pc running really bad!!!!! please help 1

[sookey]

my os is windows 98se. it is the server for a 3 computer network at my small business. i have updated nortons av and did complete scan found aware.lop virus. got rid of that. still pc performance is horrible. did a little reading ran cwshredder, adaware, spybot, tds-3, hijack this,
adaware found 3 things and it corrected them, same w/ spybot. tds-3 says clean for all trojans, hijack this gave me a log and i posted it to their forum the administrator did not give me a clear answer; but apparently did not see anything major cause did not give specific delete instructions. prior to this scandisk and defrag have not completed telling me there are errors on the hard drive. when my system is sitting idle the arrow goes from idle to hour glass every 10 seconds or so.
tonight via safe mode i have finally go scandisk and defrag to complete. however scandisk did find and fix errors.
my question is really a two part one. how do i determine if the hard drive is really bad- as i bought one just in case- but am apprehensive about ghosting my image and transferring. could my problem just be too much running in the background? i have looked at my system information and looked at my running tasks; however it is just greek to me. i could really use some good trust worthy advice.
rachel

 

[tviman]

Well sure, apps running in the background will definately drag down the system, as will a failing memory module, or one of your other PC's performing a CPU intense operation (common for untrained users running SQL queries on a database like MS Access.)

What equipment makes up your server? Your other machines? Do you know what the other machines are doing? How are they networked? There's no simple answer to your problem without a lot more information.

There's always a better way. The fun is trying to find it!

 

[diogenes10]

faq615-3144 contains some cleanup tips.

 

[swayda]

Windows 98 uses two files to store registry information, SYSTEM.DAT and USER.DAT. These a hidden, system, read only files. Defrag doesn't touch them and if they become fragmented they will kill system performance. Before I suggest any thing try this procedure. Go to a command prompt. Switch to the windows directory. Type the following.

scandisk /f user.dat

You will get one of two messages.
All specified file(s) are contiguous
or
USER.DAT contains X noncontiguous blocks

Then do the same for SYSTEM.DAT

scandisk /f system.dat

If these files are contiguous you're fine from that stand point. If they're not contiguous then that may be part of the problem. I do have a way to fix the problem but I'm hesitant to release it since if it's done wrong it can pretty much wreck the registry. Let me know what you find.

Don Swayser
swayser@optonline.net

 

[sookey]

my wqrkstation pcs run great- my oldest one only runs a networked dos based appliaction. it is a 95 compaq w/ win 95.
my other workstation is:
Microsoft Windows 98 4.10.2222 A
Clean install using /T:C:\WININST0.400 /SrcDir=c:\windows\options\cabs /IS /IW /IQ /ID /IV /IZ /II /II /NR /II /C /U:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
IE 5 5.00.2314.1003
Uptime: 0:21:53:13
Normal mode
On "TRACS-C2" as "Default"
Gateway, Inc.
GenuineIntel x86 Family 6 Model 8 Stepping 3
128MB RAM
77% system resources free
Windows-managed swap file on drive C (6375MB free)
Available space on drive C: 6375MB of 9756MB (FAT32)

my server is running so evil right now icant get to sys info to copy & paste it for ya. i just know it has a pentuim also, 20 gig drive w/ only 6 gig used, 128mb ram.
as far as the network we used ethernet network cards and a small hub i think 10/100 tcip are what they call the network cards. as far as the memory module dont know how to ck. gonna try to go thru the list from the second post and the 3rd post and will let ya know. right now i can barely keep my server running at all.
thanks
rach

 

[sookey]

system.dat and user.dat are contiguous so no probs there.
here is info about my server:

Microsoft Windows 98 4.10.2222 A
Clean install using /T:C:\WININST0.400 /SrcDir=c:\windows\options\cabs /IS /IW /IQ /ID /IV /IZ /II /II /NR /II /C /U:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
IE 5 5.50.4134.0600
Uptime: 0:00:59:55
Normal mode
On "TRACS-SRVR" as "default"
Gateway, Inc.
GenuineIntel Pentium(r) III Processor
128MB RAM
68% system resources free
Windows-managed swap file on drive C (12879MB free)
Available space on drive C: 12879MB of 19075MB (FAT32)
Available space on drive N: 12879MB of 19075MB (FAT32)
Available space on drive S: 10MB of 95MB (FAT)

printing the info from the second post to try it now.

