Computer Speed

[rabkk]

-I have Windows 98. Is that possible to get rid of the little window "Web page unavailable while offline" appearing on some sites when we read offline?

-Do you know a site explaining simply how to improve the speed of a computer? I downloaded the program Xteq Systems X-Setup but it's too complicated for me... Thank you.

[lopburi3]

That tells you that it is not available on your computer and you will have to go online to obtain it. The alternative would be to sit forever waiting for something that will never happen (we do enough of that). Or am I misreading what you mean to say?

Not much you can do about computer speed but people will have to know if you mean downloading from the internet, game speeds, or something else to answer you.

[Guest IT Manager]

Can you be more particular about what you mean by "computer speed"?

Some people see net speed as Computer speed, some base their "slow or fast" on how long it takes to do something. Net or otherwise.

Give me an insight into what you are seeing and I will happily try to help.

[ThaiAdventure]

I had a look at the software you described. It doesn't look like a performance enhancing tool.

There are 2 main (simple) things that will slow your Windows 98 system down

1. Defragmented harddrive- use defrag.exe once in a while will sort that out.

2. Installing lots of programs and fonts. (Don't do it). Uninstall anything you don't need then defragment.

If you found that software confusing, then anything else you try will be like pissing in a swimming pool..... it will give you a warm feeling, but I doubt if you will see the difference.

The only sure fire method of speeding up your computer is buy a faster one.

Just bear in mind that if it works....don't fix it!

[TizMe]

If you are tunning Win98, its likely that its been on the 'puta for quite a few years. You have likely installed lots of programs from all over the place.

Its a fact that win gradually gets slower and slower when this happens over a long time, even if you uninstall stuff.

About once a year, I like to format the hard drive and reload all the software. This definately improves the speed.

[Guest IT Manager]

Unfortunately, I agrewe with Tiz. Every now and then back up data and format.

Maybe worth looking at an alternative operating system. Win98 just started to shave.

[Thetyim]

Its a fact that win gradually gets slower and slower when this happens over a long time, even if you uninstall stuff.

Thanks for that Tiz. Its what I had been guessing for a long time.

Can you tell me how to format the hard disc.

[Pink Mist]

If you format your hard drive what you are in fact doing is erasing it, so make sure you have all of your programs to reinstall, all of your important and personal files saved to disc.

Make sure you have a startup disc for windows 95 (if not make one)in the A drive, go to MSDOS screen and type " format c:/s " , a warning message appears press Y

re-boot computer and hope for the best.

For windows 98 from memory you need a startup disc and it goes into D drive but when windows install it creates another drive E just for the installation.

###### correct me for sure it has been a long while since I did this.

[Thetyim]

Sorry forgot to say I am running Me, so the /s command is not supported

Also this machine was bought in Thailand so I do not have a Windows CD disc to re-instal with.

[Guest IT Manager]

Hi Thetyim,

ME was not designed for computers. It was designed for boats. If you have it, use the PC as an anchor.

How much RAM do you have?

How big the Hard Disk?

What is the speed of the processor?

Once I have that detail I will suggest a trip to Panthip or somewhere and buy an "OEM" Windows 2000 or XP. This disk is called a self starter. Put it i the drive and turn the PC on. It should see the Operating System on the CD and ask if you want to install.

Normally you can run the CD under ME and upgrade, but I don't think from what you are saying, that this will help as the drive is either very full or very fragmented. again, RAM will be an issue here.

Do you know if the VGA is onboard or a second card. If you look at the back of the PC, the cable from the Monitor will either be sitting on it's side, at the top left hand side ot the back panel, or down low, in a separate slot, lying down flat.

If this is complete gobbldygook, PM me and I will try to walk you through on the phone.

IT

[ThaiAdventure]

For windows 98 from memory you need a startup disc and it goes into D drive.

IF IT'S NOT BROKEN DON'T FIX IT.

You forgot to mention that he may not be able to access the cd-rom drive if his BIOS does not support bootable CD's or he doesn't have the CD-rom drivers in the Config.sys and autoexec.bat (oh and the drivers themselves) on the floppy. I may be wrong (it was a decade ago after all) but I don't think they are atomatically added with the /s command! Could be a bit of a bugger! Lets hope Theytim doesn't have the upgrade disk instead of the full install.

See you in a couple of weeks then Theytim

[rabkk]

Thank you all for your comments; some of you asked me some questions, I'll answer tomorrow, I didn't have the time to stay in front of my slow computer today!

