Andromeda43

DW, She's got several things working against her from the 'git-go'. First a Celeron the the weakest CPU that Intel makes. (or anyone else for that matter) 256 ram is bare minimum for any program at all, and WMP is a real resource hog. So, you need to give WMP all the CPU time and ram that you possibly can. To do that, you must disable all those redundant Services that are running in Windows, by default. ****************************** Here's my short, short list of services to disable for a stand alone PC, not on a network: From the RUN box, type in Services.msc , then maximize the window to full screen size. Then scroll down the list of services to each item on the following list and right click on an item and then click Properties. In the properties box you can Stop a running service and then set the action box to "Disable". Then Apply the change and OK the window to close it. Move down the list to the next item and repeat the process. When done, close the entire window and reboot your PC. Clip book Computer Browser Error Reporting Service Messenger Performance Logs and Alerts Portable Serial Number Remote Registry Remote Desktop Help Session Manager Routing and Remote Access Server (leave this on for a local network) Smart Card Helper System Event Notification Task Scheduler Universal Plug and Play Device Host Upload Manager Web Client Windows time Wireless Zero Configuration (disable if you will never use a wireless network) ****************************** Then go into MSCONFIG and disable all those junky TSR's that you don't need starting at boot up. Then download "End It All 2.exe" from My Download Site. Install it and run it to shut off all running programs,,,before you try to play DVD's. After all, you don't need other programs running if you're trying to watch a movie. Do You? Do don't have a whole lot of computer there, so you have to get real serious about being a good resource manager. Good Luck, Andromeda43 B)

Just a possibly stupid question, but how do you intend to run that software on a computer that's shut off? How do you make toast on a toaster that's unplugged? or How can you ride a dead horse? Think! before you post. If a computer is properly set up, it will start and boot up when AC power is applied to it. Then from MSCONFIG and the Startup folder, you can have it start whatever programs you wish. Removing the power from it causes it to crash, but it will recover on the next boot. That's probably the poorest way to shut down a PC.....but it's possible. The shutdown command in a batch file run by the Task Scheduler could also shut down the PC at a predetermined time. Here's the shutdown command: %windir%\System32\shutdown.exe -s -t 00 -f Just put that command in a batch file and run it from the Task Scheduler. Then you'd have to remove the power from it and then restore the power to get it to start up again. Is that kind of what you need? PS: A really Evil thought just occured to me. Plug your PC into one of those little timers that they sell in the hardware stores to time Christmas tree lights. Set up your Bios to start the PC when power is applied (i have mine set up that way, so I know it can be done) then put Shortcuts to any programs that you want to start in your Startup Folder. Shutdown the PC with the Shutdown command as I said earlier. Then let the timer remove the power from the system a few minutes later. When the timer comes back on the PC will boot normally. That's kind of "Cheap-n-Dirty" but I know it will work.

It sure is and that's exactly what "MERestore Remover" is for. It not only turns off that hog but quickly removes all those redundant Restore files. It's easily downloaded from my Download Site. It has a few other interesting functions too, but you'll have to take a look at it yourself to see those. Anyone who is still using Windows ME, should also download "wnMEboot.exe" while you're at my site. It will build for you a really great Win-ME boot disk. You'll have to see it to believe it. A really great Tech Tool. I've been at this stuff for many years and I've learned how to tame that "ME" beastie. Cheers, Andromeda43

As long as you've got enough ram and HD space, you can work the snot out of 98/SE and it won't puke. I ran it for years till I needed to upgrade to XP. I found several tweaks that could add as much as 30% to its efficiency. The infamous "memory leak" was probably the only drawback. And a little program like "MemTurbo" could easily take care of that. That was a God-Send to people who had to leave their PC's on 24x7 to run a network, receive faxes, etc. I've got ten PC's that will actually run and every one of them is running 98/SE with the Unofficial Service Pack 2, except this one. That service pack, incorporates most of the tweaks that I used to do by hand. A great time savings. Andromeda43