 

[sookey]

completed the tasks in the faq615-3144 and the only thing that improved anything was shutting off almost everything except what was needed on start up in the ms config.

however although system performance is better still not what it should be. and now when i push the button on my cd drive it will not open. could i have shut off the wrong thing in msconfig?

hope someone sees this and has answers soon as i am about out of options.
rachel

 

[tviman]

Can't say why the CD door won't open - has nothing to do with any startup files.

This bothers me

when my system is sitting idle the arrow goes from idle to hour glass every 10 seconds or so.

This shoudn't happen on an idle system and could be indicative of a virus/worm. You could use a lot more memory as 128 mb is pretty skinny for a server. One more question, is your server attached to the internet and are you using internet connection sharing on the other PC's?

There's always a better way. The fun is trying to find it!

 

[sookey]

no internet connection sharing.
i have internet capabilites on my server. however it is dial up aol 7.0. no broadband and only log on to check email and check a few websites each week. usually log on once per day to ck mail. and some days that is all that is done. i have remedied the hourglass problem by removing the startup stuff in the msconfig; startup. my system is much improved. have ran antivirus w/ updated def as recently as last night; plus the adaware,spybot, hijack this last night, and tds-3 i should be clean. i have thought about adding memory in the past; however someone told me they did not think that win 98 would use anymore than 128 so it would not speed my system up. I only know what i am told. as I am just a small business woman who has limited knowledge who has to keep things runnin' round here. in addition to taking care of my 2 kids 3yr & 7 mo old - as they come to the office w/ me each day. this is getting on my very single last nerve. i have also removed some misc temp internet files and have sys resources up to 80%
I am currently downloading a utilites file from seagate to check my drive.
my computer sounds noisier than normal. not grinding or anything; it sounds like it is coming from the area where the power cord plugs into the top of the machine.

just giving ya all the info that i know how.
do ya think i should replace the drive?
could ya help me w/ using nortons ghost to copy my exact data to the new one if i do?
rachel

 

[tviman]

Doubtful that the drive is causing problems. Memory capacity is limited by the capacity of your motherboard. I have an Win98 pc in my office that has 512mb and I would have gone higher but the local computer store didn't have teh modules I needed.

You stated that one of your PC's is running a DOS based app. Is it necessary for the files for this machine to be on the server or can it run by itself on that PC? That might free up the CPU a little as most DOS based apps don't have the multi-tasking ability of Windows based apps.

There's always a better way. The fun is trying to find it!

 

[sookey]

nope my dos based program runs from the server/ i runs in another building and i also run it from my office as well. the things i did last night w/ the msconfig have helped alot. things are running ok today.
one question:
the hour glass thing continues to repeat 2/3 times each day; but not always. when it does this the red optical eye on my mouse is lit up? is it turning to hour glass cause it thinks the mouse is working? just thinking out loud?

rachel
i think i am gonna upgrade my mb on both machines running my windows based shop management software.

seagate utilities says hard drive good.
any other thoughts

 

[marlinatgls]

I would definately reccommend more memory.
It will make a world of difference.

 

[sookey]

I WOULD LIKE TO THANK EVERYONE FOR THEIR GREATS SUGGESTIONS. I WOULD HAVE BEEN ABSOLUTELY INSANE RIGHT NOW WITHOUT THE INFO.

THANKS AGAIN
RACHEL

 

[sookey]

one more thing. i noticed last night that i was getting a lot of pop ups relating to pc performance so i ran adaware again. if found 124 objects. when i looked at them they were all in my cookie files. should i remove them?
or should i leave them alone? not really sure.
rachel

 

[rwp728]

Hi Rachel, You should run Ad-Aware or PestPatrol automatically in the background and keep the definition files up to date just like with Norton Antivirus - VERY important.

Cookies and temporary Internet files can / should be removed every time you exit your browser to keep it clean - just like brushing your teeth. Sites that need to use cookies can renew them when you log on again. If using Internet Explorer, the menu sequence just before exiting is: Tools, Internet Options, Delete Cookies - OK, Delete Files - Delete all offline content - OK, Clear History - Yes (unless you need to keep some history for a reason). Then hit OK to exit Internet Options and shut down your browser.

Hopefully you are using Norton System Works to keep your registry and system files clean too. If not, do this at least once a week. Those files get messed up frequently.

And why do Windows and Internet Explorer files get messed up? That's Bill Gates' little plot to keep you tied down fixing your computer instead of getting useful work done....

rwp728

 

[jkotan]

Actually, what tviman said was wrong. Windows 98 will only use 256MB of RAM. You CAN have more RAM in the machine however 98 will not use it.

Jim