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Computing Net
3/21/04
I have WIN98SE, IE6SP1, and dialup (walmartconnect) A clean install of WIN98 was done in December 2003. A computer tech did it for me.I have a lot of problems with the computer freezing, and running very slow. It will also just “hang” a lot, and I get a message “Explorer not responding”, then I will get the Illegal Operation message. Too often I have to use the IE Repair Tool. I scan and defrag once a week. I also use Ad-aware. The problems started about a month ago. I noticed it after I had downloaded an update to Client Control in Norton Antivirus 2003. I have been in touch with Symantec, and they have been very helpful, but the suggestions did not work.
Recently I went to My Computer, in the address bar I typed %temp% and about 200 items in the trash for a couple of weeks. I did not see any difference in the way the computer ran. I had read that that is one of the ways to speed up the computer by getting rid of those.
My Start Folder just seems to have necessary items on it. When I go to Ctrl, Alt, Delete, I End Task on a few of the items on there, but that does not help.
I have gone to misconfig and unchecked everything but System Tray and Scan Registry. That made the computer even pokier, especially Hotmail. So I went back and re-checked: Soundman, ccApp, ccRegVfy, Load Power Profile (there are two of these, and I just checked one), ccEvtMgr, and Avgserv9.exec
One of things Symantec had me do is:
Hard drive caching
In general, Windows 95/98/Me takes care of the hard drive cache on its own. However, if a program has made changes to this setting, or if you simply want to be sure it is being handled correctly, please follow these steps to check, and if necessary, change these settings:
1. With the System.ini file open, click the Search menu, and then click Find.
2. Type vcache in the Find box, and then click Next. You should see [vcache] selected. (You may have to scroll down to see it.)
3. In the [vcache] section, look for the following:[vcache]
Minfilecache=512
Maxfilecache=6144
Chunksize=512
• If these lines do not exist, add them exactly as shown.
• If they do exist but the numbers are not the same values as shown, change the numbers so that they match the values shown.
4. Close the System.ini file and save the changes. Do not close the System Editor as it is needed for the next section.I had to add the three above.
I also did this under the heading To Change the Location of the Temp Fiolder:
D. Free disk space
In order for temporary files to be created, there needs to be free space on the hard drive that contains the \TEMP folder. At minimum, it is recommended that you have no less than 100 MB of free disk space on that drive. If this drive has limited available hard disk space, consider following the instructions in the Problems with Temp locations section. You can move the "Temp" folder to another hard drive with more space. If you do not have another drive available, you will need to uninstall some applications or backup and remove old data.
Problems with Temp locations
You do not have to follow these instructions unless you were instructed to do so in a previous section.By default, Windows places the "Temp" folder in C:\Windows\Temp. Other locations, such as C:\Temp, or even another drive, are perfectly acceptable as long as there is room on the drive. There are, however, several locations (most often seen on older, upgraded computers) that can cause serious problems. They are:
• C:\DOS (In this case, files are actually being placed directly in the \DOS folder). This is a poor location, as it becomes difficult to remove leftover files when they are mixed with files that should remain there.
• C:\ (That is, there is no "Temp" folder; all temp files are being placed in the root of drive C.) Because the root of the hard drive, by design, can only hold a limited number of files (512), placing temp files in this location can cause programs or Windows to stop working.To change the location of the Temp folder
3. Click Start, and then click Run.
4. Type sysedit and then click OK. The System Configuration Editor appears.
5. Click the Window menu, and then click C:\AUTOEXEC.BAT.
6. Look for the lines that start with SET TEMP= and SET TMP=.
7. Change them to read (If Windows is installed to a different location, change this accordingly so that both point to the "Temp" folder that is located in the folder where you have Windows installed):SET TEMP=C:\Windows\Temp
SET TMP=C:\Windows\Temp8. Exit the System Configuration Editor and save the changes when prompted.
9. Restart the computer.I did the above under number 7 as they were not in the Autoexec.bat.
Now I notice that on starting the computer that the following
appears on a separate screen while booting up:C:\>Set Temp=C:\Windows\Temp (then there
is a double space); C:\>SetTMP=C:\Windows\Temp
(then there is a double space); C:\>Should this be showing on the boot-up screen? It has not done it
before until I made the above changes. It just looks strange.
When I emailed Symantec about it, they told me:
this issue could be due to Windows files that are not
set correctly. In order to resolve this issue or for more
information on this, I suggest that you contact Microsoft
technical support for assistance; they will be in a better
position to assist you.
Thank you in advance for your help.