[TizMe]

ME was not designed for computers

I still run ME on one of my old PCs and am quite happy with it. It requires much less resources than XP. The only reason that I upgraded it from Win95 was because I needed to have support for USB.

Microsoft had us all believe that XP was much more stable. I run XP on my system at work. It is required up 24*7. Sadly, it still needs to be re-booted every couple of days.

I make the task of "reformating" much easier by using "partition magic".

After I first set the PC up and get it to the stage that I'm happy with it, I copy the active C: drive to another partition and make it unavailable. Then when the time comes for a reformat I just copy the unavailable partition back over the c:drive and everything is ready to go. Saves hours of work. Just make sure that any data you need to keep is kept on another partition.

[Guest IT Manager]

Tiz thats a great idea and I hadn't thought of it.

From the PM I had this morning can I suggest I now know the problem?

64 Mb with onboard Video.

IT

[stumonster]

ram ram ram

though 64 ddr agp cards are cheeeep

whats wrong with win 98se???

use mozilla firebird instead of internet exploder

use trillian instead of messenger (www.trillian.cc)free

install zonealarm( www.zonelabs.com )free

diskkeeperlite( defrag tool) http://www1.execsoft.com/dklite.exe

[ThaiAdventure]

I have a really hard time cos I have 4 operating systems (each on a different partition)...Windows 2000 server, Windows XP , Windows 2000 Proffessional and Linux Red Hat. I wouldn't give a rats dick for XP. It reboots if it comes accross an exception (not even the blue screen of death!) and thinks it knows better than me about my hardware. However. Microsoft have good marketing so all the numbnuts at home buy it, therefore I have to use it.

I don't reformat every 6 months, usually XP does that on it's own every couple of weeks.

[Guest IT Manager]

ram ram ram

though 64 ddr agp cards are cheeeep

whats wrong with win 98se???

use mozilla firebird instead of internet exploder

use trillian instead of messenger (www.trillian.cc)free

install zonealarm( www.zonelabs.com )free

diskkeeperlite( defrag tool) http://www1.execsoft.com/dklite.exe

Just to ensure we are reading the same page. 64 Mb system RAM and onboard VGA.

I have suggested in PM, the TNT Riva 64 Mb AGP or PCI if he doesn't have the slot. Also lots and lots of ram.

I actually agree with your program suggestions quite strongly. I like trillian a lot, and am contemplating trillian Pro.

I use Zonelabs products and also a thing called Fixit 2000 for system management

IT

[stumonster]

kapoon ma kup, IT

I did read the onboard shared bit, 64 meg sys ram shared

if he goes for a agp(or pci) I also suggest he gets a new power supply, especially if he is running a burner, just clue him up on reading the pwr supply specs and make sure the 3volt and 5 volt rails will supply enough current for his video card..

I have been trawling panthip lookin at secondhand systems, and see that the prices are very acceptable for a decent basic machine( running win98se)

(eg. P2-3 400-667 128meg ram 8-32meg agp 6-8 gig drive < 6000baht)

perfect for a learner

[rabkk]

Sorry, no time to answer some of your questions these last 3 days:

-The little window "Web page unavailable while offline" appearing on some sites when we read offline? : When this little window appears, I have to click "Connect" or "Stay offline" if I want to continue to read offline. On a site like CNN, this little window comes two times at each page so I click "Stay offline" two times. On this forum pages, the little window appears once every time I open an offline page. This thing is annoying and I'm now wondering if it's in Windows 98 or in the KSC connecting program...

-Computer speed: I mean the speed offline pages open, Documents pages, Word, Outlook Express and e-mail messages, etc...

4 years, Compaq Pentium III, 450 Mhz but only 4GB hard disk... I don't use games. Not many programs. No viruses. I try to do a defragmentation twice a month and when it's too slow I erase History (1 or 2 months), it helps. I also read that over time a computer becomes slower...? I don't want to spend money on another computer at this time but maybe one day I'll show pictures of some of my small antiques to exchange for a used laptop... Who knows...

I heard about a program called "PC Booster" but I read a few bad comments about it... Anybody uses this program?

[ThaiAdventure]

I played with it once. Don't bother.

The bottlle neck for browsing is usually your connection speed. Unless you go for ADSL there is not a lot you can do. On a good connection via 56K modem you can download at about 3-5 kb/s. So for a web page that has ...lets say 100kb it will take about 20-30 seconds (this is a small web page). ADSL will download 10-20 times faster. Thre are other aspects like modem compression etc which will enhance the download but these are generally already utilised and used as default nowadays by modems.

