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re: Windows ME Fixes
Saturday, November 8, 2003 at 4:35 am
Windows Me Annoyances Discussion Forum
Posted by Ian O'Neill
(4 messages posted)
Perhaps you can keep me from going crazy. I have done everything you say, tried
reducing load to 8 processes, and still show cpu usage of 60 to 70 percent. When
I used wintop, "Idle" used 99 percent of usage. The system has been de-virused,
de-trojaned, dewormed and all known spyware has been removed. The disk is not fragmented
or damaged. I cannot understand this. I also did every hardware check I know of.
No matter what I do or remove, it stays the same. The only processes running are
those vital to windows. If anyone can help, I sure would appreciate it.
On Thursday, January 30, 2003 at 10:19 pm, Jack Gulley wrote:
>With that kind of response, I should have put my updated two cents worth
>version here. My Windows ME is now very stable with all these changes. What the
hay.
>I'll post it again anyway.
>
> 
>
>
>
> 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
> Spyware_AD-ware,
>virus, worms and trojans, update all device drivers, install all Windows
Updates
>and make sure your hardware is OK.
>
>Memory hardware problems:
>
> Memory Tests >
>For example: memory failures can cause program hanging symptoms. Or if you are overclocking
>and there is a random failure problem. This can be happening without you realizing
>it on most system boards running Windows. So you must test memory outside of Windows.
>Having memory problems can also cause corrupted program files on the disk during
>a Defrag. A common memory problem is a BIOS setting of "CLK SDRAM Cycle Length"
of
>CL=2 when you may have a CL=3 rated SDRAM module added to the machine. So use your
>CMOS Setup function to set memory values to default or standard settings, and the
>CL setting to 3 (unless you know for a fact your memory is rated CL=2). Then run
>a standalone memory test from a DOS boot diskette. Get both
>target="_blank"> DocMemory_v2.0 and
>target="_blank"> 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 is the cause of 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 Scandisk. In some cases it may be necessary to boot from a Windows ME
>boot diskette and run from the DOS prompt: SCANDISK C: to clear errors.
>
> 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, like KaZaA, 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
>Spyware-Adware remover is
>color=#2200FF>Lavasoft's_Ad-Aware. Purchase versions include real-time
>detecting and blocking of Spyware-Adware. Download the free version at
>target="_blank"> Ad-Aware_6 to scan for and remove
>Spyware-Adware.
>
> 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$oft Kernel Toys. It gives accurate
>% CPU usage by program. Also use the Windows ME System Tools - System
Information
>utility to find all programs running and all programs, DLLs and Drivers loaded into
>memory.
>
> PCHealth - TaskMonitor >
> To remove
>two Windows ME Startup tasks that often cause performance problems and hangs, use
>(Start - RUN - msconfig - OK, Startup tab) to un-check and remove
PCHealth
>and TaskMonitor from your Windows ME startup list. They are not needed and
>if their data files are corrupted, they can slow down your system. PCHealth collects
>system configuration changes for use in remote problem analysis by Enterprise Network
>$upport desks. 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" when the 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. Defrag will now run a little faster.
>
> LexMark Drivers >
> The LexMark
>Z, A & P series printer drivers cause random program and shutdown hangs. If not
sharing
>Lexmark printer to the network, its problem drivers can be removed without effecting
>normal operation. 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. The file, Lexpps.exe, may
also
>exist with some low end HP and Compaq printers that were OEM'ed by Lexmark, so search
>for it and rename. See
>target="_blank"> AnswersThatWork - Lexpps.exe.
>
> System _RESTORE >
> If your system _RESTORE
>files are corrupted, contain a virus 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
>target="_blank"> Disabling System Restore 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
>href="http://v4.windowsupdate.microsoft.com" 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. Then use the
>target="_blank">Windows UpDate site to update
>manually.
>
> 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), and corrupted work files, get a copy of the
>
>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 the system and 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. Go to 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 ME and your version of IE.
- Then go
to
> GRC.com and run
>target="_blank"> Shields UP tests. Read about security there and try
to
>follow advice on closing
>your ports.
- Additional advanced
>security testing, worm and trojan information and Firewall testing can be found
at
> PC Flank.com.
- Written in response to:
- Windows ME Fixes (Jack Gulley: Thursday, January 30, 2003 at 10:19 pm)
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