PC is not well

somano

Every since I got broadband I have downloaded more in the last 2 months than the previous 2 years and my pc seems to be in trouble ever since. I have got messages like "not enough memory to run Word 2000", resources low. System gets stuck all the time. I deleted all the large files that I had downloaded and a lot more but still got the same messages. Under system information "available space on drive c: 12600mb of 19561mb (fat 32)".

I took out my windows 98se disk to reinstall following the instructions on screen, used floppy etc, pc then told me it was restarting system, went into dos and it didn't do anything else. Last screen outputs mentioned something about "keyboard error".

Turned off the pc and started up again, all my icons etc there, on internet now but it wont allow me access Word, system just hangs, sometimes keyboard doesnt work, text as I type can have a delay also.

(1) What should I do ? Answers in plain English please

(2) Assuming that I get to reinstall WIndows 98se should I ge then looking for 98 updates and downloading them before January 16th as I understand 98 wont be supported anymore.

(3) Based on all the above being corrected should I then be upgrading to Windows XP while I can get upgrade price ?

Thanks

bizmark

Me things you have spy ware or a virus sucking up a feck load of ram (btw how much ram have you)

google for spybot search and destroy and run it
then get rid of all the files it finds ....you may have to restart after in order to use the net again

somano

Thanks Bizmark

I uesd Webroot / Spysweeper from Winguides as recommended in a sticky. There was spyware and adware and I deleted these after they had been quarantined.

I wonder were some critical files deleted also.

256ram

bizmark

did that fix the problum ? and no it doesnt get rid of anything important

anyway

in you want to get Xp (which is a very good os in my humble view) you should have enough ram to run it right......but remember win xp uses up and above 120meg of ram just to run *currently my system is useing 230 megs to run 2 internet explore windows task manger msn and easy tune 4*

so you may want to consider upgradeing to 512meg of ram (ah how the costs add up)

somano

Well no it didnt fix the problem in that I have all of the problems mentioned in my initial thread.

How easy is it to upgrade to 512ram. Bought pc from gateway ! Wouldn't be very techy. ANy ideas of cost ?

More importantly what is wrong with my pc now and how do I rectify before I do anything about XP ??????

Gordo84

I agree with bizmark. Windows 98 is old and full of security holes. If you have a reasonable sized hard-drive and more than 128mbram, swith to windows XP. Format your hard-drive but check the surface for errors. It could be that your hard-drive is damaged although this is only a guess. If you have any bad sectors, download the relevant low-level format utility for you make of hard-drive and re-format the drive. Install winXP, download all the patches and put nortonsysworks on your PC.

I have done all of the above due to windows98 ****ing up my computer and have never had a single problem since. My PC has been working like a dream for the past 9 months.

bizmark

well you pc basicly told you whats wrong......its low on memory (ram) .....seeming this happened after you started downloading a feck load of stuff you might of picked up a virus or maybe your system is bogged down with worthless programs thats sucking up your ram

its been years since i used Windows 98 but from what i remember after some time it can bog down and just needs to be reinstalled so maybe that could help you (though wait till some one with more know how than me answers you)

It isnt hard to install ram as for price it depends on how old your system is and what ram it uses

PhoenixRising

You should be able to upgrade your RAM to 512 MB for around €50-60. Have a look at http://www.shop4memory.com. As for installing it, that's the easy part. Just open up the case and slot in the module into a spare slot (assuming you have a spare memory slot). Close the case and that's it. The hard part is finding out exactly what type of RAM you need to order. There are are several tools available which can analyse your memory and tell you what the exact make and type is. Just make sure to match it when ordering. I recently upgraded to 512 MB and Windows XP runs an awful lot better.

ando

Originally posted by rorook
(1) What should I do ? Answers in plain English please

-Back up data
-Format you harddrive
-Install windows 2000 professional (I dont recommend going Xp on that machine)
-Bring back your data and install your programs

somano

Tried again to reinstall cant get it to work - pc at a snails pace now. What next ? I can hardly buy xp or 2000 (Ando) as an upgrade if 98 not working properly can I ?

ando

you said you've reinstalled win98. Did you format before the reinstall? If you have, and its a clean, new copy of win98 then there maybe a hardware problem, Ram perhaps. If you've just put the cd in and hit reinstall, I doubt it would of sorted any serious problems out.

If you cant get another OS on cd, then you'll have to reinstall win98 properly, by formatting beforehand using a Win98 boot disk and the 'Format' command and perhaps 'Fdisk'. Then do a clean install of win98 operating system files only and then finally bringing your backed up files back onto the system

simple, eh :dunno:

dont forget to get some antivirus onto that system when you get it back up. Symantec have a free online virus scanner that you can use. If the report says you have virus's, you can use the search utility on their site to find a fix for that virus

somano

Thanks Ando. Her's the deal.

PC working fine. Got broadband. Got McAfee Virus Scan and had been using Kerio Firewall. In meantime downloading music, movie clips. Kerio initial trial ran out. Installed McAfee Firewall 03. Started to get memory problems. Installed Spysweeper - ad ware and spyware found - quarantined these. Eventually deleted these - KAzaa doesnt work now - not a problem as I dont want to use it anymore. Removed a lot of programs and music that I no longer use. Feel that I'm using less memory than I was before all of above. I either deleted some important files which maybe giving the problems now.

How do I format the whole system - does that mean I would lose everything on pc. I dont have zip drive, how many disks would I need ??

Sorry my knowledge isnt up to scratch here. I know a little but not enough.

Also you suggest MS 2000 - surely I will have the same problem in 2 years time when MS decide that they will not support system anymore. Is there a MS 2004 on the way ?

thanks

ColmOT [MSFT]

Hi Rorook.

You can indeed install Windows 2000 on a formated hard disk. You will be prompted to provide your Windows 98 CD as proof that you are a Windows 98 user migrating to Windows 2000.

You need to backup your data that you want to keep.
Format your HD using the Windows 98 boot disk that you received from Gateway
Start the Windows 2000 installation from the Windows 2000 CD that you'll buy
Install your AV software first thing when you boot into Windows 2000
Then install your ADSL modem
Go off to the web and download a firewall and install it
Go to the web and get the Windows 2000 drivers for your devices in the PC.

Windows 2000 isn't going anywhere for a good few years yet...so you won't be caught in the same situation as Windows 98. Windows 98 is being phased out because it's too costly to maintain, and it's technology is, frankly, crap!

It sounds like the problem that you are having is that you downloaded loads of shareware/spyware apps and installed them. These all consume RAM and now you are getting 'out of memory' errors because, ther eisn't much RAM Available to Office.

Tivoli

rorook where abouts are you, surly someone on boards is willing to spend an hour or 2 sorting this out for you for a 6 pack of miller.