re: Attn:ME Experts
Tuesday, January 28, 2003 at 3:08 pm
Windows Me Annoyances Discussion Forum
Posted by MrCharlie
(4474 messages posted)
Thanks, that's the kind of info I'm looking for! Good job. MrC
On Monday, January 27, 2003 at 5:13 am, Jack Gulley wrote:
>What the hay. I will throw in my usual 2 cents worth.
>
> Intro - Windows ME >
> Actually, Windows
>ME is very stable (well can be) if you remove a few
>default software modules from memory, clean up your disk drive, remove any/all
>href="http://cexx.org/adware.htm" target="_blank"> Spyware_AD-ware,
>worms and trojans, update all device drivers and make sure your hardware
is
>OK.
>
> Memory Tests >
>For example: memory failures can cause
>program hanging symptoms, if you are overclocking it or there is a random failure
>problem. This can be happening without you realizing it on most system boards, so
>you must test it outside of Windows. Run a standalone memory test from a DOS boot
>diskette. Get both
>DocMemory_v2.0 and
>color=#FF4500> MemTest86_v3.0, and make their boot diskettes. You should
>be able to run both for at least 12 hours without errors to test your hardware,
>before you suspect Windows ME problems.
>
> 512 MB Limits >
> If a Windows ME system
>has more than 512MB of RAM, then to work around a bug in the vcache
>management, per
>target="_blank">Q253912, you must add the following
>to the [vcache] section of C:\Windows\SYSTEM.INI file:
>
>[vcache]
>MaxFileCache=524288
>
>If more than 1024MB (1GB) RAM, then a second entry in SYSTEM.INI may
>be required in the [386Enh] section per
>target="_blank">Q304943 to limit Windows ME to using
>just 1GB of physical RAM:
>
>[386Enh]
>MaxPhysPage=40000
>
>For more information see
> Memory Management_vcache.
>
>Slowdown and hang problems:
>
> Standard Intro >
> Standard
>approach to this type of problem is to clean up the disk drive, run a full up to
>date virus scan, check for and remove Spyware - Ad-ware
>- Browser Hijackers, and then remove some unnecessary programs.
>
> SCANDISK >
> First, run ScanDisk to make
>sure the drive is OK. If problems running ScanDisk, then reboot the system into
SAFE
>MODE (hold Ctrl when rebooting, before the Windows splash screen) and
>run it.
>
> Disk CleanUp >
> To do a quick Disk
>CleanUp and clean out temp files that you do not need, run (Start - Programs
-
>Accessories - System Tools -Disk CleanUp) on your C: drive. Run this
every
>week to keep system clean.
>
> Virus Scan >
> If you do
>not have a good up to date virus scan utility installed or there are
>problems with it, do a free online AV scan at
>target="_blank"> HouseCall_AV by TrendMicro.
>This will take a while to run but worth it to know that you do not have a virus
or
>common Trojan. If any are found and not removed, go to either
>target="_blank"> PC-cillin or
>target="_blank"> Symantec Removal Tools or
>target="_blank"> McAfee_AV sites for information
on
>the specific virus and removal tools and instructions.
>
> Spyware - SpyBot >
> Next, and
>most important step, is to download and install the
>target="_blank">SpyBot Search_&_Destroy
>tool to delete any Spyware/AD-ware/hijacker found. Read about this type of junk
at
>Spyware_etc.
>These programs come hidden in "free" software and can corrupt or slow down your
system.
>Or can be installed by some hijack web sites that hijack your browser settings.
After
>installing SpyBot, use the ONLINE feature to update the software and
>its reference lists, then run a scan and delete any checked items found.
Leave
>the un-checked items alone for now. Advanced users can do additional cookie,
>history list and Registry deleting with
>target="_blank">SpyBot later by using the
un-checked
>items.
>
> Ad-Aware - Lavasoft >
> Another good easy to use, but
>not updated recently, Spyware/Ad-ware remover is
>color=#2200FF>AdAware_Lavasoft.nu. It has a separate program that must
>be installed to check for and download update files.
>
> Spywareinfo >
> Additional information on Spyware
>and Browser Hijack removal tools, prevention tools, links and forums can be found
>at SpywareInfo.
>Here you can get help identifying new hijackers, related programs and current news.
>
> WINTOP tool >
> To understand
>what tasks and programs are running on your machine, may be causing problems and
>taking up the processor bandwidth, download
>target="_blank"> WinTop, one of the free Micro$oft Kernel Toys. It gives accurate
>% CPU usage by program. Also use the Windows ME System Tools - System
Information
>utility to find all programs running and all programs, DLLs and Drivers loaded into
>memory.
