Tek-Tips is the largest IT community on the Internet today!

Members share and learn making Tek-Tips Forums the best source of peer-reviewed technical information on the Internet!

  • Congratulations strongm on being selected by the Tek-Tips community for having the most helpful posts in the forums last week. Way to Go!

Speeding up My P.C. & Windows 98 3

Status
Not open for further replies.

fxcolin

Technical User
Oct 14, 2001
169
CA
I'm trying to get my P.C. to load and start programs faster.
I know some of the tricks like Run 'msconfig', etc.

Pentium 2 Desktop, Windows 98, 384 RAM (with no programs running I only have 275 MB, User Resources 74%, System Resources 74%, GDI 89%)

1st. I inhereted this P.C from someone and noticed when the computer is starting up I see something like this 'C: SET CLASSPATH = C:\Program Files\HEAT\Navbar' I think HEAT is some kind of interactive game played over the Net. Could this be eating up my RAM? I couldn't find it in Add/Remove Programs. I was thinking of just deleting it, but paranoid of it affecting another program.

2nd. I saw in a recent post someone suggesting to go to C:\windows\temp and delete everything in that folder. When I attempted that it said the folder 'Cookies' may prevent other programs from running, also the folder contained apps(.exe) files, so again paranoid of causing other problems.

There was a 3rd. question but it slipped my mind.
I know it may seem that I have lots of RAM, but as a web developer/designer, I normally have 8 - 12 windows open at any given time.

Thanks alot in advance.

 
You say:

I'm trying to get my P.C. to load and start programs faster.
I know some of the tricks like Run 'msconfig', etc.

Ok, but have you unchecked the resource hogs, that you *don't need* ? (Leaving antiVirus software running, and microsoft system settings ?)

** ONE QUESTION: Is that 74% at startup ? (or after you have been running ?)

Post a list of all the programs & apps listed under startup.

After I set up a computer, I like to have 88% to 92% Resources Free.

* Note: A brand new computer, with only Win98 SE on it, and having the Six MS items loading, will have 94% - 97% Free Resources.

So, at 74% thats a lot of things loading.

Post that info if you want some help getting more free resources.

 
Hi Jakespeare

Ok I just restarted my PC and actually the numbers are 86, 86, 97 -much better.
I have Norton system works, Crash guard and Norton Internet Security
Also: Scan Registry
System Tray
Load Power Profile
Pointer (Optical Mouse)
LoadQM
Load Power Profile
Driver 32
Lotus Organizer

Also what do you think of the other question
SET CLASSPATH = Program File\Heat\Navbar -it's in the autoexec.bat file
 
OK.
First, I would DUMP Norton System Works.
** CRASH GUARD ** also. It's more a Crash Maker.

Lotus Organizer: Do you use it ? If not, uncheck it.

Your question:
Also what do you think of the other question
SET CLASSPATH = Program File\Heat\Navbar -it's in the autoexec.bat file

Well, it looks like they used to play a PC game online,
and Heat.net.
REM that line out.

IN the AUTOEXEC.BAT ........ in from of that line,
just type
"REM" then leave a space...... and it won't use that line.

If the program is totally gone, just erase the line.

Otherwise, if you don't use it,,,,,,,, uninstall that program.

I guarantee you, if you unload Norton Sys Works and CRASH MAKER.......
your computer will have MORE resources and run much better.
I see posts ALL THE TIME when people are having problems with their Windows PC's and have Norton System Works on.
All the time. It is a hog........ and very problematic.

GL
 
You said:

2nd. I saw in a recent post someone suggesting to go to C:\windows\temp and delete everything in that folder. When I attempted that it said the folder 'Cookies' may prevent other programs from running, also the folder contained apps(.exe) files, so again paranoid of causing other problems.

Typically, you go to this folder do remove *.tmp files. This is garbage left behind by temporary files and not properly removed. Are you sure you didn't file find on temp*? Can't say I've have ever seen 'Cookies' as a folder under C:\windows\temp.

