win/95 low resources

[roho]

My grandaughter is using an old Gateway w/350 CPU w/Win/95 her system resources are down to 6% . I need to know how to reclaim some of the resources so it stops crashing. I know how to run msconfig but that doesn't work on 95 . Any help on this will be very much appreciated.

[GaryRouth]

Resources should be considerably higher than 6% after a reboot.

You can use CTRL-ALT-DEL (press just once) to bring up the Task List. That will let you know what's running (and you can "End Task" the non-essentials to free up resources).

To control the situation over the long term, double-check those background jobs at http://www.sysinfo.org/startupinfo.php and http://www.answersthatwork.com/Taskl...s/tasklist.htm

Some backgrounds you can stop from running at startup by changing options in their "Preferences" or "Options" menus (especially true of Instant Messengers, Media Players, etc).

Check in the "StartUp" folder on the Start/Programs menus, too. If you delete a shortcut from that folder, that program will no longer load at startup. Very few programs need to run from the Startup folder. On a Win95 PC, I recommend none at all (antivirus programs don't usually load from the Startup folder - let those run). MS office likes to stick a useless "Office startup" item in there, as well as "find fast": which I have yet to see proven that it finds anything faster than when it's not used.

If you know how to edit the Registry, you can also remove non-essential entries from the HKEY_Local_Machine/Software/Microsoft/Windows/Current Version/Run . . . and "Run Services" keys. Also from those same keys in HKEY_Current_User.

Other entries can be found at times in autoexec.bat, win.ini, and system.ini. For a good overall introduction to the whole situation, well-written & with all the details, you can check http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_index.htm

Also run scans for antivirus and antispyware = they're resource hogs too! (for more info on those, http://www.spywareinfo.com )
. . . Gary

[P.S. ...you might notice a link on that pacs-portal webpage to a download of a version of MSCONFIG that might work with Win95 (it's taken from Win98, of course). I haven't tried this myself, but that site is well-regarded & it seems logical that it might work] ....
[Yet Another P.S. = forgot to mention that I also recommend never, ever, using a screensaver on a Win95 machine - it's almost a sure guarantee to use up enough resources over a day or two to cause a system hang. Use Power Settings instead to just blank the monitor after a set period of disuse! much more effective, and saves electricity too]

[roho]

Hey Gary, I really appreciate your quick,informative responce. I know a little girl that will be pleased & impressed when her Grandpa fixes her computer with the info & links that you supplied . Thanks Roho

[galaxian]

You can download MSCONFIG for 95 from here

[mb26]

do you know how much RAM the system has? it may be seriously limiting the speed of the computer. if it is under 128mb you could consider upgrading, perhaps adding a 64MB stick of ram to the computer, which can be brought cheaply at ebay.

i would also try running Ad-aware and Spybot (which can both be downloaded free from download.com) and defragmenting the hard drive might help increase speed also [disk defragmenter is under Accessories> System Tools on the start menu]

[galaxian]

"her system resources are down to 6%"

Ram and a defrag will not help this.,
BUT, a SpyBot run "may" catch some lingering critters.

[juppy]

Gary > Just to clarify, yes, that version of msconfig DOES work with Win95 because I just tried it. Very nice! I was wishing I had msconfig awhile back but I didn't and I wasn't aware that version you and galaxian both linked to even existed, let alone work. It's cool though and I love it. Thanks!

[mb26]

if ram is the limiting factor on the resources (which it is likely to be) i think it will increase the available system resouces.. when i added more ram i saw the available system resources increase.

but you are right that a defrag will not increase available resources (sorry), but it might make things a little faster

[galaxian]

Originally posted by mb26 if ram is the limiting factor on the resources (which it is likely to be) i think it will increase the available system resouces.. when i added more ram i saw the available system resources increase.

The area of ram that is available for System Resource use, is the same size on a 4MB PC as it is on a 512MB PC.

Adding more ram will not increase your system resources.

[juppy]

I agree with galaxian on this one mb26. There was a thread quite awhile back where alot of the "gurus" around here discussed this and, if my memory serves me correctly, I believe they came to the same conclusion, that adding more RAM does virtually nothing for the system resources. I'll see if I can find that thread but I don't promise anything cuz it's been awhile and frankly my skill at using the search function here at PcMech isn't that great.

[glc]

System resources are not ram-related, they are operating system "heaps" - and there is no way to increase them, you have to decrease running processes.

[oryx]

System resources on a Windows 95 system should be more than 80%. At 6%, it's hard to believe that it runs at all.

[roho]

Thanks guys I went to one of the links that Gary suggested, downloaded MSCONFIG.EXE for 95, I installed it and it worked just fine . I was able to bring the system resources back up to 78% . The computer is working great now. I love this forum. roho

[mb26]

system "heaps" .. is that the same thing as stacks or something? i have seen tweaking utilities which (claim to be able to) change them.

anyway the only reason i thought it was ram related was because after i added more ram i got an increase in available resources after starting up.. guess it must have been a coincidence.

[GaryRouth]

Here's a link to one of the best & most clearly written articles about the what exactly "system resources" are: http://www.aumha.org/win4/a/resource.htm

That's just a wonderful, wonderful site (the aumha.org site). It has a lot of useful information. [Including an often-recommended Troubleshooter for Windows Shutdown problems]

Enjoy!
. . . Gary