For years MS had its act together, more or less, and we had home systems and Business systems. NT was never designed for the novice home user. It was a Business system with all the security and bells and whistles required to operate in the business environment. An IT manager was essential. Then MS got lazy and decided in their infinite wisdom, that they no longer wanted to support two entirely different OS's. So we got XP, injected into our computers and our lives like an Enema. There is just one option and that is to keep using an outdated OS, like Windows 98/SE, or Linux or just go with the flow and learn how to deal with XP. I have found that preferrable. That's what I've been doing for a few years now. Digging into every aspect of XP to make it work better, faster and more friendly. I've been fairly successful. I can take any new computer, right out of the box, and improve the performance of that computer by at least 100%. It's what I do for a living. Between the bloat built into XP with the totally redundant Services that they load by default, and the excessive Bloatware and even Spyware installed by the PC manufacturers, XP is so loaded down that it can hardly run at all. On a brand new PC right out of the box, it takes me about three hours to set up the PC, clean out all the bloatware, disable all the redundant Services and install all the needed Security Software. (I use batch files to install software and VBScripts to tweak the registry, to save time.) Once the system is all cleaned out and customized, I like to make a Ghost Image of the C: drive and burn it to a bootable DVD. This assures a return to that point if something later screws things up. Beats the heck out of those Restore disks from the manufacturer, if they even provided one. Many times, the user has to make their own. Once I'm done setting up XP, it's actually a pretty nice OS. Much nicer than Windows ME, for instance. I'm sorry that this got a bit long...... Andromeda43 B)

I'm sorry, I don't understand the question. It sounds almost like, "how do I make the sun come up?" On a properly operating DSL connection, you'll be online when the computer finishes booting up. At least that's the way they work around here. On my own internet connection (dial up) I set up Outlook Express to always dial out if a connection is not already open. It holds my name and password. I then put a shortcut to O.E. in my startup folder where it runs automaticly every time I turn on my PC. I just turn on my PC in the morning and walk away. While I'm making my first cup of coffee, I hear "you've got some mail" (sung by a Barber Shop Quartet) and I know its time to go back into the computer room and see what's in my Inbox. Does your own DSL NOT connect automaticly on boot? How come? Maybe you should talk to your ISP's tech help line. Good Luck, Shadow B)

The guys in the laptop service centers tell me that Toshiba has the greatest mean time between failures of any of the major brands. I install lots of Toshibas for my customers and I really like them. Not considered a major brand, SagerNotebooks are a real dream machine. Take a look at www.sagernotebook.com And, they have set up service centers all accross the country. On the other hand, if you don't really need a laptop, you'll get a lot more for your money if you get a desktop PC and have the advantage of being able to upgrade it later, when you need to. laptops are not very upgradable and very hard and expensive to repair. By their very nature, they don't perform as well as a desktop PC either. They also use very proprietary drivers that you may not be able to easily find if you reformat for a different OS. XP home can easily be upgraded to XP Pro/SP2 with a simple Upgrade CD. It's done all the time. Good Luck, Andromeda43 B)

A CD burner could be brand new, but that doesn't mean that someone didn't drop it off the truck. A little jar can misalign the laser and from there on, all bets are off. I just replaced a nearly new AOpen drive with a new LG drive to solve a reoccuring drive failure problem. It hurt my feelings, yes, but didn't break the bank. The new LG drive was only $45. As a reader, the AOpen works just fine, so that's what I'll use it for, in one of my many systems. I always encourage all my customers to shut down all running programs before opening their CD burning software. CD burners just hate to see any other program accessing the HD while they are running. I use "End It All 2.exe" to do this for myself. Bad ram or a really funky HD (badly fragmented) can cause CD burning problems too. I'd sure cover all those bets before spending money for a new drive. It really won't take but a few minutes. Good Luck, Andromeda43

I'm sorry, I don't understand the question. I've got an Asrock mobo and a SATA hard drive. With an IDE drive on the IDE port as a backup drive. I regularly boot up my system with my Ghost 2003 boot floppy (or CD), make my backups and do an immediate restore for a fabulous Defrag. Never, have I had any problem with Ghost reading my hard drive and writing my Image file to my Second SATA partition, to my IDE backup drive or even burning the Image directly to a DVD. Ghost 2003 just works! Wanna give it a try? PM me. Andromeda43 B)

Yes! Never put your burner and your main HD on the same IDE port (data cable). Cheers

I've heard that Bill Gates' house is fully automated and has been for many years. it's old technology. For the rest of us.....saying "Computer, Lights, 50%" just isn't here yet. Or maybe I'm just not lazy enough to really need it yet. Maybe next year. I do have an electronic lock on my front door though. I built it over 25 years ago. Just one touch on the right spot on the door opens it. Touch the wrong spot though and the door is totally locked out for ten minutes. There's no knob or key so there's no other way in. (cept, maybe some C4)