Anna RuthFollwing is the Belarc Advisor of what my computer holds:
Computer Profile Summary
Computer Name: B8c2r4 (in WORKGROUP)
Profile Date: Sunday, March 21, 2004 12:05:35
Advisor Version: 6.0m
Windows Logon: AnnaRuth
.
Operating System System Model
Windows 98 SE (build 4.10.2222) Asset Tag: 0123ABC
Processor a Main Circuit Board b
1000 megahertz AMD Athlon
128 kilobyte primary memory cache
256 kilobyte secondary memory cache Board: Gigabyte Technology Co., Ltd. 7VKMLS 1.x
Bus Clock: 100 megahertz
BIOS: American Megatrends Inc. 07.00T 08/27/2002
Drives Memory Modules c,d
9.99 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
8.50 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space40X CD-ROM
SONY CD-RW CRX0811 [CD-ROM drive]
Generic floppy disk drive (3.5")Generic IDE hard disk drive (9.99 GB) -- drive 0, No SMART Driver 352 Megabytes Installed Memory
Slot '0' has 256 MB
Slot '1' has 128 MB
Local Drive Volumes
c: (on drive 0) 9.99 GB 8.50 GB free
Logins Network Drives
No details available
Installed Microsoft Hotfixes Printers
DataAccess
Q329414-25 (details...) on 01/17/04
Internet Explorer
Q313829 (details...)
Q330994 (details...)
Q824145 (details...)
Q831167 (details...)
Q832894 (details...)
SP1 (SP1)
Win98.SE
UPD238453 (details...)
UPD239887 (details...)
UPD256015 (details...)
UPD259728 (details...)
UPD260067 (details...)
UPD273991 (details...)
UPDQ823559 (details...)
Win98
UPD245729 (details...)
UPD323172 (details...)
UPD323255 (details...)
UPD329115 (details...)
UPD811630 (details...)
Windows Media Player
WM819639 (details...)
Click here to see all available security Hotfixes.Marks a HotFix that verifies correctly
Marks a HotFix that fails verification
(Failing hotfixes need to be reinstalled)
An unmarked HotFix lacks the data to allow verification hp deskjet 840c series on LPT1:
Controllers Display
Standard Floppy Disk Controller
Primary IDE controller (dual fifo)
Secondary IDE controller (dual fifo)
VIA Bus Master PCI IDE Controller S3 Graphics ProSavageDDR [Display adapter]
Mitsubishi SD5904C [Monitor] (13.2"vis, s/n 908736346, August 1999)
Bus Adapters Multimedia
VIA Tech 3038 PCI to USB Universal Host Controller
VIA Tech 3038 PCI to USB Universal Host Controller Avance AC'97 Audio for VIA (R) Audio Controller
Gameport Joystick (no joystick connected)
Wave Device for Voice Modem
Communications Other Devices
Intel(R) 537 Data Fax Voice V.92 Modem
AOL Adapter
Microsoft PPP over ATM Adapter
Microsoft Virtual Private Networking Adapter Standard 101/102-Key or Microsoft Natural Keyboard
Microsoft PS/2 Port Mouse
USB Root Hub
USB Root Hub
Intel(R) 537 Data Fax Voice V.92 Modem
Software Licenses
Microsoft - Internet Explorer
Microsoft - MediaPlayer 69808-574-2690245-04788
Microsoft - Office XP Professional with FrontPage 54185-640-0000025-17137 (Key: )
Microsoft - Windows 98 SE (Key: )e
Symantec Corporation - Norton AntiVirus 2003 1
Software Versions
Adobe Reader Version 6.0.1.2003110300 *
Adobe Systems AdobeDownloadManager Version 1.2 *
America Online Version 6.00.000 *
America Online, Inc. Sinf Application Version 6.00.000 *
Avance Sound Manager Version 5.0 *
Belarc, Inc. - BelManage Client Version 6.0m *
Download Driver *
Eastman Software, Inc., A Kodak Business - Imaging for Windows® Version 1.01.1311 *
Hewlett-Packard - Cartogra Assistant Version 1.0.061 *
Hewlett-Packard Co. - HP DeskJet A.03.01.03 *
HP DeskJet Version 2,80,0,0 *
Hpi_Prnt Application Version 1.6.0.18 *
Lavasoft Ad-aware Plus Version 6.0.0.0 *
Microsoft (r) Windows Script Host Version 5.6.0.6626 *
Microsoft Clip Organizer Version 10.0.2625 *
Microsoft Corporation - DirectShow Version 6.4.07.1119 *
Microsoft Corporation - Internet Explorer Version 6.00.2800.1106 *
Microsoft Corporation - Windows Installer Version 2.0.2600.2 *
Microsoft Corporation - Windows Telephony Version 4.10.2000 *
Microsoft Corporation - Windows® NetMeeting® Version 3.01 * Microsoft imgstart Version 1, 0, 0, 1 *
Microsoft Office XP Version 10.0.2627 *
Microsoft(R) Chat(TM) Version 2.5 *
Microsoft(R) Windows Media Player Version 9.00.00.2980 *
Microsoft® Plus! for Windows® 95 Version 4.40.500 *
Microsoft® Internet Services Version 6.1.33.0 *
