Windows Explorer stucks

Hey everybody!

I'm back after a long break I took...
Hope you're all fine...

Whenever i'm in the windows exp. (WIN98 SE), when I try to delete a folder or a bunch of files,
they're being deleted, and afterword the list of files scrolls up and the window freezes.

The windows exp. won't respond for a very long time (about
3-4 mins.) and when i try to close it with the CTRL+ALT+DELETE
routine, the close program menu sometime shows that the windows expl. is not responding, and sometimes
explorer itself is not responding,
so either way i have to close it, which restarts the desktop, etc. .

This is a very frustrating process, mainly because i'm deleting files
constantly. I have sufficient space (about 10 gigs free out of 53), and enough RAM (64MB on an AMD K6-II 450),
and usually work with 85%-90% free sys resources.

But what's bugging me the most is, when i try to delete to the recycle bin, the same thing happens!

I'll appreciate any ideas you might be having.

Thanx in advanx,
LLDJ.

 

Hi, LL ~

You have 53GB of HD and only 64MB of RAM?? How do you figure you have enough RAM?

I don't know what type of programs you are running, but 53GB of HD space is indicative of your utilizing some cycle and RAM dependant software of which 128MB would be the required minimum to run effectively.

When was the last time you cleaned & defragged?

Also, what do you have running in the background while you are working?

 

LLDJ,

I agree with BruceKrymow. You need a minimum of 128MB of RAM. If you mass delete a bunch of files, that can hang up a small amount of RAM. Windows SE itself is using about half of what you have now, or more.

Your processor is fast enough for most normal stuff, and it will run some pretty intensive programs with enough RAM. I also suspect that you are running a few of those.

First of all, to try to release some of the RAM you do have back into use, go into Start\Run, type in msconfig, then click OK. Click the Startup tab. Uncheck any programs from loading their drivers on boot up that aren't necessary for OS operation. Stuff like graphics progs, printer & scanner software, etc, etc. There will proabably be quite a few you can uncheck. Any that do not directly affect the operation of the Operating system, or your security programs. Those drivers will then be loaded when you activate the program. Once you re-boot, go back & make sure they stayed unchecked.

Empty your Temporary Internet files, History Folder, & your Windows Temp Folder. Tell the computer to show all files, then go empty the contents of the Recent folder. It is a hidden folder.

You need to get some Registry Cleaners if you don't have any. You said you are constantly deleting stuff. That tells me your registry is probably full of unnecessary links to files that no longer exist. Plus installing, & uninstalling both leaves behind dead links. Those things can slow down a computer real bad. Here is a good free one. It won't find everything, but if your registry is a clogged as I suspect, it will find plenty. EasyCleaner 2.0 Beta: http://www.toniarts.com/betas.htm. It does not install to the OS. Simply place it in a folder & make a shorcut to it. It has several other features, but all I use it for is Registry Cleaning. I have never had a problem deleting everything it finds on dead registry links.

After this do a thorough Scandisk of the OS, which on a 53GB hard drive will take overnight probably, if it isn't partitioned off into smaller sections. Next Defrag it at lesast once, maybe twice. Try to get a copy of the ME defrag & replace the one you have with it first. It is faster. I don't have a link to it, but maybe someone else does. Hopefully SE won't have a problem Scandisking, & Defragging 53GB. It is reccommended that if you have more than a 30GB, it should be partitioned into at least two parcels.

If you already know, & have done all of this, disregard. If you haven't, it will most likely help a lot, and can't hurt a darn thing.

 

Deloris,
I get a "forbidden" on the link you posted ?
regards

 

Merlin,
click on the link and when you get the forbidden message,
take off the dot from the end of the URL.

I got the ME defragger, and it IS faster, so thanks deloris, for your advice...

 

Hi, Liad ~

As Deloris mentioned, you will find that once you defrag, prevent unneccesary apps from running at startup and clean up those TIFs, MRUs, .tmps, .logs and other useless files taking up residence on your hard drive, things should run a little better.

