Can you help please?

Axel Berger wrote:

I strongly suggest you obtain a new hard drive

Generally this is good advice. But how do you fit the error message
of too little RAM in there?

Clearly there's a lot of thrashing going on with his swap file.

We need to know how badly fragged his drive is, see if there are
problems with file structures, FAT, etc, bad sectors.

He could have actual faults in his system RAM (so booting and running
MEMtest would probably be a good idea at some point).

Most likely needs to replace motherboard battery and set BIOS variables
to correct values.

I could offer a location to download Norton Utilies 2002 System
Information (SI32.exe) which will show detailed memory usage and allow a
report to be saved to file that could be posted here.

"98 Guy" "98"@Guy. com wrote in message
...
Emrys Davies wrote (in alt.windows98)

My wife is using my 15 year old PC and it has a fault amongst many
as you will expect but can you help with this one?

It is a Win. 98 SE with a C Drive capacity of 19.1 GB of which 5.47
GB is used. It has 384.0 MB of RAM and 65 per cent of this is free.

I strongly suggest you obtain a new hard drive and at least clone
(duplicate) your current drive to the new drive. The components of your
old computer can operate for many years, except for the hard drive.
Your drive is living on borrowed time and it might even now have bad
sectors that are causing operational problems.

Boot / start the computer in DOS mode and run scandisk from the dos
prompt, correct any problems with the file system, and let scandisk
perform a surface test to find bad sectors.

I have run Scandisk on 'Standard and everything was fine. It is on
'Thorough' now and will take a long while by the look of it.



And remember that drives don't last forever. My experience is that 20
gb drives in particular had a high failure rate compared to 40 and 80 gb
drives.

It has 'Google' and 'IE' icons on its desktop which take one minute
to open, respectively,

There could be many reasons why it takes so long to start IE. You could
have many other programs running that are taking too much memory.

Turn off (or just un-install) any antivirus software you have. Windows
98 does not need antivirus software. I run windows 98 exclusively and
haven't used AV software for more than 7 years. Virus's and trojans do
not infect Windows 98 any more - they are designed to run on NT-based
windows (like XP, vista, 7, etc). AV software running on win-98 is a
waste of what little memory and CPU power you have.

I have uninstalled the antivirus, Window Washer and the like.


and when they do a little window shows: 'Iexplore with a solid
red circle which has a large white X therein and the window
contains the words 'Zu wenig Arbeitsspeicher' and OK thereon.

I assume you are in Germany, and you have a German version of Windows
98.

I live in the UK and it is Win. 98 SE



Zu wenig Arbeitsspeicher translates as "Enough Memory".

I'm assuming the actual message is that you don't have enough memory to
run the program.

On that computer, click the Start button, select Run, and type
"msconfig" and hit enter.

Select "Startup" (the tab on the far right) and remove the checkbox for
any programs that are not needed. If you don't know how to decide, post
the list of the names of those programs here and I can tell you.

Done that and discussed the Startup programmes with you elsewhere.


When clicked the latter opens instantly to the Google 'Home' page,
to which it is set.

All other icons on the desktop open instantly, including Outlook
Express.

I ran it for viruses and found 12 'FunWebproducts'

That is not a virus. See here to remove:

http://help.funwebproducts.com/uninstall/uninstall.html

and 29 '/info: Cookie information database'.

Those are not important.

Any ideas please. I have a tip nearby, but my wife appears to
manage with this and does not want a new one.,

I very strongly suggest you install an old version of Firefox and use it
instead of IE. Firefox 2.0.0.20 is much better than Internet Explorer.
I can post a link where to download it if you want.

Cannot install Firefox as the PC is too sluggish.

"98 Guy" "98"@Guy. com wrote in message
...
Emrys Davies wrote:

I would much appreciate your Firefox link while I will consider
your other suggestions.

Here is where you can download the suggested version of Firefox:

https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla.....0.0.20/win32/

The German language version is he

https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla....202.0.0.20.exe

The English (US) version is he

https://ftp.mozilla.org/pub/mozilla....202.0.0.20.exe

Cannot install Firefox as the PC is far too sluggish. I did install it on
my PC to see what it was like.

"98 Guy" "98"@Guy. com wrote in message
...
Emrys Davies wrote:

I live in the UK and I have no idea why a German window should
appear on my PC.

Click start, find, files or folders, and search your C drive for the
file "winver.exe".

It should be in the C:\Windows directory.

When found, do not start it, but instead right-click on it and select
Properties.