Microsoft® Windows Media Services Version 4.1.00.3917 *
RealNetworks, Inc. - RealPlayer (32-bit) Version 6.0.9.380 *
Seagate Software, Inc. - Backup *
Symantec Corporation - Common Client Version 1.0.10.006 *
Symantec Corporation - Event Manager Version 1.03.4 *
Symantec Corporation - LiveUpdate Version 2.0.39.0 *
Symantec Corporation - Norton AntiVirus Version 9.05.1015 *
Symantec Corporation - Norton Core Technology Version 16"."00".0."12" *
Symantec Integrator Version 6.00.17 *
Symantec ScriptBlocking Version 1, 1, 0, 126 *
Symantec Shared Components Version 2.0 *
VERITAS Software Corp. - PrimoCD Plus, PrimoCD Deluxe, PrimoCD Pro and PrimoDVD Version 2.00.0799 *
WinZip Version 8.1 SR-1 (5266) *
Yahoo! Messenger Version 5, 6, 0, 1358 *----------------------
* Click to see where software is installed.
a. Megahertz measurement may be inaccurate if other programs were busy during last analysis.
b. Data may be transferred on the bus at one, two, or four times the Bus Clock rate.
c. Memory slot contents may not add up to Installed Memory if some memory is not recognized by Windows.
d. Memory slot contents is reported by the motherboard BIOS. Contact system vendor if slot contents are wrong.
e. This may be the manufacturer's factory installed product key rather than yours.
Copyright 2000-3, Belarc, Inc. All rights reserved.
Legal notice. U.S. Patents 6085229, 5665951 and Patents pending.----------------------
You have quite a bit of info. Go to http://www.pcpitstop.com and run a full test and post the results so I can take a look for hardware conflicts or software problems.
Kap'
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What happened to the other 32 Meg.?
Says 352 Meg. installed
Lists a 256 & 128 = 384.
Bad memory chip?Regards, Bob F.
0
I am new on this site, so hope I am answering correctly (to the right one).
The is the link to the PC Pitstop results:
http://www.pcpitstop.com/techexpress.asp?id=AJZJAWXVRMMSH0XX
0
Bob - I am not sure about the memory. All I recall is that I had 128, and the computer guy added two more sticks of memory, and he mentioned something about adding memory to video. I do not recall where he went to though on the computer to add it.
I have a lot to learn, but not doing too badly for a senior lady (a cute one, too!). HeeHee!
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Dump/uninstall any Symantec software. It's a hog. If you want Anti-Virus, use Grisoft AVG. (Although in your post you reference AVG, so do you have it installed and running?)
Do *not* set a maxfilecache value. Let windows handle it.
Load Power Profile = If you use any power management (spin down drives, monitor off, etc.) check both of these.
"Now I notice that on starting the computer that the following
appears on a separate screen while booting up:C:\>Set Temp=C:\Windows\Temp (then there
is a double space); C:\>SetTMP=C:\Windows\Temp
(then there is a double space); C:\>Should this be showing on the boot-up screen? It has not done it
before until I made the above changes."Add;
@echo off
as the first line in c:\autoexec.bat.
Lets go from here.
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Thank you, Dan, will do what you said soon as I can tonight.
I have Norton Antivirus 2003. The subscription is good until January 2005.
Do not have anything by Grisoft - the AVG. I did go to Find and keyed in *avg* and came up with three: version.avg, Miniavi.avg, and Microavi.avg. Do not know what these are.
I will get back to you, and thank you.
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Okay, Dan, following is what I have done:
In the System.ini, under [vcache], I changed Maxfilecache= from 6144 to Maxfilecache=
I inadvertently had put it and the Minfilecache and Chunksize under [driver32]. I copied Maxfilecache, Maxfilecache, Minfilecache and Chunksize and pasted them under [vcache] and deleted them from [driver32].
In sysedit, C:\autoexec.bat, I added @echo off. It now reads @echo off, SET TEMP=C:\Windows\Temp, and SET TMP=C:\Windows\Temp
I rebooted and noticed that the screen that had come up before--C:\>Set Temp, and C:\>Set Tmp--did not. Just a blank black screen with a flashing cursor appeared for a couple of seconds.
