Provided by H4 Inc. with compliments

Some important info

OS Decay:

    Well, what is it?.. It it like radioactive decay or tooth decay or something.. Not really, It's a condition which your Windows 95/98 system will gradually develop over time.. How do you know, this is what your system is suffering from?..  Difficult to say.  If However, even after all your maintenance tasks are performed successfully, your system still is not performing up to par. There may not be anything that you can do—your system may be suffering from a terminal condition known as OS (Operating System) Decay. It manifest itself in many ways. 

        Your Windows system has been behaving strangely.  Weird and unexpected error messages.

"This Program has performed an illegal operation and will be shutdown"

        You're experiencing more system crashes or lockups than you used to. 

        Your system has been running sluggishly—taking longer to load applications or find files 

        The operating system directory becomes littered with bits and pieces of executables, DLLs, drivers, INI files, Registry files.

    When this begins to happen, you need to break out your utility toolbox and go to work in an effort to resuscitate your system. You should remove unnecessary files (Temporary Internet Files), empty the Recycle Bin, and then run ScanDisk, and Disk Defragmenter. You may even use a Registry tool, such as Microsoft RegClean, to remove unnecessary information from the Registry.  Some look at the OS decay problem much as you would an aging automobile—no matter how well you take care of it, eventually, you're going to have to buy a new one.  Once your system begins going down this path however, there will eventually be only one solution—and that will be to reload  your Operating System from scratch, using either you restore CD or your Windows 95/98 CD.. Depends on how your system had been built initially..  If you have documentation describing how to restore your system or you know how, first backup all of your data files then follow the restore instructions carefully. Before you begin the restore or re-installation process,  be sure you have/create a a Windows 95/98 startup disk that contains your real-mode CD-ROM device drivers.  I guess it should be small consolation to know that unlike your car, you don't have to buy a new computer to solve the OS decay problem—you just have to rebuild the system from scratch. You can link to ZDNet to get more complete info on OS Decay, and backing-up and rebuilding your system.

Disk space vs. Speed:

    Cleanliness is next to godliness as far as your hard drive is concerned. Windows performance is directly related to the amount of free space and the nature of this free space. There's no better way to improve the performance and lengthen the life of your aging machine than to clean up and free-up disk space.. I thought that my Machine was getting slow and old..  Nah...  Turns out I needed to free up some disk space and do a bit of scheduled maintenance.. You know if you buy a Machine today, say 1.3 GHz CPU with 128 Megs of RAM and a 40 Gig Hard Drive,  why for the love of technology would you ever need more space or a faster CPU..  It's funny though, I remember when I thought, wow a 100 Meg Hard Drive and a 33 MHz CPU, I am set for life..  Well, it's okay, I know lousy vision and poor insight..  What wouldn't I give for good vision and insight..  With today's applications, both disk space and CPU speed are important.. (not nearly as important as us developing a bit of patience.. sorry can't resist the philosophy..).. So, some quick points on disk space and CPU speed.. 

    Buy as fast a CPU and with as much Cache (not cash) as you can afford..  It is much easier to increase disk space later if necessary than to upgrade to a faster CPU..  You could figure why or we could discuss it on another page or in another venue..  

    Unused programs clutter your hard drive, rob you of valuable space and ultimately slowing down system performance. Hard drive clutter also causes conflicts with the actively used applications on your system. Your machine will show significantly faster performance and increased stability when you remove unused programs... Don't be a pack rat..  Plus you have CDR and CD/RW with very low media prices, save your junk on CD's... 

    Your Windows Registry is a database (big file) of all your system's hardware and software settings. Whenever a Windows 95/98 program is installed/uninstalled/modified, Windows updates the Registry to reflect the changes.  That's how it's supposed to work, but does real life imitate art. System crashes, lousy uninstall programs, and good old bad luck will clutter your Registry, leaving it full of inaccurate associations, incorrect lists of installed programs, and all sorts of other junk that will slow down and even crash your Windows 95/98 OS...  Run Microsoft's  RegClean to automatically cleanup your registry. It can also reverse any changes you make and restore your previous Registry settings if something goes wrong. 

