COMP IS SLOW AFTER INSTALLING WIN 98 2ND ED...PLEASE HELP!

I have Windows 98 running on a Dell Optiplex 250 Pentium II at work (Windows early edition) and it's working fine, but it doesn't have too many things loaded on it. At home I have a Dell 500 P!!! with 128 Mb of RAM and a LOT of stuff loaded. If you have a lot of software loaded, your Resources are probably running low causing your problems. Also I wasn't having the problems, until I downloaded the updates for Windows 98 (a lot of what's in 2nd edition). I have read in a couple of places, that Window updates ( maybe 2nd edition also???) may be a cause of a lot of the Resource and slow operation problems. I was having a serious problem with my icons changing their displays at times as well.

Check your Resources after boot: Right click on "My Computer", click on "Properties" and then click on "Performance". Your Resources should be 85%+ at this point. If not:

With Windows 98, click on "Start", "Run", type in "msconfig" and click on "Startup" tab in System Config. Utility. All the items loading at Startup are listed (checked) here and basically you only need (checked) is "System Tray", "Explorer" if its there and a few more if you deem them nececessary, but they're not. If you have Microsoft Office listed, uncheck it and make a shortcut icon on your desktop. It uses 5% of your Resources alone! If you have any questions about any item, just post them here and you'll get answers to most of the questionable ones. You can recheck them later if you have a problem.

If you don't know, your Resources will degrade after opening and closing programs over time (memory leakage). Download CNET's MemWatcher (shareware) at (download.com) and it will help you keep things running better. Note: I set "AutoFree" to 50Mb with 128 Mb of RAM. You could set it higher I presume with 192 Mb??

Matt-

How did you do the upgrade? From the problems you describe, I assume that you upgraded over W95.

While MS designed W98 and W98SE to upgrade over W95, this is not the optimal way of upgrading your OS.

I would suggest that you back up your data files and install W98SE cleanly. This is especially true if you haven't reinstalled the OS since 1997! There is a FAQ on this topic at the DT Users FAQ. As is my usual practice, I would recommend the FORMAT C: method, especially if you have multiple partitions.

While doing a clean install is a bit scary the first time, it is an easy process. Read the FAQ closely. If you have questions about the process, ask them here and someone will help.

FWIW, I generally do a clean install of W98 every six months or so. I'm currently overdue, since I'm a dedicated member of the "lunatic fringe" and have changed video cards three times since my last install, as well as the modem. I haven't even tried to keep track of the various applications I've installed and uninstalled.

I'm fairly sure that, assuming you upgraded over W95, you will see a noticeable improvement in the functioning of your OS following a clean install. If you already did a clean install, you will need to provide some more information. A good starting point would be to go Start | Run, type in msconfig and click enter. Then go to the startup tab and tell us what is listed.

Lastly, typing in all caps is considered yelling and poor form.

Adios!

I see systray, but not explorer. Where could it be, or is this one and the same. I too have recieved memory too low warnings and cannot figure it out. I just recieved a 733IIIw/Rdram of 128. My old computer never told me anytyhing like thisn and only had 16mbof mem. What gives?

If it's not there, don't worry about it. I don't have it!