Then I went to Add/Remove and uninstalled Norton Antivirus; then to Start, Find, keyed in Norton* and deleted five items; then I keyed in *Norton* and deleted two items (shortcuts); then I keyed in Symantec and deleted eleven items. (Anything I delete, I keep in the trash for a while to see if anythng kooky happens). While in the Delete process, got a message on C:\Program Files\Common Files\Symantec Shared that "this change could impact one or more registered programs. Do you want to continue?" I pressed the No button as I was not sure.
I rebooted and now get a message, after Desktop comes up, that Ccapp.exe shortcut has been moved or changed. Symantec had had me make a change in the registry about Ccapp, in the HKey_local_machine. Maybe tomorrow I can check my notes and undo what I did.
Tomorrow, too, I can install Grisoft.
Thank you again.
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Uh, Oh! I do not know how to add a P.S. to my message to Dan Penny.
In any event, P.S.: "Load Power Profile = If you use any power management (spin down drives, monitor off, etc.) check both of these."
Where is Load Power Profile = ? Do you mean the one on the Start Tab in msconfig? There are two of them, and I have one checked.
I do not believe I use any power management. Do not know what a spin-down drive is, and I do not hve anything set to turn off the monitor. (I have seen this somewhere but do not remember where.) Oh, I just right-clicked on the Desktop and went to Properties. On the Screensaver Tab, there is a Setting button to adjust the power setting for the monitor. Is that the one you mean?
Also, I noted in the Startup Tab in msconfig that Ccapp was checked, so I unchecked it. Also unchecked Scriptblocking for Symantec Shared.
Think I have done enough to this computer for tonight.
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So far so good.
"Then I went to Add/Remove and uninstalled Norton Antivirus..."
This was correct. (Uninstall as opposed to delete.) The files you deleted can be replaced (from the Recycle Bin) for now. The important thing is the uninstall.
With Norton uninstalled, it's important to get another anti-virus in place as soon as possible. Also a good firewall to protect the ports on the machine. Sygate Personal Firewall and Zone Alarm are two free firewalls which are popular. Zone Alarm can be finicky but lots of people swear by it.
Load Power Profile is the profile used in Control Panel, Power Management. Spin down drives means that after a certain period of time the hard drives will stop spinning. This is also where you can have your monitor "blank" after so many minutes. The settings you choose here make up your profile.
"On the Screensaver Tab, there is a Setting button to adjust the power setting for the monitor. Is that the one you mean?"
Yes, this is the same as Control Panel, Power Management. Thus if you use any of these features, both Load Powr Profile statements in MSCONFIG should be checked.
Keep posting your progress.
How big (MB or GB) is your hard drive? Do you have one physical hard drive or two?
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Dan, are you also known as Kap'?
I restored the Symantec files that were in the recycle bin. Now, why can't I just delete them? Also, I went to Internet Options, General Tab, Settings button, View Objects, and deleted a Symantec item that was in there.
There was also another item in there that I had never seen before. It was bright blue, in shape of an arrow and the arrow bent to the right. I deleted it.
Whoops, almost forgot one important thing! My computer shuts down in three seconds whereas it would take 27 seconds before. That is great! Joy, Joy! Now I am wondering what did it - uninstalling Norton, adding the @echo off. Would you have any idea?
I installed the free grisoft AVG antivirus. I had had a firewall with Norton, but it gave me a lot of problems and I uninstalled it a couple of months ago. Think I will be okay, as I keep Ad-aware updated and use it every day, and also use my antivirus every day. I usually scan and defrag once a week.
I went to the Power Management Properties. On the Power Scheme tab, the power scheme is set for Home/Office Desk. Under Settings for Home/Office Desk Power Scheme, the System Standby reads: After 20 mins; Turn off Monitor reads: Never; Turn Off Hard Disk reads: Never
On the Advanced Tab, under Power Buttons, "When I press the power button on my computer" reads: Shutdown "When I press the sleep button on my computer" reads: Standby
I do not know if those are right or not, as I did not choose them. So, do I need to check both Load Power Profiles in Misconfig because of the settings? I do not see a "Sleep" when I go to Shutdown. There are: Stand by, shutdown, restart, and restart in MS-dos mode.
My one hard drive (C:) is 10GB, and I have 8GB that are free. I also have drives (D:) and (E:)(CD-Roms). I get confused about drives, so do not know if I answered you right. I know I need a larger hard drive (probably at least 40 GB, but right now cannot afford it. In last six months my computer has had a new motherboard, three modems (two were hit by lightning, and a couple of other things done to it. Think I will just wait and maybe next year I can get a new computer.