Your offline browsing problem is the result of the way offline browsing works. If the HTML page has the REFRESH command or the page is dynamically generated (php) then when you view the file offline it will want to access the internet to refresh the page. Why do you have a problem with connecting. Are you on a pay as you go Dialup?

Blame microsoft!

[stumonster]

forget these programs that promise to increase your speed...mostly bullshit

as IT probably told you some more ram would be probably the cheapest way to increase your computing experience.. it will not increase your web speed..but will increase your computer speed

also with just a 4.3 gig hard drive you might be experiencing slowdowns because of the space you have left available..swapfile related

and as thaiadventure stated before.. if the win98 has been on the machine for 4 years without a reload.. a reload will make a lot of difference

if you wish to do a reload.. let us know and we can give you advice on how to achieve it...

[ThaiAdventure]

and as thaiadventure stated before.. if the win98 has been on the machine for 4 years without a reload.. a reload will make a lot of difference

I didn't say that! I said if its not broke don't fix it!

[lopburi3]

The little window "Web page unavailable while offline" appearing on some sites when we read offline?

If the page has not been downloaded completely it can not be read offline but if you just hang mouse over it believe a 'circle/' will appear so you just don't click it, with the "web page unavailable" only when we too fast on the trigger. But you might want to reconsider and try to stay online longer if you have a phone line available. The cost now is not that great with MWEB unlimited or such (same KSC company you seem to use).

You don't mention how much memory you have. Open Word, click help, click 'about word'. click 'system info' and the main screen should show a 'ram' amount. Should be 128 at least and 256 (or more) would be better. I suspect it may only be 64 if computer that old.

Hard drive is small and if almost full it could be a problem also. You do need room for swap files, especially if RAM is low.

Operating system does slow down as registry (brain) fills up but if you have 4 years of 'stuff' on computer I would be slow to advise starting over - wait for you next computer to do that. Or get help and make sure what you need is saved first.

[stumonster]

and as thaiadventure stated before.. if the win98 has been on the machine for 4 years without a reload.. a reload will make a lot of difference

I didn't say that! I said if its not broke don't fix it!

lol..ok thai adventure I stand corrected

nothing like breaking it to acheive that steep learning curve

but rabkk.. don t break it until you have backed it up

[rabkk]

Pages are downloaded completely but when I'm offline this little window appears on some pages and I thought there was a solution to get rid of this pop-up window... (its size is no longer than a business card)

Ram 64

Hard disk is half full when I delete History, I do not have many files in my Documents, I try to leave some free space on my hard disk...

[lopburi3]

Pick up computer and take to a shop for more ram. It should help you greatly. You don't have to take the monitor and if you feel ok about going inside it is not hard to add but if you don't know the type would have a shop do it. The cost should not be very much for adding 128 to make it 192 total. Even more will help but at least another 128.

Have never been very happy with the way IE saves pages myself. Some seem to get into history and others not. Even when there is plenty of room available. If you open history and use that to view pages that have been downloaded your mouse will have a "no enter" sign when above a page that is not available (and the page name will be in lighter print) so I just don't click. But it is best to use internet while online and only use offline for email/Usenet etc.

HD should be ok if you keep half of it available and defrag often (as you do).

[rabkk]

Thank you all for your comments.

lopburi3, as you, I also have a few pages unavailable while offline, it's rare... but I'm connecting to the server of a university and with this new forum, I can't read the forum's pages while I'm offline...? I just sent a message to George; I don't know if other readers have this problem...

[lopburi3]

I can't read the forum's pages while I'm offline

You can not view what your computer does not have on its hard drive. In the case of this, and other forums, you can only view the pages and messages that you have already viewed online. This is not a group of messages that are downloaded to your computer like Usenet. It is designed to be read online and each message is sent to your computer as you request it. Some forums have an option to receive email type summaries and such but not sure if this does or not.

Believe that there is free internet service available from TOT at phone 1222 which you probably could use for viewing this type of site if you can not stay connected to the University server and don't feel a pay account is justified. The internet is designed to be on-line and in real time these days.

[Guest IT Manager]

A few things I just picked up Rab.

Short RAM will increase the time it appears to get a page, because of the graphics trying to use one piece of RAM to do all the work. Increasing RAM will not increase the speed of your downloads (loading pages), but it will improve the speed at which they display.

Your dial up connection is cheap, shared and will be slow. IMHO a personal dial up to loxley would be better.

Use Webnet or Web 3 to watch costs.

[rabkk]

I use two connections:

-KSC: I'm able to read in History the pages of this forum while I'm offline.

-A university connection (when it works...) where I cannot read the pages of this forum...

(the university connection is free...)