re: Attn:ME Experts
Monday, January 27, 2003 at 5:13 am
Windows Me Annoyances Discussion Forum
Posted by Jack Gulley
(5917 messages posted)
What the hay. I will throw in my usual 2 cents worth.
 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,
worms and trojans, update all device drivers and make sure your hardware is
OK.
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 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.
 If a Windows ME system
has more than 512MB of RAM, then to work around a bug in the vcache
management, per 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 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
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.
 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.
 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.
 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 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 PC-cillin or Symantec Removal Tools or McAfee_AV sites for information on
the specific virus and removal tools and instructions.
 Next, and
most important step, is to download and install the 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 SpyBot later by using the un-checked
items.
 Another good easy to use, but
not updated recently, Spyware/Ad-ware remover is AdAware_Lavasoft.nu. It has a separate program that must
be installed to check for and download update files.
 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.
 To understand
what tasks and programs are running on your machine, may be causing problems and
taking up the processor bandwidth, download WinTop, one of the free Micro$oft Kernel Toys. It gives accurate
% CPU usage by program. Also use the Windows ME System Tools - System Information
utility to find all programs running and all programs, DLLs and Drivers loaded into
memory.
 To remove
two Windows ME Startup tasks that sometimes cause performance problems, use (Start
- RUN - msconfig - OK, Startup tab) to un-check and remove PCHealth
and TaskMonitor from your Windows ME startup list. They are not needed and
if their files are corrupted, they can slow down your system. PCHealth collects system
configuration changes for use in remote problem analysis by Enterpri$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.
 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 AnswersThatWork - Lexpps.exe.
 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 Windows UpDate site, as there
is a year old fix for System Restore not working correctly.
 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.
 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 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.
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 Windows UpDate site and download
the Security updates for Windows and your version of IE. - - Then go to GRC.com and run his 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 PC Flank.com.
- Written in response to:
- Attn:ME Experts (MrCharlie: Sunday, January 26, 2003 at 3:27 pm)
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