Thank you again for your help. So, how are we doing?
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"Dan, are you also known as Kap'?"
Not to my knowledge. ;>)
I suggested replacing the Norton files in case you wanted to "re-initiate" it. If you have the software by all means delete them.
Uninstalling Norton has decreased your shut down time. As I said, it's a hog. Adding the @echo off simply told the batch file not to display commands which were outlined in the batch file.
A firewall is a good thing. The utility helps prevent things from getting in your system, whereas the other utilities only help remove them once they're in. I recommend putting one in place.
If you use any power management, check off both Load Power Profiles.
We're doing fine it seems. ;>)
How are the initial problems since Norton was uninstalled?
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Hi, Dan. The problems I had had appear to be gone. I have been on the computer tonight for three hours working on different applications and programs. Had about three minimized to the task bar, and computer did not freeze one time, or hang. Joy, Joy! Norton Antivirus caused all of that because of its size? I guess it would help if I had a bigger hard drive. But I still had almost 8 GB even when Norton was on there.
I would check the System Resources sometimes when I had several things running, and it would read 60%. Guess that is not bad when several things are running?
The CD I have for Norton is for Norton Antivirus 2002, so it is too old. I will delete, anyway, the rest of the Norton items that I have, and just keep the free antivirus I downloaded today. I will try a firewall - the Sygate.
In msconfig, I will check the other Load Power Profile.
I had wanted to send you an attachment of a Mickey Mouse hug, but I do not see how I send one. Will have to explore that.
Thank you again.
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You're welcome. As you've seen, Norton can really bog down a system. Back in Symantecs 16 bit days it was great. Since migrating to the 32 bit platform its really become bloated. I don't mean to sound like a Norton basher, for some it can work fine depending on what they do with thier systems. The more you learn about how your system works, the less you need "extra" utilities to perform tasks which you can perform yourself once warning signs arise. Cleaning the registry and defragging periodically are the two primary efforts to keeping your system running efficiently.
Once you get down to about 2 GB of free space left it would be time to shop for another (second) hard drive. They're not ~that~ expensive. I just got a price from a computer shop a couple of blocks away, and a Maxtor 40 GB was $75.00. (Cdn - I'm in Ottawa, Canada.)
60% resources is OK, in fact it's almost normal on many systems.
Good Luck, and if anything else comes up don't hesitate to come back here. This is one of the best Help Forums (if not the best) out there. There's many good people here with tons of knowledge. And its all free. ;>) Helping people is what we do, and it is habit forming.
Best Regards, Dan
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Thank you for your nice message. I installed the free Sygate Firewall, but ended up uninstalling it, as I had problems getting online with wmconnect, and I could not get into MSN Messenger. Maybe I will try another one soon.
I defrag and Standard scan once a week. Every so often I will do a thorough scan. I also use Ad-aware every day, but I recently read somewhere that it is not good to use it every day. It did not say why.
Regarding keeping the registry clean, I just went to PCbugdoctor and used it. It found 50-some items that should be deleted. But, of course, I have to purchase it. I will keep searching for a registry cleaner.
Thanks for the suggestion about when I get down to 2GB. Somtime I will get the nerve to install hardware.
I will be back soon to this site, as now I have a yellow question mark in Device Manager, after downloading a Windows update. I will search for an answer, and if I do not find it, I'll be here. I check Device Manager every so often, and would say to myself - "Well, you never see anything wrong with it, so what will you do if you see a yellow question mark." Now I know - do a lot of searching.
Thanks again. I still have not found out how to send an attchment on here, and it is probably staring me right in the face. Hee, Hee!
Anna Ruth
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For a registry cleaner, do a google (or whatever you use) search for Toniarts Easy Cleaner, and also RegSeeker. (Sorry I don't have the links handy for you, but they're popular and should pop up with whatever search engine you use.) Both programs make backups of the registry deletions by default, and both have proven themselves to be reliable. Regseeker will probe a bit deeper into the registry. I use both. Never had a problem with either.
Re; attachments on this forum....
The only thing you can "attach" is a gif, jpg, etc using HTML to "embed" it into your posting. I've been lazy with the HTML as I don't use any such items as gifs etc. I have to bite the bullet and start learning the basics as it's good for posting links, expressions and such. As well, I've learned recently that my ISP costs include people downloading from my webspace. It costs me when this happens, so I'm going to switch to a commercial account and get a domain, which means I have to learn this stuff to create/manage a webpage. Oh so much to learn... ;>)Take Care Anna Ruth and stop by any time.
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All right. Thanks for the information. Am sure I will be back again soon. Such good help on here!
Adios for now.
Anna Ruth
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