hi solon
for the benefit of those just reading this for the first time, and to refresh others, your original post states your problem this way....
"My computer seems to reserve memory for programs and then forget to give it back when the apps are shut down. After it has been on for a few hours, it slows down considerably--and I need to reboot it. Also, my screen is without color (cept for a sickly tinge of green). But when the computer is shut down for a few hours, it will then run a colored screen for a few minutes. I think this must be the same memory problem."
in one sense, i look at your posts and wonder, "where do i begin to help solon?". and in fact, that may be a valid indicator of your problem..... it is a conglomeration of things. so i will speak to the problem with that in mind. i don't know that there is any one thing that anyone here can suggest that will put you right, with the exception of my recommendation to ken adams several days ago.... "my very first inclination is to tell you to migrate to win2000pro. w2k almost never uses up resources the way the win9x os's do." #reply-15905990 . if you go back and look over ken's posts and the responses from various thread members, you will glean some helpful insights and solid ideas concerning memory resource depletion in win98.
i also suggested to ken that, "if you can't migrate to another os, then perhaps you should take a look at what you have running in the background. if you have a lot of applications starting up (and chances are you do), you may find some relief in disabling them, thus making your system resources last a little longer." i see now that ken has been able to boost his available resources considerably by following this general plan. if you ask him, i bet he tells you he's feeling a lot better about things. <g3>
so, to forge ahead, and in no particular order... let's look at version number. you state, "Microsoft Win 98 Ver 4.10.2222 A (is this edition 2? Because I know I used to have edition 2)"
yes, that's win98se. see the following ms support article support.microsoft.com titled, How to Determine the Version of Windows 95/98/Me in Use for more details. here are the important ones...
*******************************
To determine the version of Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me that you are running:
1. Click Start, point to Settings, and then click Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, double-click System.
3. Click the General tab.
4. Locate the version number under the System heading and then see the following table:
Release Version File dates
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Windows 95 retail, OEM 4.00.950 7/11/95
Windows 95 retail SP1 4.00.950A 7/11/95-12/31/95
OEM Service Release 2 4.00.1111* (4.00.950B) 8/24/96
OEM Service Release 2.1 4.03.1212-1214* (4.00.950B) 8/24/96-8/27/97
OEM Service Release 2.5 4.03.1214* (4.00.950C) 8/24/96-11/18/97
Windows 98 retail, OEM 4.10.1998 5/11/98
Windows 98 Second Edition 4.10.2222A 4/23/99
Windows Me 4.90.3000
********************************
next, as i indicated to you in my previous post.... "possibly you need to look for a new driver for your video card. have you ever done that? if not, no prob, we can help." essentially, here's what you must do:
********************************
"Your video drivers need to be up to date. If they
aren't, you're not just missing out on the latest video
performance, you're also taking chances on conflicts
and bugs. Check the age of your driver by:
1. Right-click My Computer and select Properties.
2. Click the Device Manager tab.
3. Click the Display adapters and double-click on the
particular adapter.
4. In the driver's Properties box, click the Driver
tab.
Now you can read details about the driver. Click the
Update Driver button and Windows will look for a newer
replacement."
********************************
moving right along, i believe it is imperative that you run all of the system tools available in win98, kind of an operating system, heal thyself routine. you can access these tools in one of two ways.... click start, run and type msinfo32, then OK.... or follow this clickstream
start|programs|accessories|system tools|system information|tools
once there, avail yourself of all that is offered, especially 'system file checker', 'registry checker', 'directx diagnostic tool' and 'version conflict manager'.
next suggestion is that you visit windows update windowsupdate.microsoft.com and obtain all the software updates available for your computer.
another suggestion involves system maintenance. when did you last defrag? when did you last run a disk scanner? do you frequently dump your temp internet files? and what about antivirus software? do you run it? is it current? is your system clean?
if you feel comfortable opening your pc case, have you been in there to vacuum it out (if you have a pet, you'll find a lot of what used to reside on the pet now residing inside your computer!) and to blow out what you can't reach with a vacuum? [***standard disclaimer here about don't touch any components with the vacuum***]
and while you're in there, make sure everything is shut down, then remove your memory sticks and reseat them. same for the video card. be sure to touch a bare metal portion of your case before doing this to ground yourself and discharge static electricity that can zap these sensitive components.
back to software utilities suites, briefly... you noted, "I also have "Nuts and Bolts, Deluxe" (disabled) available. It only seemed to add to my memory problems, etc. So I uninstalled it." while i have no personal experience with this product, i do have experience with norton stuff, like norton utilities and systemworks. when allowed to do their thing, they can find and fix a ton of system errors and keep your pc running smoothly. if you care to investigate this software more thoroughly, let us know and we can elaborate. meanwhile, if nuts and bolts is still around, you could always "plug it in" and let it do its maintenance thing, then disable it again. just a thought.
well, i've provided some ideas for you. i hope i haven't made mud out of clear water. i'll wait to hear back from you regarding any of the above. please feel free to ask away here on the thread, solon.
btw, the other day tc suggested that you use the slide adjustment on the hardware acceleration. the instructions he pasted said...
"Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Display.
On the Settings tab, click Advanced.
On the Performance tab, click the slider bar to lower the Hardware acceleration setting to None.
Click OK, then click OK again to return to Control Panel."
i would take minor issue with that instruction, but only to the point that the adjustment should be made one notch at a time, checking after each notch to see if the incremental change has had any effect.
that's all for now....
hope this helps
:)
mark |
