OS WIN 98SE LOSS OF PERFORMANCE, POOR SYSTEMS RESOURCES

Hi every one out there - usually very late

Has any one noticed that as a computer get older and the operating system has seen many battles, that regardless of what you do, it seems impossible to stop locking and freezing and general slow performance of the computer ? Even using msconfig and limiting programs on start up does not really help. Usb applications appear to make things worse ! A complete clear out [temp/net files etc] helps but is not the real fix. Hardware faults ? Third party program claims are not as they seem.  What thoughts ?

Regards faultfixer