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I have a Dell XPS B800r with a 40GB hard disk and 256MB of RAM (Rambus) running Windows 98SE. Ever since I bought the machine I have been plagued by Windows running out of system resources, which eventually forces me to re-boot.
I have re-formatted my C drive and re-installed Windows to no avail. I have edited my start-up programs using ‘msconfig’ to ensure that only the programs I really need are running but I still cannot get the computer to start with much more than 70% free resources.
My next step was to try and see if any of the ‘necessary’ programs were using up too much of the resources and I found WinFaxPro 10 to be one of the worst culprits. However, even disabling WinFax does not solve the problem.
Additionally, not only does the amount of free resources start at a lowish level but the resources continue to decrease so that now, for example, I only have 44% free resources and I am only running IE5.5 and Outlook.
Dell have said there is nothing more they can do to help.
Would installing Windows ME possibly help? I am a home user so Windows 2000 is not really an option.
Any help or suggestions would be very much appreciated.

P.S. Does anybody know how to remove unwanted entries from the ‘msconfig’ Start-up list?

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Dell’s have been known to have this problem, also a lot of the Screen savers will eat up the resources.
What programs do you have running that “really need’?

Also what programs are you going into and out of?

Me would not help if you are having problems. It is NOT a real upgrade. It is a good OS for those that do NOT what to tweak their machine or who do not know much about a computer.

DaveA I am so far behind, I think I am First
Genealogy....confusing the dead and annoying the living

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Hi Haydor:
Losing resources with Win98 will happen. You should regain most of it when you exit your program, but it will happen. Ever try to start Word right after you reboot? Then close it & start Word again. The second time is faster. Each program you load & then unload will use a little bit of your resources up.

I have Win 98SE with a lean startup. However, once I load my network card (so I can access the Internet), start my antivirus, & a couple other “necessary” apps, I start with about 67%.

And yes, here’s how to get rid of unwanted items from the msconfig startup panel.

1. Back up your registry.
2. Start regedit. Better yet go to
http://www.zdnet.com/pcmag/filters/downloa…6008597,00.html%5B/url%5D & download regedit plus.
3. If you use Regedit plus, you will find a favorites menu that includes startup items. You can find it yourself by pressing Ctrl+F & looking in HKey_Local_Machine & HKey_Current_User for keys such as Run, RunServices, RunOnce. These & the ones that are Run-, RunServices- will have all the entries. You can delete an entry if you wish. HOWEVER, make sure it’s not something you need (like power profile twice).

By the way, I regularly run the resource meter & wait until it’s in the yellow before I reboot. I even continue after it’s in the yellow. Resources are meant to be used.

Another program you might want to download from the same ZD Net source is “EndItAll”. It’s wonderful. That way you can surf the net with everything running & when you quit & just want to run Word or some game, you shut everything off just by clicking an icon.

Oh, you might want to look at a book called “Optimizing Windows for Games, Graphics & Multimedia” by David Farqubar, published by O’Reilly.

Hope this helps.

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Phil,

Thanks for all this great info.

Regarding removing items from startup, isn’t it easier (+ safer) to just run “msconfig” and uncheck the items in the Startup tab?

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Absolutely, it’s safer. But I think the question was how to remove the items out of the startup tab entirely. When you uncheck an item from msconfig/startup, all that happens is that the item is moved from Run to Run- (or RunServices to RunServices-). It still remains on the Startup tab so that you can recheck it, if you want. Every once in awhile, you might know that you want to remove something permanently. (I have to confess that I often edit the registry without backing it up. But I do know that I have automatic backups once a day).

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Optiplex RAM Dam Perplexes

Haydor

This my first visit to the forum, and what great stuff. I have a Dell Optiplex GX 110 800mhz w/ 128 mgs of ram and I am continually facing the same issue as you. The Dell site has no info on this, and I my troubleshooting has followed the same patterns as Phil. I load the resource meter at startup, and as with Phil

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Hi Wynnski:
“I am running a fixed size swap file, (2.5 times the amount of ram) and I was curious on your feelings about this concept.”

I had more of a problem in Win 95, but I find that setting a minimum size for the swap file prevents the hard drive from “whirring” at inappropriate times. Since I have a huge hard drive, space isn’t a problem. From what I’ve read, it’s not good to set a maximum size. It can’t hurt, if you don’t need it, but if Window’s really needs a larger max, then you crash.

One book I was reading recommended running everything that you think you’ll ever run, all at the same time & use the Resource Monitor to check the size of the Swap File. Then add a little extra & use that as your maximum. Rather than go to that trouble, I just don’t set a maximum.

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Re: Swapfile size. Yes 2 1/2 times your physical RAM is the recommended figure. But use this figure for both your Minimum and Maximum sizes. After entering these numbers, reboot your machine and run Defrag. I use Norton’s “Speed Disk” which also optimizes your HD and Swapfile, putting it at the outer edge so that access speed is greatly increased. Also, by setting your Swapfile size to be permanent, it won’t defrag. I have noticed significant improvements in performance. And, if you don’t like the way things run, just return to the “System Properties/Performance/Virtual Memory” dialog and check to have Windows manage it.

It is well known that physical RAM has nothing to do with System Resource levels. Resources are built into the computer itself and they are affected by applications, etc. Your problem sounds like there is at least one item consuming your resources that is not accessible in the typical ways; e.g., msconfig/startup or “Ctrl Alt Del” keys. On my own PC, leaving Explorer, System Tray, Load PowerProfile, and Antivirus protection, and a couple of misc. items checked, I register 89% Resources on bootup. There should be no reason you too should not have a mimimum of 85% Resources available on startup! Scream loudly at Dell!!

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I also have a Dell 750 Mhz with 256 ECC RAM running Win98SE and Office 2000 and experience the same problems with systems resources even though I have 15GB free on my hard drive. My system frequently crashes when working with linked Word & Excel files. I have noticed that the hard drive seems to run constantly with variable speeds when letting Windows manage the swap file. Sometimes the entire system hangs while the disk spins at full speed. I have thought about a fixed swap file which I guess would be 640MB, however, I believe that the real problem is with the Dell design. Do other Dell users with these problems know what to do?

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