    More RAM, well if we all had more memory, then we would function better.. (I think we repeat the same old mistakes because we forget.. What do you think?..). Well, if your Windows 95/98 system is running on less than 64MB of RAM, I suggest that you  upgrade to 128 Megs.  This will speed things up considerably...  RAM is inexpensive today.. Won't stay that way forever..

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A Quick Start:

    Don't auto-start Anything. There is nothing's slower than having to wait for your computer to load and start a bunch of programs each times it starts up. To stop a program from launching at start-up, just rename the Windows Startup group. 

        Right-Click Start -> Click Open -> Double-Click Programs..

        Right-Click Startup -> Click Rename -> Type New name (Ex. Startupold) -> Press <Enter>

    You could delete the Startup group, however I suggest that you rename it..  It does not consume much resource, and in the event you really need to run one of those programs at start up..  Then it becomes a simple task of restoring the name.. If you delete, then you have to recreate the group, and I surely would not remember what was in it and the specific syntax..

Another way would be to create a folder called StartMe and copy the items from your Startup folder which you do not want to start automatically.

        Right-Click Start -> Click Open -> Double-Click Programs..

        Right-Click in the Window (Not on text or an icon) -> Go Click New -> Go Click Folder..

        Type StartMe -> Press <ENTER> ..

        Double-Click Startup -> Right-Click the Icon representing the program you don't want to start automatically...

        Go Click Cut -> Click X in top right corner of window..

        Double-Click StartMe -> Right- Click in the Window (Not on text or an icon) -> Go Click Paste

        Repeat these steps for every program you don't want started automatically..

    Yet another way to manage system start up is the Windows 98's System Information tool. (Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools -> System Information). Simply expand the Software Environment menu and choose Startup Programs. This will show you any programs that are automatically launched by the Registry. To keep these programs from autostarting, simply remove the check mark next to the program name.  This does however require some expert knowledge and is not suggested for the Novice user, unless you interpret and understand each process you are disabling.

    When Windows 98 boots up, it wastes time scanning for new floppy drives. You can reclaim these lost seconds via the System Control Panel applet (Start/Settings/Control Panel/System, or right-click My Computer and choose Properties). Select the Performance tab; click the File System button; select the Floppy Disk tab; and uncheck the option "Search for new floppy disk drives every time your computer starts." 

Speed Up Reboots
If you think Windows 98 takes too long to boot, you can remove the built-in two-second delay in the OS's start-up sequence. Here's what you need to do:

      Click the Start button -> Find  -> Files or Folders.
      Enter msdos.sys in the Named box and C: in the Look In box. Click  Find Now.
      Right Click the  filename when it appears. Go Click Properties from the pop-up menu.
      Click to remove the check marks from the Read-Only and Hidden attributes.   Click OK.
      Right-click msdos.sys.  Go to Open With.  Select Notepad. Click OK.
      Under Options, enter BootDelay=0.
      Save the file and Close Notepad.
      Reset the attributes of msdos.sys to  Hidden and Read-only. 
      Quit and restart Windows.

Warning: Any time you make changes to your SYS files, it's a good idea to back up your important files and have your original Windows disk on hand in case you need to reinstall.
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A Maintenance Schedule:

    Your father always said that if you change the oil in your car as needed, your car will run forever. Well, the same wisdom kinda works for your Windows 95/98 computer. Perform a few regular maintenance tasks and you will keep your Windows 95/98 system running smoothly.. And you didn't think that you computer had oil... Weellll, you're right..  So exactly what am I running on about?... Scandisk and Defrag, of course..  Scandisk verifies the integrity of the disk media and will move data from areas of questionable integrity to good areas.. This improves data access to your hard drive and will help your computer run faster.. It's like moving your car out of the swamps onto the Interstate.. When data is being accessed from an area of poor integrity, the system may have to try several times before it performs an error free access.. 