>
> PCHealth - TaskMonitor >
> To remove
>two Windows ME Startup tasks that sometimes cause performance problems, use (Start
>- RUN - msconfig - OK, Startup tab) to un-check and remove PCHealth
>and TaskMonitor from your Windows ME startup list. They are not needed and
>if their files are corrupted, they can slow down your system. PCHealth collects
system
>configuration changes for use in remote problem analysis by Enterpri$e Network $upport
>desk$. Are you paying for that kind of online support? TaskMonitor
>collects information on what parts of programs are being loaded and Tune-UP uses
>it to tell Defrag which 10 programs to leave fragmented. Drives
are
>fast and you do not need this minor tweak for loading a select few programs, one
>time. Un-check the show message box the next time system boots. Once this
>is done, reboot and go to System Tools - Scheduled Tasks and delete
>the icons for PCHealth and Tune-UP applications, the second part of
>these programs, again unneeded and Defrag will run a little faster.
>
> LexMark Drivers >
> The LexMark
>Z & P series printer drivers can cause program and shutdown hangs. If you are not
>sharing a Lexmark printer with the network, its problem drivers can be removed.
Use
>MSCONFIG to remove Lexstart.exe from the Startup tab list (keep LexmarkPrintTray),
>and then rename or delete the file \Windows\System\Lexpps.exe using Safe
Mode
>or a boot diskette DOS prompt. This file may also exist with some low end HP and
>Compaq printers that are OEM'ed by Lexmark. See
>target="_blank"> AnswersThatWork - Lexpps.exe.
>
> System _RESTORE >
> If your system _RESTORE
>files are corrupted or have grown too large, it can cause system slowdown problems.
>Often the STMGR.exe task will start running at 50% or more in the background. This
>can be corrected by disabling and then re-enabling System Restore, to delete
>all the old restore points. Go to (Start - Settings - Control Panel - System
-
>Performance tab - File System - Troubleshooting tab), and check the box
>for "Disable System Restore", click Apply and exit. System will reboot.
>Allow STMGR time to delete all the old system restore files, wait for no disk activity
>for at least a minute. Then run DEFRAG on the drive. Next go back into the Troubleshooting
>tab and un-check the box to enable System Restore again. Then use the Hard
>Disk tab to set the "System Restore disk space use:" slide bar to only use
>about 1000MB (or less) of disk space to limit how much of the drive it might use.
>- - Also, make sure system is up to date on the
>target="_blank">Windows UpDate site, as there
>is a year old fix for System Restore not working correctly.
>
> Automatic Updates >
> If system slowdowns only start
after
>logging on to the Internet, then disable Automatic Windows and IE updates.
>Again, if their files are corrupted it can cause system slowdowns. Go to Control
>Panel - Automatic Updates and under Options, set "Turn off automatic
>updating. I will update my computer manually." Check this every so often as
Windows
>will turn it back on sometimes. Then in Internet Explorer, click Tools - Internet
>Options line - Advanced tab, and un-check the box "Automatically Check for IE
>updates" and then click Apply.
>
> DELINDEX.bat >
> To really clean out unneeded Windows
>ME temp files, the IE temp files, cookies and index files (which have a history
of
>every web site you have visited), get a copy of the
>target="_blank"> DELINDEX.BAT file and place it
on
>your C:\ drive. Then boot from a Windows ME Startup boot diskette and run the batch
>file per its instructions. It will clear out INDEX.DAT files junk and free up disk
>space, so that IE can run better.
>
> Security - SSDPRSRV - GRC - PcFlank >
>
>To improve Security and help protect your system from Trojans and Worms, first remove
>SSDPSRV which leaves port 1900 and 5000 open, as part of Universal Plug and
>Play. Start - Settings - Control Panel - Add/Remove Programs - Widows Setup tab
>- select Communications - Details - and un-check "Universal Plug and
>Play". Click OK, OK and reboot system. - - Next go to the
>target="_blank"> Windows UpDate site and download
>the Security updates for Windows and your version of IE. - - Then go to
>target="_blank"> GRC.com and run his
>target="_blank"> Shields UP tests. Read about security there and try
to
>follow his advice on closing
>your ports. Additional advanced security
>testing, worm and trojan information and Firewall testing can be found at
>target="_blank"> PC Flank.com.
- Written in response to:
- re: Attn:ME Experts (Jack Gulley: Monday, January 27, 2003 at 5:13 am)
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