I'm in the computer business.....have been for way too long. I go through a dozen or so CD's every week. I saw those black CD's in the store one day (a few years ago) and just had to have some. I bought a spindle of 50. Big mistake. They wrote and read just fine on my new, state of the art, burner/reader, but on older (4x, 6x, 8x) readers of my customers.....NO GO!. The newer drives, I was later told, use a different frequency of laser than the old drives. The older lasers can't penetrate that black coating and so cannot read the disks. I gave away the last of my black disks and transfered all my utils, etc., to Silver disks. I no longer have a black CD in the house. I found one a week or so ago and it went in the scredder with some other stuff I was cleaning out. Now, if you want the ultimate in CD presentation..... Get the silver, printable CD's (Verbatim) and an Epson Photo R220 or Photo R340 printer, that can print directly on the printable CD. I've gone to that method of CD labeling 100%. My old CD Stomper is sitting in the corner gathering dust. Of course I still use the ol' Sharpie method. (write on the top of the CD with a Sharpie marking pen) I have both of those Epson printers and they are absolutely fabulous! Forget the black CD's and have a great day, Andromeda43 B)

That's a big problem with laptops as I see it. What you got, is all you're gonna git. (more or less) If you got IDE, then you can't change it to SATA. Same with vid, sound, etc. You might be able to increase the size of your HD, but not the type. (bios permitting, of course) That's locked in by the IDE controller on the mobo. Yes the higher the rpm, the faster the drive will be able to access data, but on the other hand, the more current the drive motor draws and the more heat it generates. It will kill a battery much faster and generate much more heat that you have to worry about getting rid of. Just put your hand on the case over your HD. If if feels hot to the touch, your HD is probably already running fast enough. Set the power down time for the HD in power management to 5 to 10 minutes to let the little guy cool off between working sessions. Before I got my current mobo, that has onboard SATA control, I did run a SATA drive on my old system, using a "Silicon Logic" PCI / SATA controller card. I even ran my old IDE Maxtor 60 gig drive off of that SATA controller, by using an IDE to SATA dongle on the back of my Maxtor drive. Both drives exibited transfer speeds in excess of 1000mb/min. I was blown away by the speed of that old IDE drive when run as a SATA drive. Good Luck with your little laptop, Andromeda43 B)

It's just a fact of nature.....most all of our wire is made of copper. It's a pretty good conductor and that's why we use it, but it does exibit resistance to currnet flow. Gold would be better, but it's a little pricey! The longer the wire the more the loss. (the less the bandwidth) I can't even get DSL service here at my home, because I live 1000' too far from the "Switch" to be able to use DSL. There's just too much loss in the old copper wire. Always for tidyness and best operation keep all lines as short as you can. I once had a HD that would not work reliably on a data cable of over 9" long. SATA for instance has a 40" limit to their data lines. Happy Computing, Andromeda43 B)

May I please go a step further? Thank you. Nero is probably the best CD writing software on this planet. I heard there was a better one on Alpha Centauri 6. But that was just a rumor. Now back to the quote. Absolutely correct.... but lets take it one step further. OK? For a better running PC, you should always disable any Service that you don't need. XP comes out of the box with about a dozen or more services that only a network server would ever need. NOT the average home user. I put a list of services to disable on my website, but I'll just print them here for easy access: *************************************** Here's my short, short list of services to disable for a stand alone PC, not on a network: From the RUN box, type in Services.msc , then maximize the window to full screen size. Then scroll down the list of services to each item on the following list and right click on an item and then click Properties. In the properties box you can Stop a running service and then set the action box to "Disable". Then Apply the change and OK the window to close it. Move down the list to the next item and repeat the process. When done, close the entire window and reboot your PC. Clip book Computer Browser Error Reporting Service Messenger Performance Logs and Alerts Portable Serial Number Remote Registry Remote Desktop Help Session Manager Routing and Remote Access Server (leave this on for a local network) Smart Card Helper System Event Notification Task Scheduler Universal Plug and Play Device Host Upload Manager Web Client Windows time Wireless Zero Configuration (disable if you will never use a wireless network) ****************************** OK,,,,having taken care of that.......now go into MSCONFIG and disable all those junk TSR's that are loading at bootup. Then go to my Download Site and download "End It All 2.zip". Unzip it and install it. Let it put a shortcut on your desktop. Set it up to allow shutdown of all your AV, AS and other protection software. Run "End It All 2" to shut down all running programs on your PC before you ever open Nero to start a CD burn. Also use it before you ever install a software suite, like MS Office, Print Shop, etc. CD burning software wants to see NO other programs trying to access the HD while it's running. With all that done, you should have no problems burning a CD. Oh yes, don't forget to clean up your hard drive and do the defrag. Nero uses HD space for its cache. (buffer). A good running HD is essential to a good burn. Good Luck, Andromeda43 B)