The problem with *.tmp files is that it can get so large in space utilization that a hard drive with less than 300MB (running MS Office appps, for example) can become very problemsome. Your virtual memory and swap file may then work very poorly - what the hard drive cannot handle efficiently, your memory resources takes the hit.

A 'tight' hard drive (particularly a boot drive) can become more easily fragmented more quickly. Hence more diligence is necessary in running SCANDISK and DEFRAG than might otherwise be the case. Your other point of investigation is the amount of space allocated to temporary internet files. You can reduce maximum space allocation allowed, periodically delete (garbage persistence of non-expiring files), or move it to another partition or drive.
 
Thanks alot for your informative responses guys.

To: Jakespeare -I'm going to try your suggestion now regarding the SET CLASSPAth and ya I've been hearing alot about Norton being problematic. I actually find that it's not too bad, but i do agree with crashguard -it's a really crappy program.

To: vop - yep I definAtely went to c:\WINDOWS\TEMP
I have about 75 MB of crap in there including html files, javascript, gifs, zip files and lots of various folders.
So I'm deleting them selectively (the ones that I know won't be a problem deleting)

Regarding some of these files I'm curious about a few of them: I have a whole bunch that are labeled '_istmp1.dir' or similar and files like '00000007' and '0000000c' .
Are these okay to delete ?
The Cookies folder contains 5 '.txt' files and 'index.dat' But I also found the same folder in C:/windows/Cookies so I guess it's just a copy

Thanks again
 
fxcolin,

RE: Temp files in C:\Windows\Temp

_istmp = install temp file

> Here is what I do in TEMP to clean up (on every computer I do, including the critical Customer computers, and I have never had a problem using this method:

> I delete everything by chronological order. I save ALL the newer files, and that's the judgement call.
Generally I save everything that is 30-days, or newer.

I go to that folder, and change the VIEW by using MODIFIED,
and this changes the order of the files - to the date.
I then change it to NEWEST AT THE TOP........ and look down the list.
At 30-days, or so, I then delete everything below that.

> Also: For safety's sake, if you want to remove them all..... do step one I just listed.
>> Next: Make a folder ..... ON C: called - TEMP DELETE, and move ALL the rest of the files that you don't delete the first time,,,,, all of them.
Then, they are removed from the TEMP folder, but not deleted, YET.
If you have NO problems with your system, for say a week, I assume that they are safe to delete.
(nothing is ever 100% certain in Windows, but this I have found to let you have backup, and a margin of safety)

> You could also do this with ALL the files, if your being super - cautious the first time.
Wait 2-weeks,,,,,and no problems, delete all.

GL.
 
ALSO:

You also asked about these:

Regarding some of these files I'm curious about a few of them: I have a whole bunch that are labeled '_istmp1.dir' or similar and files like '00000007' and '0000000c' .
Are these okay to delete ?
The Cookies folder contains 5 '.txt' files and 'index.dat' But I also found the same folder in C:/windows/Cookies so I guess it's just a copy

If you really want to check what they are, you can try opening some with WORDPAD..... or NOTEPAD and see what they say. You could also look at the dates, and compare those with other files of the same time, and read a few. They are just files that a program that you are installing has used to setup the program. They are generally worthless after you reboot after installing.

*** Sometimes,,,,,, there is a problem removing a program, and I don't equate having had cleaned the TEMP folder out with this, since any GOOD program will put a
"isdlt" file, or an "install delete" file in the root directory of the program file, which makes a list of the installation process, and is used for the removal of that program.
I suppose, some programs would leave behind that file, or other such information in the TEMP folder to do the uninstall. Shame on them.

 
Hey Jakespeare,

Thanks alot for all the info. My computer's never been faster and stable. I routinely have more than 8 windows open at any given time and it's holding up really well. It's really great knowing that there are people who are eager to share information and help others with the learning curve.
I do have one other quick question. After I've done everything suggested, my user resources and GDI are at top peak which is great, but what about RAM ?
I have 384 MB and when I reboot the computer before opening any windows I only have 275 MB available. Any ideas? If I only had the standard 128MB I'd probably be having some problems. What could be eating 100 MB of RAM ??