Also, you won't have to rearrange them all w/ a defrag. One of the reasons you are being tied up is that only 64MB of RAM is working very, very hard trying to manage and run all over your 53GB locating and rearranging 4KB clusters, not to mention the burden of your swap/paging file, bloated registry and dead hive entries from constantly removing files.

Make sure you dump the files, clean the registry, then defrag in that order. Post back and let us know how things turn out.

 

Don't forget to do the Thorough Scandisk of system & data areas. This is supposed to be done before you defrag. If you do not know how to tell it to fix errors manually, tick the automatically fix errors in the Scandisk dialog box.

Empty out all those files I mentioned frequently. Do a standard Scandisk, & Defrag about once, or twice a week. A thorough Scandisk about once a month. This will keep your hard drive optimized for peak performance of it's capabilities.

An occasional thorough Scandisk is very important. A thorough Scandisk checks the hard drive for bytes in bad sectors, & if there are any it is supposed to flag them, so that Windows will not try to put information into them. Bad spots are like black holes. Once info is put into them, it is lost forever.

If you do not have your hard drive partitioned off into smaller sections, you need to do it. this will help Windows to manage everything. Here is a link to a free partition manager that I have seen reccommended many times. Ranish Partition Manager:http://www.ranish.com/part/
I have not used it myself, because I have Partition Magic, which is not free.

On the EasyCleaner, be sure to scroll to the middle of the page for Version2.0 beta. Don't get the Version 1.7f that is listed at the top of the page. 2.0 beta is superior by far to 1.7f. I had the earlier version, & 2.0 is much better.

Good luck & if you can manage it, spring for more RAM too.

Please post back with results.

 

Thanx guys...

Thanx guys,

Actually, I have two hard-drives, a 13GB partitioned to two parts
as a master, and a 40GB partitioned to two parts also as a slave,
so at least on this part I know i'm doing fine

About MSconfig, i've set it so that only the necessary programs
will load on system startup:
-systray
-scan registry
-mdm
-AVG (my AV program, only the necessary files in order to work)
-3dfx tools
-load power profile (it appeas twice, relating to the same DLL and
the same action, don't know why?)

Could you guys tell me which of these apps i can disable?

so actually, my desktop loads very quickly (if you consider RAM and CPU).

About defrag, I took the kind advice and got me a copy of ME defrag, and it is MUCH faster, so i'm happy with it.

Other than that, sometimes i'm running Ad-aware to kick out molesters of all kinds.

I do have another qeustion, though:

Is it true that win98 can oonly manage a MAX of 64 RAM?

If I have a new processor (1.8Ghz and 1024 RAM) and work on 98,
will the OS support it?

Hangin' in there for you,
LLDJ.

 

Hi, Liad ~

It is not true that win98 can only manage a max of 64 RAM. You will notice in Deloris' signature that she has Windows 98SE 512MB SDRAM. I just discarded a Win98 w/256MB RAM.

Tha Ad-aware, of which I am a big fan, I believe is the owner of scan registry and does not need to run at startup. Run Ad-aware manually before you sign off or whatever is convenient.

Definitely disable the 3dfx tools.

AVG (a big fan of that, too) is a must and eats up barely anything. Systray must stay.

I am suspicious of mdm and load power profile. Try disabling each individaully, rebooting, and if all is well, then leave it.

1.8Ghz and 1024 RAM is music to your ears, Liad! If you are implying you can move in that direction, then by all means get with it, boy!

 

mdm is just a debugger...I've unchecked mine
Loadpowerprofile......is used for power management. I leave both of mine checked as well.

Daizy

*edit*
Have to agree with what's already been said. Ram is still relatively inexpensive.... You may want to think of upgrading?

 

As I understand it Win 98 will accept up to 512MB of RAM, but has problems running on more than that. On a 450MHz CPU like yours, if you just double what you have, you will see an improvement, but if you go up to the max 98 will handle, 512MB, you will see a considerable improvement, even on your 450MHz.

