system resources

I am running Windows 98 SE on Compaq Presario 5700N.. i seem to have a problem with my resources dropping low very fast..after i reboot i have 90%..if i connect to internet it drops to 80%..open IE and it drops under 70%..i am wondering if that is normal...i have a 3com dsl modem.i have ran msconfig and unchecked all in start menu except , scanregistry , systemtray, loadpower profile and loadqm..I left them not sure if i needed them or not....I have just reinstalled windows..i didnt have this problem before ....any input would be greatly appreciated

 

Welcome to the boards!
You do not need Loadqm.Exe loading at startup, it will use up resources. Have both PowerProf entries enabled if you use any Power Management.
Other than that, what you described is normal.
Since you mentioned having DSL, you should have a firewall installed, along with a AV program.
There are a few free items in my signature.

There will be others chiming in about this.

 

brenbabe

You have a right to be concerned - this not normal.

From memory dial-up used to cost me with both resources and cpu usage but with ADSL my 98SE system hardly blinks - a 10% drop is a lot for a system which can only handle [escuse the pun] only 64K of resource info.

On an initial instance of IE, resources will drop dramatically but 10% is also a lot. On closing, a following instance will see resources drop less - resources are held on the first instance. This is common with MS apps. Most, if not all, other browsers will release all resources used.

Get a copy of DynRes&Mem, unzip and run two instances. Disable one and then do 'something' - like load IE. The disabled instance is effectively a snapshot of resources and memory usage. The enabled instance will show how your system has 'suffered' after doing 'something'. If you now 'undo' the 'something' - like close IE - you'll see how the system recovers.

DynRes&Mem gives much more than you need for examining this problem but it uses little resources and doesn't have a large footprint. Cpu usage is no worse than other monitoring apps and usage drops like a stone when disabled.

DynRes&Mem was originally written as a single instance app but is useful as two instances. I have used it as a minimised snapshot early in a session and then run another instance much later to see how things have progressed - especially with regard to 'Locked noncache' memory which with my m.o. reduces 'MAX avail memory' quite a bit toward the end of a day.