Computer assist needed !

[Lucky_Phill]

I have removed a lot of ' stuff ' from the Temp files and also other areas/

I now have 34gig free space on 1 drive. I could not find another drive. Only says C drive.

as for the clicking on c:\. when I do this, just a lot of folders and other ' icons ' appear, No blue stuff ??

Sorry, maybe I am doing something wrong ??

I highlighted all files and things, right clicked and clicked on properties. No can find' compression ". only says ' OK," " Cancel " Apply "

I am more than likely doing something wrong. ?

Phill

[Lucky_Phill]

I did however go into the system Info.

System Resources are 67% free
User Resources are 67% free
GDI Resources are 73% free

Sys info 64% system resources Free

Available 34510mb of 38124mb ( FAT 32 ) on Drive C

Any help for you guys ?

Phill

[blaze]

big hammer phil
sold computers in a past life and you are getting good info
big hammer phil
did i mention a big hammer
cheers
blaze

[BrandonH]

No your not doing anything wrong mate, If the files arn't blue there not compressed and thats good The options to change this might be in a different place in win98, I can't check cause i dont run a 98 box anymore. Anyways try running scandisk in dos, instructions below.

1 - Run ScanDisk in DOS by going to Start, Shut Down, Restart in DOS. At the
C:\Windows prompt, type SCANDISK and press Enter. Six items will be displayed to
be checked. The first five will be checked automatically, and you'll be told about the
disposition of any errors that might have been found.
2 - Finally, you'll be asked if you want to run the sixth item, Surface Scan. This one can take
a long time, so I usually do it when I expect to be away from the PC for a few hours.
3 - When finished running ScanDisk in DOS, type EXIT and press Enterr to return to Windows.

If it dosnt' want to run in dos then there is either a Operating system bug that would probablly require a reinstall, or a trojan or adware program running and stuffing things up. Have a look in the startup menu for anything strange.. (Start - Programs - startup). there are a couple of spots in the registry that could hold doggy programs to.

Also have you been it microsoft for updates to windows 98 in the last couple of months? if not doing this would patch up some holes that crap can get in through..

[Lucky_Phill]

Thanks Brandon, will follow instructions.


NO Blaze,,, not time for the Hammer .....yet !

I uploaded Microsoft patchs just a couple of dates ago. All up to date there !

I will attempt this tonight when all is quite on the boards...yeah as if

Phill

[Lucky_Phill]

Brandon, I did the DOS thingie. The following is information I saw:-

352,256 bytes- lost files or directories. Choose SAVE and may end up FILE0000.CHK

TYPE command to view contents.

SAVED.....fixing problem. Wanted to save “ changes to disk “ NO.

Told me a Surface Scan will take 2hrs and 15 minutes.

It actually took 3hrs and 40 minutes.
checked 4,879,933 Clusters and then 43 lost clusters were saved as files.

Do or can I defrag my computer now ?

CHeers Phill

[BrandonH]

Kewl we are getting somewhere!!!

yeah try a defrag under normal cercumstances now (not in safe mode and withough closing down progs) I would think now (after a scandisk and a reboot) that defrag would run but it still may have issues that we may need to work around, so if it dosn't work stright up get into safe mode and try, if that dosn't work try closing down all programs and processes and trying again. it will more than likly take as long as your scandisk too

With windows 98 i would suggest running a scandisk (basic) and defrag every month. if you keep this up you will NEVER have to wait 3 hours for it to finish (basic scandisk and defrag) as you will be fixing a small number of problems each time rather than waiting for 12 months and trying to fix a HUGE number of problems. (something that isn't as nessacery in windows XP with NTFS (newer drive formating)).
If you can get a defrag happening now i think 90% of your dramas should disapear

Let me know how you go and give me a holla if you would like a quote on an upgrade, being an old HP box I am 80% sure you will need a new box (housing) about $60 for a decent one that won't rattle like crazy after 12 months!! Everything else other than your Hard drive, floppy drive, keyboard, mouse and monitor would need to be replaced (unless you don't want a DVD burner for an extra $54.00 ).

cheers
Brandon..

[JewseeTHAT]

format C: would cure a lot of problems too.

[Lucky_Phill]

Tried to Defrag under normal circumstances with " proggs " ( whatever they are ) closed down. Guess What ? Not enough memory.

so I will attempt to do this under safe mode. stay tuned.

Format C drive. Without my recovery disc here, I won't be attempting that one., But I may have to, hey ?

Phill

[BrandonH]

Lol Progs is short for programs sorry

[subzero]

Brandon, would this perhaps indicate the hard drive is starting to fail? I only tinker, but to me I would have thought that may have been the problem.
Cheers Lloyd

[Canoedle]

It's more likely that windows 98 has simply loaded way too much into memory as it's what we call a 'bastard' operating system, ie. a 16bit system trying to work in 32bit mode. I would be backing up any stuff you need Phil and getting your hands on some more RAM (at least 256MB) and installing XP, your system will handle it just fine. Otherwise, I agree with Blaze

[BrandonH]

Subzero, if the HDD was failing i think scandisk would have found some bad clusters. it also sounds like this Pc has had a new drive installed sometime in the last 12 or so months is that right Phil? (size of Hard drive compaired to age of the system) I agree that 98 isn't a great OS but it can run very well if maintained with frequent defrags.

Canoedle, I agree that 98 could be "overloaded" with software or crap and causing the dramas Phil is having. but i belive 256mb of ram would be minium for XP especally if running the latest version of office. our standard at work is 1024mb of ram and has been for over 12 months now. don't get me wrong it will run, but it will take awhile to load up initially and will potentially freeze quite often when working hard.

Cheers
Brandon...

[Archer]

Yerp i agree with Brandon loading XP onto it would be a bad move. It would be very slow no matter how much RAM is in it.
Win 98 is fine for an older system.
Been a while since ive done much work on a 98 machine but if my memory servers me correctly if you open "run" from the start menu and type in sfc.exe than hit enter it will do a check on your system files and repair if required. This may fix your problem Phill...
More RAM would be a good idea on an older system like that going from 64Mb to 128Mb will increase performance/loadup times by about 50% going from 128 to 256 increases it agian about 25%. Again its been a while since ive done win98 stuff so this figures may be out but you get the general idea .

[Lucky_Phill]

Thanks again fellas for input.

This has been a bloody interesting problem to fix, even though it hasn't been.......yet !

I am leaning towards throwing in the extra RAM. I am no tech, but all the indications from everyone here that this could solve it.

Yes, Brandon, I had a 40gig HD installed about 2 years ago,mmm maybe a little less than that. At Cost Plus Computers, in Milton, Brisbane. I think they go by the name CPC Solutions, now.

This machine came out in 1999 with a 10.2gigHD.... jeez is it that old. Well, it is running OK, just can't defrag. Other than that, smooth as !

Results of more ............prob solving soon. But it looks as if I am taking the offer for some RAM up ! hey !

Phill