Click the Version tab, then select Language in the list below. In the
box to the right it will display what language your Windows 98 system
has installed.

My PC is in English.



My Strartup contains:

Window Washer.

Is this what you have:

http://www.amazon.com/Webroot-10202-.../dp/B000070MQZ

Or is it this:

http://download.cnet.com/Free-Intern...-10436825.html

Or something else?

What-ever it is, you don't need it. Go to control panel, add-remove
programs, find Window Washer in the list and uninstall it.

Do that before installing Firefox.

Window Washer now uninstalled



System Tray which only has Resource Meter and Screen Shots.
KB918547 C:\Windows\System.

That one is ok.

KB891711 C:\Windows\System.

That one is questionable. Many people have had problems with that and
don't use it. I don't use it. It can be deactivated from msconfig.

Now deactivated

What version of Windows 98 do you have? First Edition, or Second
edition? (right click on the "My Computer" screen icon and select
Properties).

Win. 98 SE

Resource Meter.
Webshots.Ink - ScreenSaver

From reading what webshots is, the functionality of old versions might
be questionable. I would temporarily deactivate it to see if it speeds
up computer performance and reduces memory usage.


Thanks so far.

No problem.

On 09 Oct 2014, Emrys Davies wrote:


I very strongly suggest you install an old version of
Firefox and use it instead of IE. Firefox 2.0.0.20 is
much better than Internet Explorer. I can post a link
where to download it if you want.

Cannot install Firefox as the PC is too sluggish.

If Firefox is too slow, perhaps try K-Meleon:
http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net

Or failing that, OffByOne (depending on what sort of websites
you want to view):
http://www.OffByOne.com

What's your RAM use now with the antivirus and other
background tasks stopped? Win98 runs alright with 32MB RAM, so
65% of 384MB is very high just after booting up.

--
__ __
#_ |\| | _#

I very strongly suggest you install an old version of
Firefox and use it instead of IE. Firefox 2.0.0.20 is
much better than Internet Explorer. I can post a link
where to download it if you want.

Cannot install Firefox as the PC is too sluggish.

If Firefox is too slow, perhaps try K-Meleon:

Firefox 2 is _not_ too sluggish, even for an old computer with an intel
P2 or P3 CPU.

The OP is just ignorant as to how the early versions of Firefox ran very
well on older machines.

If he wants to remain ignorant and obstinate, he (or whom ever uses the
computer) can continue to suffer with IE6 (or possibly IE 5 or 5.5).

"98 Guy" "98"@Guy. com wrote in message
...

I very strongly suggest you install an old version of
Firefox and use it instead of IE. Firefox 2.0.0.20 is
much better than Internet Explorer. I can post a link
where to download it if you want.

Cannot install Firefox as the PC is too sluggish.

If Firefox is too slow, perhaps try K-Meleon:

Firefox 2 is _not_ too sluggish, even for an old computer with an intel
P2 or P3 CPU.

The OP is just ignorant as to how the early versions of Firefox ran very
well on older machines.

If he wants to remain ignorant and obstinate, he (or whom ever uses the
computer) can continue to suffer with IE6 (or possibly IE 5 or 5.5).

Well, you sadly misread my remark: ' Cannot install Firefox as the PC is
too sluggish' i.e. that I cannot download Firefox on the 'poorly' machine.
Main errors being 'Cannot find server' or 'This page cannot be displayed'.
I tried for ages. I tried 'your' firefox on my machine and I am pleased with
it. Certainly does the job.

I ran Scandisk in Safe Mode and it almost completed the job after about
eight hours into the task and then it froze. Whilst in Safe Mode I found
that IE and Google opened instantly whereas in Normal Mode they take about
a minute to open.

"Computer Nerd Kev" wrote in message
. ..
On 09 Oct 2014, Emrys Davies wrote:


I very strongly suggest you install an old version of
Firefox and use it instead of IE. Firefox 2.0.0.20 is
much better than Internet Explorer. I can post a link
where to download it if you want.

Cannot install Firefox as the PC is too sluggish.

If Firefox is too slow, perhaps try K-Meleon:
http://kmeleon.sourceforge.net

Or failing that, OffByOne (depending on what sort of websites
you want to view):
http://www.OffByOne.com

What's your RAM use now with the antivirus and other
background tasks stopped? Win98 runs alright with 32MB RAM, so
65% of 384MB is very high just after booting up.

