Thanks, WW. I went to Add/Remove software earlier and removed it before seeing your msg. When I rebooted, it was gone, but the computer still started to run very loudly for about 5 mins. and then stopped. Do you know what could be causing this? Also, is there anything else I should do to get rid of anything else that might be left behind?
WB, aside from all the good tips WW is giving you, which are good ones, the best thing you can do for yourself is ditch that computer and Windows 98. Its prehistoric.
XP is sooo much better and todays associated hardware is miles ahead of yours and cheap as dirt.
I am not sure why anyone would NOT do that. Less headaches, better performance.
hmmm, igotout, yes get a new one but keep that old one too. it will come in handy.
for instance, i have an old gateway that was built for win98. i have put winxp on it and use for another internet access and my son uses it to play his xbox live on.
plus you can test programs on the old one if you are unsure of it's various bad side effects.
you need at least a 10mb hard drive though to run winxp
and with a few inexpensive little tricks, you can get a lot out of that old thing
Thanks, guys. Yes, the last time I ran all of those things, I wasn't working that week and it took me 2 days to clean it up, REALLY. It took a lot of time.
Maybe I should just start putting those things in my planner, e.g. Mon. run Ad Aware; Tues. Run Spybot; Wed. defrag, etc.
I know. We would have bought one, under normal circumstances, but I have been in grad school and working part time most of this year.
What do you recommend that doesn't cost much but is good? Can we get one for $200 yet? We have a year old monitor, ELEMENTS brand (sounds kookie, but works fine and it's large). You are right, I just don't have time to keep fiddlin with this thing all of the time.
The last time I checked, a good computer costed more around $900 at Dell. Any ideas?
Cost is a factor in some cases I know. But think of it as an investment. Your time is valuable. The time and aggravation you will save is worth it and in my opinion will save you money in the long run.
CM, yes I have already saved a couple of my "old" computers that are Pentium 4's. Forget anything less than a Pentium 4, except to use it as a doorstop.
And keep in mind the gaming kids need a more powerful computer than the boring stuff us parents do. Xbox and the Internet will indeed be faster with an upgraded computer with a decent graphics card.
What kind of graphics card is in that old Win 98 system? What kind of memory and how much? What speed hard drive? It is not the size of the drive that matters as much as the speed. Drives from that era are ancient as were the motherboards.
Yet I remember paying on average $2,000 for the hot new pentium 3's computers back then. I am sure millions still have them but that doesn't change the fact that they are seriously outdated today.
WB if you keep yur monitor you may be able to get something from Dell for less than $900. Check their site. In fat I think you could get something fairly nice for $900.
Get at least 512mb of ram and get a graphics card that is at least 128mb and get a hard drive that is SATA.
All else is not that important for a budget, budget computer that will still have some good power and performance.
Stay away from brands you are not sure about.
Get a high speed Internet connection if it is within budget, and do not use AOL unless you think you need it for some reason.
Whatever you get will be heads and shoulders above your current system. You'll wonder how you got along without it before.
Check in here and I will help you with the transition betwen old and new.
Thanks, guys. Yes, the last time I ran all of those things, I wasn't working that week and it took me 2 days to clean it up, REALLY. It took a lot of time.
Maybe I should just start putting those things in my planner, e.g. Mon. run Ad Aware; Tues. Run Spybot; Wed. defrag, etc.
Otherwise, it takes too long.
No need.
Run a defrag and a scandisk every 2 months or so.
The other stuff, yes, run every 2-3 days at the least
(Spybot, AdAware, antivirus.)
The firewall and SpywareBlaster don't have to be "run", and the
main usages of the antivirus and Spybot's "immunization" feature
don't have to be "run" either-they act like SpywareBlaster.
And, yes, if you're OVERDUE to do all that, it takes 2 full days.
XP and P4 should be a minimum starting point for anyone these days in my opinion. Unless a few hunderd dollars is an obstacle.
Ditch your old crappy hardware and OS. BTW Office 2003 is the best. But lets not start with software. One has to get to first base before he can go further.
I think it is ill advice to tell someone to stick with WIndows 98. Unless their budget is down to the the hundreds of dollars that they can not afford. But I would still find a way.
well if you hit the print screen button then open word pad and right click in word pad and hit paste there will be a picture of your desktop that you could email or post
save the document as a file and you can send it by email
WB, I would never sell you one. But I would give you one if I had an extra.
CM I threw away a pentium 3 box last year with windows 2000 on it. To me it was worthless (except the monitor).
And no, I believe the LEAST a person should be running with today is Pentium 4 (or equivalent AMD) with XP. When my friends or neighbors ask me to help them I do not do it if they have '98 and old crappy hardware. I help them upgrade first. Then I can help.
Why? Because I just do not have the time it takes to handle that old stuff and those ancient annoyances, as this is something I do in my spare time as a hobby.
But that is just my opinion and viewpoint. Millions are not there yet. Some, I think, are better off without a computer at all.
