Old computer with little memory...bigger page file help?

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Hi all:
Iwas given an old (98SE) Compaq pc and am fixing it up with some parts I
had around to give to a handicapped resident in my apartment complex. I have
upgraded to with XP Home and increased the memory to the maximum the board
will handle...384 MBs. The AMD processor operates at 400 Mhz and I added an
old pci controller card which allowed me to install a used 120 GB IDE drive
to replace the 10 GB drive. After re-installing Win98SE and upgrading to XP
Home the pc works ok but is subject to long delays when installing Windows
update downloads or other large downloads. It sometimes freezes during
intensive cpu use. It will access the internet, play music, send & receive
emails ok but before I give it to the handicapped man I wondered if it would
help to increase the size of the page file since the memory is small and the
onboard video & audio take away 64 MBs. I really have no idea if it would
make the pc more responsive and how to do that but if it would help I would
appreciate any input you might offer.

xiowan..........in tucson
 
Windows 98 runs on FAT32 file system,xp runs with NTFS,convert the OS.
To do so,open cmd,type:CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS After run disk clean up &
defrag..As for memory,set the old hd as a storage hd,& set with a page file
in
system properties,set both to "let windows manage" click set 2X,close
out,maybe
format 1st in NTFS.Also,one can upgrade from 98 to xp,however a clean install
of xp is a better way (boot to xp cd),one needs both retail cds.
 
xiowan said:
Hi all:
Iwas given an old (98SE) Compaq pc and am fixing it up with some parts I
had around to give to a handicapped resident in my apartment complex. I have
upgraded to with XP Home and increased the memory to the maximum the board
will handle...384 MBs. The AMD processor operates at 400 Mhz and I added an
old pci controller card which allowed me to install a used 120 GB IDE drive
to replace the 10 GB drive. After re-installing Win98SE and upgrading to XP
Home the pc works ok but is subject to long delays when installing Windows
update downloads or other large downloads. It sometimes freezes during
intensive cpu use. It will access the internet, play music, send & receive
emails ok but before I give it to the handicapped man I wondered if it would
help to increase the size of the page file since the memory is small and the
onboard video & audio take away 64 MBs. I really have no idea if it would
make the pc more responsive and how to do that but if it would help I would
appreciate any input you might offer.

xiowan..........in tucson
Click to expand...

Probably all that you need to do is to ensure that the page file is
set to "System Managed Size" so that Windows XP can adjust things as
and when needed.

If you really want to tweak the page file set the minimum to about 50%
larger than the largest value reported or "Session peak usage" by the
page file monitoring utlity from
http://www.dougknox.com/xp/utils/xp_pagefilemon.htm and the maximum to
at least double the largest value reported for PF Usage by Windows
Task Manager.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP (1997 - 2008)
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

"Anyone who thinks that they are too small to make a difference
has never been in bed with a mosquito."
 
Hi Andrew E:
Thanks for the information. The old 10Gb Hard drive with the original
Win98SE O.S. didn't work so I installed the replacement H.D. and
re-installed Win98SE on the replacement drive using the Compaq re-store disk
that came with the pc. (I tried a clean install of XP first using the XP
home upgrade disk first on a clean drive and then entered the original OEM
key but the key failed to work and the installation stopped.) I then
installed Win98SE and used the XP Home upgrade within Win98SE. One of the
upgrade options was to format the drive in NTFS file system and then install
XP. It worked ok and passed validation and is updated with all windows
updates. I think the page file is automatically set to let window manage so
I'll leave that alone then. I guess the limited amount and slow speed of the
memory is the bottleneck along with the cpu having to spend time on the
onboard audio and video at only 400 Mhz. I thot about adding a pci express
video card but no PCI express slot! I'll go ahead and run disk clean up and
de-frag the drive. Guess running XP on a pc that old is asking a lot of it
lol.

xiowan................in tucson
 
Hi Ron Martell:
Thanks for your input. I think I'll just set the page file to double
the size windows thinks it needs to be and let him use the pc a while. I can
change it later if needed. I really don't know if a larger page file will
make much difference anyway.

xiowan...........in tucson
 
Windows 98 runs on FAT32 file system
Click to expand...


No, not correct. Windows 98 runs on any and all combinations of FAT32,
FAT16, and FAT12.

,xp runs with NTFS
Click to expand...