--
__ __
#_ |\| | _#

I said: "Cannot install Firefox as the PC is too sluggish". The PC just
would not let firefox download saying 'This page cannot be displayed' and
'Cannot find server'. IE is quite poorly although there is 384MB of Ram and
System Resources now has 89 per cent free just after bootup. It is
interesting that the two programmes, Google and IE, which take one minute or
so to open in normal mode open instantly in Safe Mode. I can find no
reference to 'Zu wenig Arbeitsspeicher' in the Registry or elsewhere, other
than when its enabled window pops up a minute or so after the Google or IE
buttons are pressed.

Emrys Davies wrote:

Well, you sadly misread my remark: ' Cannot install Firefox as
the PC is too sluggish' i.e. that I cannot download Firefox on the
'poorly' machine.

You have an internet connectivity problem. If you described things
correctly, we wouldn'd have this confusion.

Main errors being 'Cannot find server' or 'This page cannot be
displayed'.

Do you know how to check and set the network settings on Windows 98?

Follow these instructions:

Right click on network neighborhood icon on the desktop and select
Properties.

There is a list of installed network components.

There will be one, or more, items that start with "TCP/IP -"

Some might say "Dial-up Adapter". Ignore them.

There should be at least one that says ethernet adapter. Select it, and
click properties.

If you don't have one that says ethernet adapter, stop reading and tell
us.

A new window will open named "TCP/IP properties" with a number of tabs.

Click Bindings. There should be a checkbox for "client for Microsoft
Networks". If it is not set, then set it, click Apply or OK, and let
the system reboot, and come back to this point and continue reading.

Click Gateway. There should be an IP address in the box under
"Installed gateways". If there is, do this:

Click start, run, type command.com and hit enter. A DOS window will
open. Type "Ping a.b.c.d" where a.b.c.d is the IP address you see in
the Installed gateways. You should see 4 lines saying:

"Reply from a.b.c.d: Bytes 32, time= 1ms, TTL=something".

If you get something like "Request timed out" then you have the wrong IP
address in the Installed Gateways setting. If so, then you need to find
out what the IP is of the gateway router of your network. You can get
that info from the network properties of some other PC on your network.

If you can ping the gateway IP, next thing is to check for general
internet connectivity.

First, does your PC have an IP address. Click on the "IP Address" tab.
One of these will be selected:

- Obtain an IP address automatically
- Specify an IP address

I find that specifying an IP address works better for stationary
computers that are hard-wired to home or soho networks. I suggest that
you select "Specify and IP address" and enter an IP address where the
first 3 IP numbers match that of your Installed Gateway. For the last
number, it's a bit of a random choice with some restrictions, but I
suggest a number between 30 and 80.

You will probably be asked to restart the computer at some point if you
make any of the above changes, so if you've changed the computer's IP
address, now would be a good time to reboot.

At this point, go back to the DOS window (or open a DOS window) and try
to ping 4.2.2.2 or 8.8.8.8. If you can't ping those, but you can ping
the gateway, then you have a strange problem. If you can ping at least
one of those 2 IP's then continue.

Click the "DNS Configuration" tab. Enable DNS should be selected (a
small black dot inside the circle). There might be some IP addresses
listed in the box under "DNS Server Search Order". If there are, they
may not be functional, reachable, or correct. Go back to the DOS window
and ping all of the IP's listed under DNS search order, one at a time.
Remove any that can't be pinged.

If you have removed them all, or if there were none there in the first
place, then add one of the following:

62.8.96.38 res04.opal-solutions.com
62.24.228.202 ns4.vispa.net.uk
62.149.33.134 lcars.ultraspeed.co.uk
77.239.96.2 tmsns.tmsnetltd.co.uk
78.143.192.10 dnscache1.fast.co.uk
78.143.192.20 dnscache2.fast.co.uk
80.74.253.18 Widnes
80.84.72.20 ns1.uklinux.net
80.84.72.25 ns3.uklinux.net
80.94.32.240 ns1.smartways.com
81.17.66.14 ns1.swisp.co.uk
81.17.72.70 nameserver1.southwestdatacentre.co.uk

Those are open or public-access DNS servers in the UK. Try first to
ping the IP before you add it. You only need to add one of them.

If you've made changes to the DNS settings, you will be asked to reboot
again. After rebooting, open a DOS window and try to ping an internet
host. So type "ping google.com". If the DNS is working, that will
immediately be translated as "Pinging Google.com (173.194.112.78)". If
instead there is a long delay, followed by "unknown host google.com"
then you still don't have a functional DNS setting.

