.0 card on the T41 to see if the 255 MB transfer would actually be faster. Now this is where I am confused ... with these results, instead of being faster, the test transfer actually took longer, almost 3 1/2 minutes. I have some additional things to post but I am out of time and have to leave. I will be back online in about just over an hour .... I will finish up this post ... to be continued ... I thought I could get it all done but not to be... OK ... as I said earlier, I'm a bit confused as to why the transfer using the Belkin 2.0 card would actually be slower. I have to correct my first post ... I actually have NUSB 3.5 installed (not NUSB 3.3) ... MDGx's site is showing NUSB 3.3 but my folder is showing NUSB 3.5. I have to research where I exactly got that version ... but I'm not sure why I can't find it at MDGx's site. I thought NUSB 3.5 replaced version 3.3. If I remember, this version was mentioned in a forum thread in 2011 ... check that out later. I was also thinking about the USB cord ... usually some years back, when you bought a flash drive, you also received a USB connect cord to use instead of having to put the flash drive right into the computer port. Today those USB cords seem to a thing of the past. All my flash drives are rated USB 2.0 but also backward compatible with USB 1.1 and the cords supplied with some of those earlier 2.0 flash drives should be OK to use with all 2.0 USB flash drives. ... maybe yes ... maybe no? I like using the cord so I don't have to keep plugging different drives into the USB port on the notebook ... they seem to be fragile with a slight movement, so I try to not mess with them too much, unless I plug the USB mouse over and over into the top port ... the T41 has two USB ports. I thought I had read years ago that the new USB 2.0 flash drives required a newer USB cord over using one that might have shipped with an older USB 1.1 flash drive. I was wondering if there is something in the NUSB 3.5 download that is not installed correct on my computer? I had one other question but it escapes me at this moment ... Well, that's everything for now. ... OK, got my question back ... if someone has a computer that only has Windows 98SE installed with 2.0 USB ports, what would be your guess of just how long a transfer should actually take ... 255 MB with USB 2.0 flash drive ... are we talking just seconds, a minute or less with Windows 98SE over the 2 1/2 minutes my transfer took? ... have another question for anyone with more knowledge on USB flash drives and files. Both files were avi. files. My question ... would various files ( say all the files are the same size: 255 MB) download or transfer at various speeds? In otherwards, a 255 MB file, no matter what it might be (avi., mkv., a software program or whatever) should all transfer at the same speed! ... yes or no? ... thanks ...

halohalo ... that was quite an interesting link you posted dealing with the Thinkpad T40s and static electricity. I bought the computer as refurbished, so there is no warranty. From your link: Long answer: a number of Intel chipsets for Pentium IV and Pentium M processors have a design flaw that makes the southbridge (which contains the USB host controllers) especially sensitive to static electricity. As a result there is a (small) risk that when plugging in or removing a USB device causes damage to the chip. Usually, the first symptom is broken USB 2.0, behaving in exactly the way you described (ie, works under Windows, but only after some waiting and as if it was connected to a USB 1.1 controller, not a USB 2.0 one, and not at all under Linux unless you unload the USB 2.0 driver). This tends to lead to a completely dead chipset a short time later, so better get it serviced NOW. Well, that could well be my problem ... I also have a newer T42, so I will have to test the flash drive on it. Appreciate you finding that little bit of info. bpalone ... I was also wondering about what you posted ... maybe the flash drive was at fault but it seemed to work quite well (fast) putting the download onto the Windows 7 computer. I have several 2.0 flash drives and just got a Cosair Survivor 16 GB flash drive from what dencorso posted about flimsy and sturdy flash drives in another thread ... but halohalo may have found the answer to my problem ... wish I had known about that static electricity thing before buying the T41 and T42. thanks again ...

I had something happen today with my USB 2.0 Flash Drive and I'm puzzled by it all. I know someone here may have an answer. This concerns my IBM Thinkpad T41 which has USB 2.0 ports and Windows 98SE. I had a 700 MB download that I transferred to one of my USB 2.0 flash drives. I intended to put this download on another person's computer which is a new Dell with Windows 7 and also of course, USB 2.0. When I transferred the download from my computer to the flash drive it was really slow, taking 10 to 12 minutes but when I transferred the download to the newer Dell with Windows 7 ... it only took one minute. I have NUSB 3.5 installed on my computer. I thought that transfer should only have taken 3 minutes from my computer to the flash drive ... it was acting like it was maybe USB 1.1 speed. Anyone have some ideas on what actually might be going on? Thanks. ...