greetings all.......

I have been having a problem for quite a while. Sometimes when I'm just reading mail or in here reading posts, but especially if playing a game (pinochle) on Pogo games, my resources will drop in a matter of minutes from mid 50's to 20% or worse. Have tried closing all unnecessary programs with either Win Patrol or ctrl-alt-delete and that might bring it back up to operating ability, but usually not, have to completely shut down to bring it back up to 50% or better (63% about average start when online).

Any suggestions? Have run Adaware, Spybot, and Avast.....with good results (ie: no spyware or viruses detected)


Motherboard:
CPU Type Intel Pentium III, 500 MHz (5 x 100)
Motherboard Name Dell OptiPlex GX1 500M+
Motherboard Chipset Intel 82440BX/ZX
System Memory 320 MB (SDRAM)
BIOS Type Phoenix (01/06/00)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM1)
Communication Port Communications Port (COM2)
Communication Port ECP Printer Port (LPT1)

Display:
Video Adapter RAGE PRO TURBO AGP 2X (English) (4 MB)
3D Accelerator ATI 3D-Rage Pro
Monitor Dell 828fi [15" CRT] (22794FCJDT99


Let me know if you need any other info.

Blessings and thanks........Beth

Sounds like you have to much starting with Windows, please click Here & Here for instructions on what you need running and what you can start manualy.

Firstly, I would like to dispell a common myth. Fitting a lot of RAM into your PC is not always the answer to making it run well. Windows 98 runs best for most users with 128Mb RAM fitted. Power users running large applications such as AutoCAD or Photoshop might benefit from up to 256Mb but no more than that - it is generally agreed that more than 256Mb RAM actually makes Windows worse, not better.

Secondly, a tidy Windows 98 installation should have at least 80% resources free when you first boot up to the desktop. If it gets as low as 50%, you can generally consider Windows 98 to be about to die and action needs to be taken. If this is normal on your PC, then there's some tidying up to do. I would recommend the following steps (just as a quick sample off the top of my head):

Firstly, print off this response as you should follow the steps without being connected to the Internet.

Secondly, reboot the PC and check your free system resources without opening up any other programs. Note it down.

Then ......

1. Delete the contents of the C:\Windows\Temp folder (not the actual folder itself).
2. Go into Control Panel > Internet Options and click the buttons to delete all temporary Internet files.
3. Clear any CHK files from C:\ (the root folder).
4. Check whether unnecessary programs (or just too many programs) are being loaded up in your system tray (the area at the bottom of the screen next to the clock).
5. Check whether unnecessary programs (or just too many programs) are listed in the Startup folder under Programs on your Start Menu. Delete any entries that you know are not needed.
6. Empty your Recycle Bin (bear in mind that this will permanently wipe anything that you have previously deleted to the Recycle Bin so check that there's nothing in there that you meant to keep).

Reboot again and check your free system resources without loading any additional programs. Has it improved since your last check? Note it down.

7. Run Scandisk on the C:\ drive (and any other hard disk partitions that you might have). This can be found on the Start Menu under Programs > Accessories > System Tools.
8. Run Disk Defragmenter. This can be found on the Start Menu under Programs > Accessories > System Tools. This may take several hours to run if you have a large hard disk.

Reboot again and check your free system resources without loading any additional programs. Has it improved since your last check? Note it down.

Do you still have a lot of startup items loaded up into the system tray?

9. If it's still not above 80% free resources, go into Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel and remove any programs that you do not regularly use.

Reboot again and check your free system resources without loading any additional programs. Has it improved since your last check? Note it down.

10. Finally, if you have made the fatal mistake of choosing AOL as your ISP, go to your local computer store, buy a new PC and make sure you don't let AOL ruin that one, hehe

Hope that helps - let us know whether it improves

Ah, I took so long writing all that that you got in there just before me Bear !

Hey all, thx for quick responses.........
On startup, before running ANYTHING resources are usually between 75-81%. Only items in sys tray on start up are avast, task manager and Win Patrol. Everything else doesn't load until I ask for it. All temp files and cookies are deleted when IP's are closed. I regularly run CCleaner and Clean Up!. We empty recycle bin at least every 2-3 days, unless doing a lot of clearing of specific files, then more often. Defrag at least once a week, more if doing any kind of downloading or deleting of files. Run Scandisk every couple of weeks. And have already removed stuff from add/remove that we don't use.

"5. Check whether unnecessary programs (or just too many programs) are listed in the Startup folder under Programs on your Start Menu. Delete any entries that you know are not needed"

startup folder reads "empty" on program list.

Here's a readout from another site on overall performance:
http://www.pcpitstop.com/techexpress...XQNWQQFFCS0MHU

Best I can do for now I guess.

Thanks............Beth