I know several teens who do not care for them anymore. They would rather just use their cells. And for gaming they like Xbox and things like that. And some young people are revisiting using turntables and vinyl records. Interesting isn't it?
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WordWolf
Should be
Go to your Start menu
select RUN
type MSCONFIG
find the program-in this case, MSN Messenger
select "manual"
save
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waterbuffalo
Thanks, WW. I went to Add/Remove software earlier and removed it before seeing your msg. When I rebooted, it was gone, but the computer still started to run very loudly for about 5 mins. and then stopped. Do you know what could be causing this? Also, is there anything else I should do to get rid of anything else that might be left behind?
I have windows 98.
Thanks! You're great!
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WordWolf
I left you some advice on free programs you should be using on the other
thread.
However, I want to mention a few OTHER steps you should be doing.
A) Go to Windows once a month and download any updates for Windows 98.
(I think they stopped making them, but I may be wrong. Plus, you should get
all the updates they DID make.)
B) Run a disk cleanup.
Programs-> Accessories-> System Tools-> Disk Cleanup.
C) Run a defrag.
Programs-> Accessories-> System Tools-> Disk Defragmenter.
D) Run a Scandisk.
I think that Windows 98 has it in the same "System Tools" menu.
(XP moved it so that you have to hunt all over the PC for it.)
E) Make a new "System Restore" point and delete all the old ones.
======
If you run all of those, plus all the programs I mentioned before,
you may experience RADICAL improvements in pc performance.
One person said it was like they had a new pc.
:)-->
Yes, doing ALL of this will take a bit of time, but it's time well-spent,
and NONE of it can actually HARM your pc.
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igotout
WB, aside from all the good tips WW is giving you, which are good ones, the best thing you can do for yourself is ditch that computer and Windows 98. Its prehistoric.
XP is sooo much better and todays associated hardware is miles ahead of yours and cheap as dirt.
I am not sure why anyone would NOT do that. Less headaches, better performance.
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CM
hmmm, igotout, yes get a new one but keep that old one too. it will come in handy.
for instance, i have an old gateway that was built for win98. i have put winxp on it and use for another internet access and my son uses it to play his xbox live on.
plus you can test programs on the old one if you are unsure of it's various bad side effects.
you need at least a 10mb hard drive though to run winxp
and with a few inexpensive little tricks, you can get a lot out of that old thing
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waterbuffalo
Thanks, guys. Yes, the last time I ran all of those things, I wasn't working that week and it took me 2 days to clean it up, REALLY. It took a lot of time.
Maybe I should just start putting those things in my planner, e.g. Mon. run Ad Aware; Tues. Run Spybot; Wed. defrag, etc.
Otherwise, it takes too long.
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waterbuffalo
What is that, WW?
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waterbuffalo
igotout,
I know. We would have bought one, under normal circumstances, but I have been in grad school and working part time most of this year.
What do you recommend that doesn't cost much but is good? Can we get one for $200 yet? We have a year old monitor, ELEMENTS brand (sounds kookie, but works fine and it's large). You are right, I just don't have time to keep fiddlin with this thing all of the time.
The last time I checked, a good computer costed more around $900 at Dell. Any ideas?
wb
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igotout
Cost is a factor in some cases I know. But think of it as an investment. Your time is valuable. The time and aggravation you will save is worth it and in my opinion will save you money in the long run.
CM, yes I have already saved a couple of my "old" computers that are Pentium 4's. Forget anything less than a Pentium 4, except to use it as a doorstop.
And keep in mind the gaming kids need a more powerful computer than the boring stuff us parents do. Xbox and the Internet will indeed be faster with an upgraded computer with a decent graphics card.
What kind of graphics card is in that old Win 98 system? What kind of memory and how much? What speed hard drive? It is not the size of the drive that matters as much as the speed. Drives from that era are ancient as were the motherboards.
Yet I remember paying on average $2,000 for the hot new pentium 3's computers back then. I am sure millions still have them but that doesn't change the fact that they are seriously outdated today.
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igotout
WB if you keep yur monitor you may be able to get something from Dell for less than $900. Check their site. In fat I think you could get something fairly nice for $900.
Get at least 512mb of ram and get a graphics card that is at least 128mb and get a hard drive that is SATA.
All else is not that important for a budget, budget computer that will still have some good power and performance.
Stay away from brands you are not sure about.
Get a high speed Internet connection if it is within budget, and do not use AOL unless you think you need it for some reason.
Whatever you get will be heads and shoulders above your current system. You'll wonder how you got along without it before.
Check in here and I will help you with the transition betwen old and new.
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CM
waterbuffalo
system restore is a winxp program
and if what you are using is serving you well do not jump too fast and buy something you don't need at this point
you can add more memory to what you have and make your comp faster for less then $50
http://www.usmodular.com/finder.html
use this or other memory finders
what are the problems you are having now after doing what WW said?
win98 can run most programs well
MS office programs and the like that is need for school.
