A few BASIC questions

On my W98 pc: at times the cursor (normally an arrow) turns into a vertical line with arrow heads at each end. What does this mean? And what causes it? In my case, it generally reverts to a normal cursor in a few tens of seconds.

Also, my desktop of icons usually appears against a white background. But some times the bckground changes to a woven-cloth wallpaper background. Why? Could this be related to low resources?

Is there a way to SEE the amount of free resources while working the pc? I often find the pc going slow and unstable, only to realize I have let the resources run down too much.

Thank you. ...wdc

 

Windows comes with a resource monitor.
Start -> Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools
If it is not installed, go to the Windows Setup page of Add/Remove Programs.

 

1]cursor (normally an arrow) turns into a vertical line with arrow heads at each end to indicate a change from the "select" icon to a "resize" icon.
2]What does this mean and what causes it? It means your mouse icon is hovering on or near something that you can resize, by moving it, in the direction the arrow heads indicate;up/down, side/side, or both (verticle&horizontal) as indicated by a leaning arrow. To do so you'd have to press and hold the left mouse button while moving or resizing the object ie; toolbars, taskbar, windows(panes/boxes), frames or columns etc.

This is as it should be. It is only problematic if you are not on or near something that can be changed as indicated. Random wallpaper change is another matter. To answer your question directly, Yes, low resources could produce odd behaviors such as you describe plus many more symptoms, errors and nusiances. Windows gets amnesia.

Questions as to why are you low on resources and what you can do about it? You may wish to search the archives of past posts on this issue. This issue has come up more than a few times and the shared experiences are Archived.

You may wish to use the "advanced search" option to pair down your hits on the number of posts you'll get. May I suggest keyword filters of:
low AND resources

The make sure the windows98 forum is selected in the forum field.