If you get this far, and are able to ping google.com, you should be able
to open IE and download the recommended version of Firefox with ease -
depending on the speed of your internet connection that is.

"98 Guy" "98"@Guy. com wrote in message
...
Emrys Davies wrote:

Well, you sadly misread my remark: ' Cannot install Firefox as
the PC is too sluggish' i.e. that I cannot download Firefox on the
'poorly' machine.

You have an internet connectivity problem. If you described things
correctly, we wouldn'd have this confusion.

Main errors being 'Cannot find server' or 'This page cannot be
displayed'.

Do you know how to check and set the network settings on Windows 98?

Follow these instructions:

Right click on network neighborhood icon on the desktop and select
Properties.

There is a list of installed network components.

There will be one, or more, items that start with "TCP/IP -"

Some might say "Dial-up Adapter". Ignore them.

There should be at least one that says ethernet adapter. Select it, and
click properties.

If you don't have one that says ethernet adapter, stop reading and tell
us.

No mention of 'ethernet adapter' in there. Just two which refers to Dialup
Adapter.


A new window will open named "TCP/IP properties" with a number of tabs.

Click Bindings. There should be a checkbox for "client for Microsoft
Networks". If it is not set, then set it, click Apply or OK, and let
the system reboot, and come back to this point and continue reading.

Click Gateway. There should be an IP address in the box under
"Installed gateways". If there is, do this:

Click start, run, type command.com and hit enter. A DOS window will
open. Type "Ping a.b.c.d" where a.b.c.d is the IP address you see in
the Installed gateways. You should see 4 lines saying:

"Reply from a.b.c.d: Bytes 32, time= 1ms, TTL=something".

If you get something like "Request timed out" then you have the wrong IP
address in the Installed Gateways setting. If so, then you need to find
out what the IP is of the gateway router of your network. You can get
that info from the network properties of some other PC on your network.

If you can ping the gateway IP, next thing is to check for general
internet connectivity.

First, does your PC have an IP address. Click on the "IP Address" tab.
One of these will be selected:

- Obtain an IP address automatically
- Specify an IP address

I find that specifying an IP address works better for stationary
computers that are hard-wired to home or soho networks. I suggest that
you select "Specify and IP address" and enter an IP address where the
first 3 IP numbers match that of your Installed Gateway. For the last
number, it's a bit of a random choice with some restrictions, but I
suggest a number between 30 and 80.

You will probably be asked to restart the computer at some point if you
make any of the above changes, so if you've changed the computer's IP
address, now would be a good time to reboot.

At this point, go back to the DOS window (or open a DOS window) and try
to ping 4.2.2.2 or 8.8.8.8. If you can't ping those, but you can ping
the gateway, then you have a strange problem. If you can ping at least
one of those 2 IP's then continue.

Click the "DNS Configuration" tab. Enable DNS should be selected (a
small black dot inside the circle). There might be some IP addresses
listed in the box under "DNS Server Search Order". If there are, they
may not be functional, reachable, or correct. Go back to the DOS window
and ping all of the IP's listed under DNS search order, one at a time.
Remove any that can't be pinged.

If you have removed them all, or if there were none there in the first
place, then add one of the following:

62.8.96.38 res04.opal-solutions.com
62.24.228.202 ns4.vispa.net.uk
62.149.33.134 lcars.ultraspeed.co.uk
77.239.96.2 tmsns.tmsnetltd.co.uk
78.143.192.10 dnscache1.fast.co.uk
78.143.192.20 dnscache2.fast.co.uk
80.74.253.18 Widnes
80.84.72.20 ns1.uklinux.net
80.84.72.25 ns3.uklinux.net
80.94.32.240 ns1.smartways.com
81.17.66.14 ns1.swisp.co.uk
81.17.72.70 nameserver1.southwestdatacentre.co.uk

Those are open or public-access DNS servers in the UK. Try first to
ping the IP before you add it. You only need to add one of them.

If you've made changes to the DNS settings, you will be asked to reboot
again. After rebooting, open a DOS window and try to ping an internet
host. So type "ping google.com". If the DNS is working, that will
immediately be translated as "Pinging Google.com (173.194.112.78)". If
instead there is a long delay, followed by "unknown host google.com"
then you still don't have a functional DNS setting.

If you get this far, and are able to ping google.com, you should be able
to open IE and download the recommended version of Firefox with ease -
depending on the speed of your internet connection that is.