win98 pauses/freezes momentarily

[Glade]

Okay, this problem is driving me crazy. Ever since I reinstalled Windows on my machine (after it crashed completely), I've had this problem where my computer freezes or pauses anywhere from a few seconds to up to a minute, then continues normally.

This does not seem to happen according to any particular pattern. I'll be playing video clips on my computer using Windows Media Player, after I close one clip I'll double-click on another one in Explorer, and nothing will happen. It's frozen. I am usually still able to move between windows that I have open already, but if I try to run any new programs, nothing will happen, or at most, the program's splash screen will display but nothing else. Then I wait a for a bit, and everything will happen all at once - all the programs that I clicked on load immediately, or whatever.

Or I'll be surfing the net, and I'll need to open up another copy of IE - I'll click on the IE button, and nothing will happen. Frozen again. During this time web pages will hang as well - pages will not load, they will just sit there. After a few moments, the new IE will pop up and web pages will load, etc.

If I hit Ctrl-Alt-Del while this is going on, it sometimes will say that one or more programs are not responding - usually Explorer, Exploring C: (if I have explorer open), and Microsoft Internet Explorer. However, after I wait, they will start "responding" again and the "not responding" designation will disappear.

I originally thought this may be a virus (I've noticed that for some reason, my computer occasionally reads my a. But my virus software is completely up-to-date. I also came across an explanation that said it could be some program that is taking up all my system resources. However, I have tried shutting down various programs in the task manager with no change, and I have also tried keeping a copy of the "System Properties - Performance" window open, to see if something was gobbling up all my RAM when this happened, but there is no change.

Any help you can give me on this one would be most appreciated. Like I said, I'm running Windows 98 (with the latest service packs installed), my system is an AMD Athlon 1 Ghz with 512 Mb DDR RAM. Any other details you'd like to know just ask and I'll post them up.

Regards,

-Adrian

 

[jmatt]

2 things to try for starters .

The best way to improve swap file ( Virtual Memory ) usage on systems ( W9x/ME ) with more than 64Meg RAM is this:

DON'T set any min/max parameters . Let Windows handle it!
Put this entry in the system.ini file under [386enh] .
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
Check on your swap file occasionally; if you haven't been playing games or running intensive apps, the swap file often will be 0 (zero).

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Clean out all your temp files & your may have a corrupt applog file .

Delete all the files ( except the read only file )
in Windows > Applog . Taskmon will rebuild the Applog file .

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;q218160

To view Applog , do this .
Windows Explorer > View > Folder Options > View , click on Show all files . Click OK .

http://www.windows-help.net/windows98/start-17.shtml

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http://www.danish-shareware.dk/soft/emptemp/

Empty Temp Folders (emptemp) helps you manage folders that contain temporary files, left over by other applications. It's easy to add any folder and you can empty a folder (or all folders) with one click.

Also emptemp will let you list and delete cookies, history files and temporary internet files (this requires MS Internet Explorer version 5+).

Emptemp also has a search function to let you find and delete temporary files outside the normal temp folders. Any program can leave behind temporary files or backup files anywhere on your harddisk. These files have file types like .tmp, .bak, .old and .log. You can add your own
file types.

Emptemp also displays the amount of memory the content of the clipboard takes up, and lets you delete it. And it can find broken shortcuts (.lnk files) on your harddisk, so you can delete or fix them.

 

[cdogg]

Have you tried limiting the # of apps that load with Windows?

You want to go to your startup folder and get rid of as much as you can, keep junk from starting on the System Tray (where the clock is), and use msconfig to clear any other hidden programs. When you go to the startup tab of msconfig, be sure you know what you're unchecking before you do...

Also, this may be a long shot, but do you have the option of taking the amount of RAM down to 256MB? If so, do it and see if you notice a difference.


~cdogg

 

[chambemd]

Hmm, this sounds suspiciously like the problem I posted a day or two ago...

thread615-276784 try some of these suggestions tonight, but I'm anxious to see if anyone comes up with anything else...

Matt

 

[ANFPS26]

It could also be your anti-virus software, esp. if you have McAfee. Try disabling it and see if you still freeze up. "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing....."

 

[svenerik]

Just remember I had this kind of problem. I nailed it down to the USB-mouse. When I changed it to the standard OS-2 port the problem was gone away.

svenerik

 

[Glade]

Okay, I've tried these suggestions, including:

- Put this entry in the system.ini file under [386enh].
ConservativeSwapfileUsage=1
- Delete all the files (except the read only file)
in Windows > Applog
- use msconfig to clear any other hidden programs (although I didn't clear that many, how do I tell which ones I need and which ones I can get rid of?)
- disabling my anti-virus (which is not McAfee, btw)

I don't have a USB mouse, so that's not it (I have nothing plugged into the USB anyway)

The problem remains. Where should I go from here?

Regards,

-Glaed

 

[ANFPS26]

Have you run a spyware detection and removal utility. You can get Ad-Aware at

http://www.lsfileserv.com/

if you don't already have it. Sometimes spyware can cause freezing. "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing....."

 

[Glade]

^^^ Oh yeah, I forgot to add that in the list of things I've tried. I've used Ad-Aware for a while now, it's a very helpful utility but it has not solved my problem.

-Adrian

 

[jmatt]

Did you put W98 over the top of the previous install or did you fdisk , reboot & then format ?

Here are some extra cleaners to try , they all specialise in a different area .


Microsoft's Regclean ( freeware ) , very conservative .
By default it puts the 3 files into Windows Temp .
I prefer them in Unzipped .
Right click in an empty space in Unzipped , select Folder & name it RegClean .

http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description/0,fid,4666,00.asp

---------------

OleClean ( Freeware . Tick all the boxes in Options ) from ,

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=oleclean

http://users.aol.com/axcel216/toy.htm

FREE 9x/NT/2000/ME/XP SYSTEM + REGISTRY FIXERS

----------------

RegCleaner ( freeware )

http://www.vtoy.fi/jv16/index.shtml

RegCleaner , I set it up this way it this way .
Options > Registry Cleanup > Method , click Automatic ( this puts a tick alongside )Options > Registry Cleanup > OLE Cleaner , click on Extra Powerfull .
Click on Tools > Registry Cleanup > Do them All .
This removes & places them in RegCleaner's Backup for removal in a couple of weeks , when you are sure they are not required .