Also not correct. Windows XP runs on all combinations of the file
system above (FAT32, FAT16, and FAT12) as well as NTFS.

,convert the OS.
To do so,open cmd,type:CONVERT C: /FS:NTFS
Click to expand...



Very poor advice. Doing as you suggest is highly likely to create
512-byte clusters instead of the default 4K ones, which will make his
performance worse, not better. To avoid the result of 512-bytes
clusters, before converting, read http://www.aumha.org/a/ntfscvt.htm

Moreover, it is highly unlikely that changing from FAT32 to NTFS will
solve his problems.


After run disk clean up &
defrag..As for memory,set the old hd as a storage hd,& set with a page file
in
system properties,set both to "let windows manage" click set 2X,close
out,maybe
format 1st in NTFS.

Also,one can upgrade from 98 to xp,however a clean install
of xp is a better way (boot to xp cd),one needs both retail cds.
Click to expand...


Unlike with older Windows versions, an upgrade installation to XP
replaces almost everything and usually works very well. Since it's
much easier than a clean installation, it's almost always worth at
least trying. Worst case, if problems develop, you can always
reinstall cleanly.

However, in his case, he apparently did a Windows 98 installation
immediately followed by a Windows XP upgrade, which for all practical
purposes is the same as a clean installation of XP.



I see from what you say below that you have onboard video, so that
your 384MB is really only 320MB. Depending on what apps you run, that
may or may not be adequate for Windows XP. But realize that even if
your apps aren't very demanding, 256-384MB is at the very bottom of
the range that is acceptable for XP.

The AMD processor operates at 400 Mhz
Click to expand...


That is also at the bottom end of the range of acceptable speeds. You
can run XP with a 400MHz CPU and 320MB of RAM, but performance will
always be marginal at best. Some people can tolerate the poor
performance you will get with such a machine; others can not.





Just for the future, note that you didn't need to do that. The
requirement to use an upgrade version is to *own* a previous
qualifying version's installation CD, not to have it installed. When
setup doesn't find a previous qualifying version installed, it will
prompt you to insert its CD as proof of ownership. Just insert the
previous version's CD, and follow the prompts. Everything proceeds
quite normally and quite legitimately.




Changing the page file settings won't improve anything; I would just
stick with the defaults. In all probability this machine's performance
issues are because it's inherently an old low-powered machine, and,
short of doing major hardware upgrades (which would probably not be
cost-effective) there's little that can be done to improve it.

One remaining point: Malware infestation is an increasingly common
problem these days, and is often the cause of poor performance. If
this machine has been connected to the internet it has been subject to
getting infected. What software protection do you use (firewall,
anti-spyware, and anti-spyware), and have you kept them up to date?
 
Hi Ken Blake:
Thanks for your comprehensive reply. I am not surprised that the older
hardware is the cause of the slow/poor functioning of the pc. I did mistate
the speed of the processor......it's 500 Mhz instead of 400 Mhz.....whoopee!
I would have just saved some of the parts and tossed it but since I already
had everything needed to restore it to operating condition and am giving it
to someone in need, I spent some spare time and old parts and hopefully he
can learn to use a computer and keep in contact with distant relatives at
lower cost than via phone as well as play his cd collection while he surfs
the net. I'm not sure I'll even be able to teach him how to use the pc since
he is the victim of a stroke and will have a slow learning curve but it's
always nice to try to help someone if I can. Oh, and thanks for your advice
too!

xiowan..........in tucson
 
Hi Ken Blake:
Thanks for your comprehensive reply. I am not surprised that the older
hardware is the cause of the slow/poor functioning of the pc. I did mistate
the speed of the processor......it's 500 Mhz instead of 400 Mhz.....whoopee!
I would have just saved some of the parts and tossed it but since I already
had everything needed to restore it to operating condition and am giving it
to someone in need, I spent some spare time and old parts and hopefully he
can learn to use a computer and keep in contact with distant relatives at
lower cost than via phone as well as play his cd collection while he surfs
the net. I'm not sure I'll even be able to teach him how to use the pc since
he is the victim of a stroke and will have a slow learning curve but it's
always nice to try to help someone if I can. Oh, and thanks for your advice
too!
Click to expand...



You're welcome. Always glad to help--especially a fellow Tucsonan.
 
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