Thanks Again
 
fxcolin indicates that: Scan Reg; Load QM; Driver 32; Lotus Organizer; and two occasions of Load Power Profile are loaded at startup. Open msconfig and uncheck both occasions of Load Power Profile (you obviously have it listed twice in your run at startup programs), and uncheck all of the others that can be run when you desire them to run. Having programs load that are not needed is a tremendous waste of resources. Power Profile is rather a silly program to monitor power usage while using up power to power itself. If you wish to run it, then run it on an as needed basis. The same holds true for Lotus Organizer and I don't know what Driver 32 is, unless it relates to a kernel. In which case I don't understand why it's referring to it as though it were a program. Load QM is unknown to me and I imagine that it needn't load at startup either.

I have programs that must load at startup, i. e., TweakUI which must maintain its settings; GoBack which constantly runs in background so that I may reverse registry changes to an earlier state in case of a catastrophe, as well as my virus protection program. These kinds of programs, as well as systray, are the only programs that must load at startup. Programs like Winamp will put an icon in the systray which should immediately be unchecked from msconfig. Why should an mp3 player start up each time the computer is turned on? Is it necessary for the fundamental operation of the operating system? This is how you should scrutinize your msconfig programs.

Regards,

richudson

 
Internet files that you mention are not typically by default found in C:\windows\temp\. All mine are found in a folder c:\windows\temporary internet files\. That is the default setup location for such files.

It is possible to designate a different folder from default for internet files. This seems to be the case for you. The typical files found in the two folders seem to have been combined into c:\windows\temp\. The only question that you must ascertain is whether the contents in that folder are strictly temp and internet files. In that case, all files can be purged without consequence at any time.

In my segregated folders I can and do safely delete (at least weekly) all files in c:\windows\temp\ without any concerns or consequences. The same goes for c:\windows\temporary internet files\ which I purge periodically (every six months or yearly) to start all over from a clean slate (as when majority of sites no longer accessed anymore or too much irrelevant and non-expiring content exists).

The two folders really need to be separate since many internet files have continuing relevance in the case of websites being revisited. Temp files are garbage immediately after their temporary scatchpad role has been served. The system will recreate any missing folders should that temp functionality requirement turn up again.
 
My last comments assume that you are using Internet Explorer as your browser.
 
The two instances of "Load Power Profile" are not duplicates. They are loading different parts of the profile including details such as how long till the monitor goes to sleep and how it does that, how long till the hard drives turn off, etc and those are loaded by reg keys run and run=. Another thing you can look at for a little of the memory being used is goto a dos prompt and type:
set <enter>
and see if there are any large environment variables being set. On the files in the temp folder.... move them out to another folder while you are deciding what to do with them. A large number of files in that folder can have a detrimental affect on performance and stability whether they are being used or not.
 
I agree with Mechelsdic. Load Power Profile should be left checked if you wish use Power Management options with monitor, hard disks, and power off at shutdown. The reason there is more than one instance is because you have more than one profile in Windows. Assuming you enter a username and password at startup, both should be left checked. Even if you don't, it's hard to say which one would be safe to uncheck.

Like it's already been said, istmp directories are usually safe to delete. Most are created when an application/game is installed. C:\Windows\Temp is one default directory that install setups will often use. They are supposed to delete these folders and files the next time after a reboot. Often times, they are poorly written or interrupted which would help explain why they're still there. If you're not sure, it's always a good idea to leave them in your recycle bin (or some other folder as Jakespeare recommended) for at least a week before permanently removing them.


As far as what's eating your RAM:

It's a bit more complicated than this, but Windows will use up more memory as you add more to the system. This is because it will attempt to spread itself more throughout the swap file and physical RAM.
For example, on one of my systems, the scenario was like this:
- with 64MB RAM, 20-25MB free (35+MB used by Windows)
- with 128MB RAM, 50-60MB free (60+MB used by Windows)
- with 256MB RAM, 150MB free (100+MB used by Windows)

Once you've go over 256MB, Windows won't expand much more. That's generally why most will say that anything more is really just a waste, unless you do heavy multimedia editing with audio or video.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Part and Inventory Search

Sponsor

Back
Top