Defragging..  What is defragging.. You know the first time I heard this word, you know what I  thought?..  Well, you probably thought the same thing.. Right?.. And I understand why.. Anyway, let me explain what this is.. Let's say you that you had several dozen different colored eggs in a few baskets, and the eggs were all mixed together.. Yeah scrambled eggs, I know.. If I said, give me all the red eggs. You would have to sort through the baskets and find all the reds eggs.. Well I know that you're smart like me and would soon figure out after I had asked you several times for all the eggs of a specific color, that to you should sort the eggs of the same color each into their own baskets.. (That's a long sentence, but I know you got it..)..  Next time I came and asked for eggs, you would amaze me with your efficiency..  Now, that's what Defrag is all about.. All the eggs are pieces of your files, all the blue eggs would make a single file and all the teal eggs another file and so on.. The baskets are contiguous clusters (Clusters are storage areas on your Hard Disk.. That's another topic..) on the disk and windows accesses contiguous clusters much more efficiently than discontinuous clusters..  So, when do you and how do you schedule these things..  well when is somewhat subjective, I have seen recommendations.. Every seven days, every thirty days, every ninety days.. For me it depends on machine usage and I do my maintenance manually rather than scheduled..  I use my machine daily make ScanDisk or Defrag decisions once a month.. 

        Click Start -> Programs -> Accessories  -> System Tools ( -> ScanDisk or  -> Disk Defragmenter.).

These tasks take a long time to complete and are best scheduled or run in the evening..  To schedule the them use the Task Scheduler.. You should have an Icon in your system tray for the Task Scheduler or you could open My Computer (Double Click it) and double click Task Scheduler. Click Add Scheduled Task and follow the prompts.... You could also use the Maintenance Wizard.. 

        Click Start -> Programs -> Accessories  -> System Tools -> Maintenance Wizard..

Virus Protection:

    Your virus scanning software is only effective if installed and configured properly.  Additionally, your virus definition files must be kept current.  With the onslaught of new viruses these days, it is strongly suggested that you check for new and updated virus definition files once a month..  Ensuring that your company's information remains available in the event of a  destructive virus outbreak your top priority. As virus technology (yeah technology) advances, you simply need to stay very proactive.. Some viruses require that you understand command line processing. To remove the W32/Klez.h@MM worm and it's aliases you must Click Start -> Run and type a command line.. Some viruses such as W32.Klez.gen@mm cannot be removed while in Windows..  For example you must start from DOS (Yeah DOS) to remove it.   It's a very good idea to have in your possession a boot floppy (Windows 95/98 startup disk). In terms of system configuration, McAfee allows for System Scan,  Email scan and Download scan. Be sure that these scans are enabled, the majority of new viruses are entering your system via email and downloaded files.. Norton Anti-virus by Symantec has similar capabilities and functionality as McAfee.. Which you choose is totally up to you, sometimes there is no accounting for my taste..  There are several other virus scanners/protection software of note,  Innoculate IT by Computer Associates is product worth mentioning..  CA target market is more the business/office user and would cost a small user more than the previous two products.. Stay vigilant about virus threats and read a little more about these fascinating software bugs called viruses.. 

  Restore Windows 9x/Me system files:

You will need your original Windows installation source or access to the Windows cab files at a minimum.   

Boot Windows to Safe Mode:

1. Turn on the computer and  press the F8 key on the keyboard after the POST test is completed and then repeatedly, once every second. Do this until the Windows Startup Menu appears. 

    Note: If you get a keyboard error, press the F1 key or the Key indicated to  resume  and continue pressing the F8 key once every second.
2. Select option #3 (Safe Mode) from the Windows Startup Menu.
3. Press the Enter key on the keyboard. Windows will boot into Safe Mode.
    Note: This may take longer than a normal boot.
4. At the end of the boot process, a dialog box appears confirming that Windows is in Safe Mode. Click the 'OK' button.

Backup the Windows Registry:

1. From the taskbar, click Start -> Run.
2. Type regedit and click OK.
3. The Registry Editor appears. From the toolbar at the top of window, click File -> Export.
4. The Export Registry File dialog box appears. At the top, in the drop-down menu titled "Save in", select       Desktop.
5. In the "File Name" field, type backup or some appropriate filename such as "RegBkup6_19_41".
6. In the "Export range" section, select All.
7. Click Save.

To disable Windows Me System Restore:

        1. Click Start  -> Settings  -> Control Panel.
        2. Double-click the System icon. The System Properties dialog box appears.
            Note: If the System icon is not visible, click "View all Control Panel options" to display it.
        3. Click the Performance tab, and then click File System.
        4. Click the Troubleshooting tab, and then check "Disable System Restore". 
        5. Click OK, and then click Close. Click Yes, when you are prompted to restart Windows.