I have several critera for a case that does not include bright colors, glitz or glitter. Bubble lights on the front corners just don't turn me on. The case must be DEEP from front to back to properly accommodate Long CD drives and full sized mobos. Then the case must have a set of HD bays that go all the way from the FD to the bottom of the case. USB ports on the front and not the side or top are also a must. PSU? NO stock case has a PSU to suit me so I don't even worry about that. I just bought one yesterday (for a very decent $29) that has only a 350w supply in it. NO biggie! I'll be putting in a conservatively rated 580w anyway. I'm building this system to go into the office of a good friend of mine. Simple looks and funtionallity are important here...not glitz or glitter. This will make the third system I've built for him. The case also has room for three extra case fans. Two are already installed. It's a "Foxconn TLA-436" Click for picture. It really fills all my criteria. Four 5.25" bays, 2x3.5" FD bays, 4x3.5" HD Bays. Two case fans already installed. Two USB ports and a speaker and mic port on the front panel. And best of all, I got it for only $29. That makes it just fabulous! A case is really only a framework to hold your Stuff....it's really the Stuff that's important. Happy Computing, Andromeda43

Yes, Roger......it may. I've written detailed explanations of how to clean dirty ram many times in this and other forums. I've been an electronics tech for over 40 years now....this stuff ain't nothing new to me. Just a little dirt between those tiny little legs coming off the side of a ram chip can cause a short circuit between the legs resulting in failure. Whenever I get a funky ram stick or video card with ram chips on it, I pull the offending unit and take it to the kitchen sink where I wash it thoroughly with warm water, dishwashing detergent and an old toothbrush, concentrating on the ram chips themselves, not the rest of the card and of course on the edge connector as well. Then a good rinse with warm water to displace any soapy residue. Follow that with a very thorough rinse with denatured alcohol (isopropyl alcohol will work, if that's all you have) Let the ram stick or vid card air dry in a warm and dry place for several hours. (Overnight is good too) Then reinstall and test. I save over 90% of bad ram and video cards that way. My own vid card started giving me fits with colored blocks running all over the screen, about a year ago. I washed it, set it out in the sun and breezes for several hours and reinstalled it.....it's been running faultlessly ever since. If the ram is really bad, it will never show up as sometimes bad and sometimes good.....you're going to have to throw it out and buy a replacement anyway. Washing it first to see if you can save it.....costs you NOTHING! Per my own experience, you have a 90+% chance of saving it. You need to be testing your ram with a known reliable program like "Memtest86". Run it from a boot disk to bypass your OS, hardware drivers, etc. Good Luck, Andromeda43 B)

For future reference, never accept updated drivers from Microsoft.....NEVER! In many cases where an old modem was a problem, for whatever reason, I've found that removing it from windows, then removing it physically and replacing it with a newer and more capable modem was a most workable solution. And it's much cheaper than futzing with a non-working modem. I just picked up six new modems this weekend for $10 ea. They were from four different manufacturers, including Intel. If one doesn't work on a particular PC or phone system, I just try a different one. If you ever need drivers for a modem, always get them from the makers web site if possible. Drivers.com is another possible source. But, NEVER from microshaft. Good luck to you, Andromeda43 B)

Which 98/SE CD? There are several.

Heat would NOT be a problem during a cold boot. Only after running for a while. However, the newer laptops should NEVER be set on any insulating surface like a rug or bed. They should only be set on hard surfaces like a tabletop. Even then, raising the back of the laptop about an inch off the tabletop to increase air circulation under the unit, helps a lot. Is this laptop being operated by battery or line power? If by line power, try removing the large battery pack and restart the laptop PC from line power only. A shorted battery pack will sometimes give the problem you're experiencing. (just a thought) My little compaq laptop has a shorted battery pack. I removed it from the laptop and I've run it just off of line power for several years now. New batterys are just too expensive. My solution to running my little 'puter during a dire emergency (like a hurricane) is a 12v car battery, a 500w inverter and the laptops little AC power supply. The whole rig was cheaper than that darn'd laptop battery, and I can use it to make coffee too, with a little 12v emersion heater. Good Luck, Andromeda43 B)

