I have a PIII 450 running Win98 and am trying to wring the last bit of performance out of this computer before upgrading to a new P IV rig. I want to see if I can maximize the amount of system resources available on this PC before I do, so that this one can become a peripheral computer in a multi-pc, multi monitor set-up.I've already been into MSCONFIG and use a selective start-up. Under start-up I have removed all but Explorer, the SYSTRAY, the mouse driver, and Scan Reg. I have no anti-viral software running in the background. My CD-R is disabled unless I call for its program. I have my computer set as a network server, and the desktop has a bitmap background that I can close, though it makes no difference in resources available. Active desktop is not set in a Web mode, as I understand it can reduce resources.As a result of the above Resources Available is at 88%, not bad. But I have seen others report numbers in the mid 90's. Is System Resources available a valid measure? Perhaps not. But I have experienced better overall performance as the backgrouond load has been reduced.Any thoughts on additional steps?Thanks, Rick

http://www.aumha.org/a/resource.htmhttp://www.anandtech.com/guides/viewfaq.html?i=93Kurt M

Kurt:Thank you for the supplieed links. The first one was especially helpful since it provided a great deal of background into how best to view the process of managing memory and resources.It looks like I've exhausted everything outlined in the links, and am still wondering if there are settings in windows or within the computer itself that I can access and influence in order to gain more of the processors "free time".Keep the ideas coming. Rick

Does setting your computer as a network server rather than as desktop PC?

Having read through the excellent articles that Kurt provided, the only setting I found that I could change was in the [386enh] section of the system.ini file, which wasConservativeSwapFileUsage=1According to the information I read, this setting does not need to be enabled in Win98 since Microsoft updated the way that swap files are managed, alleviating some of the problems present in Win95. After setting this selection to =0, I noticed that when switching from cockpit to spot view, a portion of the instrument panel remained on the screen as an artifact, taking up to 20 seconds to slowly diasppear. Other artifacts were present when changing views while in the cockpit as well. I reset this function to =1 and everything again worked just fine.In the articles provided by Kurt, the author also made a strong argument for allowing Win98 to managed the virtual memory, as it does a very efficient job at it. Having changed the virtual memory setting several times in the past without noticing any improvement, I'm inclined to agree.Still looking for more ideas.Thanks, Rick

HiOther items you can eliminate are all the icons on your desktop.Edhttp://hifi.avsim.net/activesky/images/wxrebeta.jpg

Ed:I know that the icons can be accessed through the Start->Settings->Task Bar and Start Menu path, but is there a problem with removing them. The object is to prevent them from displaying, without inadvertently deleting the program they are associated with in the process, correct?Just trying to be clear in my mind so that I don't disable a program because the icon is lost.If I remove them, will there be much of an improvement? I've always viewed them simply as icons. I do not have any shortcut icons on the screen, only direct program ones, IE, Recycle Bin, Network, My Computer.Rick

I asked about setting setting the computer as a network server instead of as a desktop PC. I also asked a friend of mine who has been a system administrator...and here is his answer:"I don't think that recommendation holds much water for a few reasonssince:- On any OS (including Windows, Mac and UNIX) turning on any additionalnetwork services or file services required to be a network server (or ANYother services) consumes additional memory and processor cycle resourcesthereby reducing availability of these resources for "workstation" relatedapplication use.- on any Win9x machine (including Windows Me) given the architecture ofthose OS platforms they are not efficient servers anyway.- if you upgraded to Windows 2000 or XP (which are both based on the NTgenerations of OS platforms) you would end up with a better "server", butthose machines would still be faster for workstation application use ifserver related services were turned off.For the typical home user the easiest ways to improve performance are:- make sure you have adequate RAM for your particular OS- routinely defrag your hard drive- turn off unused background tasks and services (including shared fileservices and unused network protocols)"sherm

Hi Rick,A couple of years ago, I was surprised how much memory is taken by the icons. I have a p3 500 with 128 ram so I need everything I can get. Disabling most icons does not disable the program as they can be accessed as you mentioned. I have everything disabed except "my computer", like to have it handy. When I start my machine, the system resources are 96% free. I am running WinMe, but I don't know if this makes a difference or not.Hope this helps,Edhttp://hifi.avsim.net/activesky/images/wxrebeta.jpg

Ed:Thanks for the reply. Not wanting to belabor the point, but how specifically do you disable the desktop icons? If you right click and select "delete" some will ask if you are trying to delete the entire program.I did find an article on line that will hide the icons from the desktop itself. Is this what you are talking about? I tend to think that it is not, but it does state to do the following:1. Run Regedit2. Access: HKEY_CURRENT_USERSOFTWAREMICROSOFTWINDOWSCURRENT VERSIONPOLICIESEXPLORER3. Next double click the "NoDesktop" value. If no such line entry exists, create it.4. Enter =1 for the value, then click OK. Refresh the desktop with F5 and the icons will be gone.This will remove the icons from view, but will not disable the fact that they are there at start-up. Still wondering how to physically disable the desktop icons altogether.Thanks, Rick

Sherm:Thanks for the reply. I wish that I could recall where the suggestion to set the computer as a network server came from, but it was described as a means to make your computer more efficient. It has always seemed a dubious sugestion to me for a stand-alone PC. If this were true, the computer would default to the network server setting unless some specific application required that it be used otherwise.This suggestion may have fallen into the same category of urban myth as setting a specific virtual memory size in Win98.Thanks, Rick

Suggest trying Rambooster. See this linkhttp://www.sci.fi/~borg/rambooster/It certainly frees up RAM significantly. But to be honest, I have not noticed any big improvement on my system.Richard

Rick,Maybe I should have explained this further. I use tweak ui for disabling the windows icons. This little program can do a lot with the Windows system that you can't do otherwise. If I want to enable the icons all I do is open tweak ui and add a checkmark. The icons themselves are what use the resources. Tweak ui can be downloaded here. http://downloads-zdnet.com.com/3000-2341-2...3.html?tag=listEdhttp://hifi.avsim.net/activesky/images/wxrebeta.jpg

Thanks Ed:I've downloaded the tweak, and will give it a try when I get home this evening. I had read something about that utility in my travels on the internet today.Will let you know how it turns out.Rick

Good luck to you.Edhttp://hifi.avsim.net/activesky/images/wxrebeta.jpg