It's true that xp is superior and smarter then 98 but if you don't need it now, then why not wait.
The longer you wait the cheaper and more powerful the comp get.
I have 2 brothers that are running win98 and it serves their purpose for them.
My particular doorstop is a pentium3 500mhz and does what i want it too.
As far as getting a new computer I would suggest a Gateway or on from here-
http://gateway.com/index.shtml
http://www.tigerdirect.com/
personally i would stay away from refurbished machines
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WordWolf
No need.
Run a defrag and a scandisk every 2 months or so.
The other stuff, yes, run every 2-3 days at the least
(Spybot, AdAware, antivirus.)
The firewall and SpywareBlaster don't have to be "run", and the
main usages of the antivirus and Spybot's "immunization" feature
don't have to be "run" either-they act like SpywareBlaster.
And, yes, if you're OVERDUE to do all that, it takes 2 full days.
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WordWolf
I'd agree in part.
If your finances are tight, this isn't a vital expense-
unless you depend on this machine for work.
If you can afford to get an XP machine, I expect that, if
you shop around, you can get a basic package for under
$500 (I check prices all the time, and I see some good
machines in the $400s all the time.)
More memory is cheaper than a new machine, true.
The speed of the machine is more a function of the
microprocessor speed, however. That determines how fast
it "thinks". My machine is not top-of-the-line, but its
speed is enough that I can run, say AdAware while doing
something else and split the speed in 1/2 without losing
much performance speed. (It's good for multitasking.)
Win98 PCs can't do that.
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WordWolf
Well,
sometimes a program will crash badly and eat itself or other
programs.
Sometimes you hit the wrong key and "save" and reset your entire
pc so the screen is upside-down or something.
That's when a System Restore comes in handy.
I presume it works roughly the same in 98 as it does in XP.
Periodically (or when you tell it to), the pc will take a sort of
"snapshot" of settings and vital functions.
That way, if you damage something, you have the option of going
back to a System Restore Point and restoring functions the way
they were at that time.
Whenever you're about to install a new program you're unsure of,
it's a GREAT idea to set a System Restore point first. That way,
if it makes a small crash, you can reset your controls.
You can determine how much space your machine uses for System
Restores. When it reaches the limit, the next one will push out the
oldest restore to make space for the new one. You can also delete
all but the most recent when you're doing a Disc Cleanup
(if XP is anything to go by).
Once you've really cleaned house, it's a good idea to make a new
Restore point, then erase all but the most recent.
That will prevent you from accidentally restoring viruses or spyware
or whatever.
BTW,
http://www.grc.com
has some handy free programs. I'm not sure if they work with 98,
but they'll be labelled either way.
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igotout
XP and P4 should be a minimum starting point for anyone these days in my opinion. Unless a few hunderd dollars is an obstacle.
Ditch your old crappy hardware and OS. BTW Office 2003 is the best. But lets not start with software. One has to get to first base before he can go further.
I think it is ill advice to tell someone to stick with WIndows 98. Unless their budget is down to the the hundreds of dollars that they can not afford. But I would still find a way.
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CM
"XP and P4 should be a minimum starting point"
i assume you mean when your buying a new one.
if any one here wants to throw away a working
computer-don't do it please-send it to me i'll pay the shipping
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waterbuffalo
(igotout) Well, then, do you have an old XP that you would sell me? That's about the only way I could get one right now, LOL!
WW, thanks that is all good advice and I will run everything once I get my feet on the ground with my new job.
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waterbuffalo
CM, so how do I get it to stop popping up at startup everytime?
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CM
i just looked at your profile
you are only right up the road from me
i'm south of dayton and just north of cinci
email me if you want me to look at it
it's in my profile
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waterbuffalo
CM, ck your pt. Thx.
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CM
left a message on the pt thing
you keep hitting refresh to get the messages
well if you hit the print screen button then open word pad and right click in word pad and hit paste there will be a picture of your desktop that you could email or post
save the document as a file and you can send it by email
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CM
ok i htink i found the answer
http://www.annoyances.org/exec/show/article03-102
check this out
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igotout
WB, I would never sell you one. But I would give you one if I had an extra.
CM I threw away a pentium 3 box last year with windows 2000 on it. To me it was worthless (except the monitor).
And no, I believe the LEAST a person should be running with today is Pentium 4 (or equivalent AMD) with XP. When my friends or neighbors ask me to help them I do not do it if they have '98 and old crappy hardware. I help them upgrade first. Then I can help.
Why? Because I just do not have the time it takes to handle that old stuff and those ancient annoyances, as this is something I do in my spare time as a hobby.
But that is just my opinion and viewpoint. Millions are not there yet. Some, I think, are better off without a computer at all.
I know several teens who do not care for them anymore. They would rather just use their cells. And for gaming they like Xbox and things like that. And some young people are revisiting using turntables and vinyl records. Interesting isn't it?
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CM
igotout
Well the next time you get to throw away working equipment throw it to someone who could use it. I know a few.
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