I am also suspicious of mdm, but "Load Power Profile" is normal, & part of the Windows power operation. Two of those entries is normal also. Leave them ticked, unticking them will do no good anyway. Windows will just re-tick them.

If you are a power user, gamer, & etc, and can afford it, by all means go to a more powerful computer, but if you are not, then what you have will work just fine with more RAM. If you choose to buy more RAM, buy it in identical pairs, and replace what you have. Don't just add it. This is experience talking. Some motherboards will not accept mixed variables. I have two 256MB sticks in mine, at a total cost of $128.00 plus tax. That is not bad considering RAM used to be three times that for the same amount.

EDIT: I do not have mdm in my startup.

 

OOPS! Forgot to mention that your Motherboard probably uses SDRAM.

Make sure you know which type of RAM to get, and the bus speed for it.

In your case it's probably SDRAM, DIMM sockets, PC100/66, but do make sure because it won't work if it isn't the right kind.

If you know the brand & model of your Motherboard, & it isn't too old, you can look up the specs for it on the Internet, if you don't have a Motherboard manual.

 

Again...... MDM is just a debugger. See here.
By all means, uncheck it if you like.

Daizy

 

Upgrading

Guys...... I'm really impressed by your super-fast response!

About upgrading, i tought about modest upgrading:

I can get two 256MB DDR 333Mhz chips for less than 70$.

If i'd like to get an AMD athlon XP 1.8-2.0 Ghz (90$-130$), what Motherboard will I need? could you recommend one?

about the 3D card, I thought about Geforce 4 mx 440 128MB for about 80$

So, if I sum it up, it goes around 360$ including the motherboard.

Will it do the difference, or should I refresh some other components?

Waiting for a quick response (although it's like 2:30 out here...),

Liad.

 

Upgrading

Guys...... I'm really impressed by your super-fast response!

About upgrading, i tought about modest upgrading:

I can get two 256MB DDR 333Mhz chips for less than 70$.

If i'd like to get an AMD athlon XP 1.8-2.0 Ghz (90$-130$), which Motherboard will I need? could you recommend one?

about the 3D card, I thought about Geforce 4 mx 440 128MB for about 80$

So, if I sum it up, it goes around 360$ including the motherboard.

Will it do the difference, or should I refresh some other components?

Waiting for a quick response (although it's like 2:30 out here...),

Liad.

 

I'm conservative (and cheap ) I'd simply try the Ram first...and see if it gave me the added speed I was after, before I sank more money into it.

Daizy

 

Darn, I have a bad case of CRS.

98 will zip on a bigger processor, but does not recognize more than 512MB of RAM from what I've read. I have not tried to see if it will work on more than that myself, but others have said it actually slows it down to try to use more than 512MB of RAM, and M$ says up to 512 as well. So I am assuming that is correct.

 

The nVidia GForce4 440 is a darn good card, but the installation can be quite harry.

I just went through that on a GForce4 440 64MB.

If you do this, first, you must make sure your VGA settings are set back to minimum. Restore them to standard VGA first. Force windows to make your monitor a plug & play standard VGA. Even if you think it is already that way, do it anyway. Then follow the directions for installing the Video card to the letter. Do not deviate. I wrestled with this for a week.

I tried several things to fix the problem of my color not being right. Come to find out, there was a conflict between my Monitor drivers & the new video drivers. nVidia did not like my monitor drivers at all, so I finally had to remove my monitor drivers completely, force Windows to set the Monitor as plug & play, standard VGA, then re-install the card. I had to make four stabs at all of this before I finally got the right stuff in & out. I had much appreciated help from BillyBob on suggestions of what to try, since he'd had the same experience with the same card.

Good luck.

 

Just had this problem. Did you update to Internet Explorer 6 sp1 recently? If so remove it and go back to the previous version you had.

 

Just another thing to note... Win98 might allow a max of 512 megs of ram but he should check his MoBo specs to see the max it will recognize.

The thing is 64 megs of ram will make his system seem slow but it is not the cause of explorer hanging. As in my 1st post that is cause by IE 6 sp1.