I've done a lot of work with Windows ME. I found several admirable traits in ME that were missing in 98/SE. Being able to partition and format a 120 gig HD was just one of them. I carry a Windows ME boot floppy and CD with me on every call. Ya jus never know when you'll need one of them. I took the original disk made by Windows ME and did some customizing and enhancing of my own. Then I put copies of both the floppy and the CD on My Download Website. wnMEboot.exe is the floppy boot disk creator program ME-Boot CD.exe is the ISO file from which you can create a boot CD. From this simple disk you can totally set up a new HD to receive any OS. It also has some neat little cleanup routines included. It's all menu driven with a nice little ansi-color menu. Download it and take a look. The FD version will create the boot floppy for you. The CD version is an ISO and any decent CD burning software should be able to convert that ISO to a bootable CD. I use only Nero, and I know it can. Let me know by PM if you run into any problems. Good Luck, Andromeda43

That would, of course, eliminate the ol' "Swapfile" from the mix. That's good! Cleaning up the entire HD and eliminating all temp, bak, bac, gid, ~mp, tmp, and CHK files helps to make Defrag operate a lot smoother and faster. I think I remember that ME had the "Disk Cleanup" program in its System Tools folder. That's a great program to run right before a Defrag. I wrote my own batch file to do that plus dump several other cache folders. (about a dozen other folders actually) The biggest dead horse in Windows ME is that 'C:\_Restore' folder. Things will build up there till the HD crashes, or scans and defrags just take so long you can't stand it anymore. If you want to permanently remove this dead horse from your computer, you can download "MERestoreRomover.exe" from my Download Site. It can shut off the Restore function for you and delete all those old Restore files. You can even use it to turn Restore back on, later, if you please. The worse case I've seen (lately) was a PC with over 100,000 temp files in that restore folder. Deleting them in DOS took many hours. That wasn't quite as bad as the ol' '98 machine that had 106,105,xxx temporary internet files still on board. Defrag wouldn't run,,,,, Scandisk wouldn't run and everything else just labored along. Installing my cleanup routine in the Autoexec.bat file on that computer, took care of that problem permanently. It deleted all those junk files on every re-boot. I put that little cleanup batch file Here for easy access and I called it "Hoover.bat" after the vacc. cleaner. In Windows ME, I just put it, or a shortcut to it, in the Startup folder for a FREE cleanup on every boot-up. On my own PC I recently found out that my "Call Wave" program was keeping every message that I receive, in a cache folder as a .wav file. Heck, there where hundreds of them little buggers in there. I added the path to those files to my daily cleanup routine and now I never have to worry about those things building up on me again. Most 'IM' programs do that too. Keeping a Windows ME hard drive clean and defragged isn't hard, it just takes a little planning and dedication on the part of the key operator. Beyond that, its a piece of cake. Andromeda43

You've gone Bear Hunting with a switch. Get a gun! You may, because of language differences, miss the point of my little joke. Sorry! The cleanest and easiest thing you can possibly do to stop that cycle of Reload Windows, Reload and reset programs, is to just get everything the way you want it and then make yourself a Ghost Image of your HD and save it to a second HD partition, or a second HD, or Burn the Image directly to a DVD. (or set of CD's) Then if you have a problem warranting a reload, just stick in the DVD and restore your Image file and everything is right back where you want it to be. I've been doing this for years for myself and my customers, using the "Ghost 2003" program. For the most simple way of doing this I use the Ghost.exe file from a boot floppy or boot CD (I've created both). Since you told us nothing about your system, I don't know what hardware you have to do what I do, but Ghost is so versatile that it will work with just about anything. My own Ghost Image file takes up a little over 4.5 gigs, so a hard drive or DVD is my only practical choice of a target location. I do the backup to my second HD for a 4 minute backup and to a DVD once a week for a longer but more permanent backup. Once a week, that DVD winds up in a fireproof vault twenty miles away. If you want to set up this process for yourself, PM me. I won't go into details here. Cheers, Andromeda43 B)

Craney, Good Morning (Sunday). In the first place you shouldn't be hanging on to those old temporary internet files. You can dump the intire folder "Content.IE5". You can also run window's own "Disk Cleanup" to dump those folders. Do it in Safemode if you have any problems in Normal mode. To use Disk Cleanup, go to: START/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/ Disk Cleanup. Make sure to check all the little boxes before you say YES to do the cleanup. Again, you may need to do this in Safe Mode. I've written my own batch file to delete all those kinds of files on every boot-up. I know that mine is working because after I run it (manually) I also run Disk Cleanup and it normally comes up with NO files to delete. Delete all those temp files and make sure your AVG is up to date, Run a full scan, then run Defrag and come back and let us know how you're doing. Andromeda43

I'm sorry, maybe it's a Language thing, but I couldn't understand the question well enough to make any decision as to its propriety. Many people in the 'World' don't understand the reasons for many of the "Rules" assigned to this and other boards. Be gentle and lead them.....don't beat them up. Cheers Mates, Andromeda