Right Click on the My Computer icon, choose Properties|Performance. Note your Performance Status: Memory (RAM), System Resources (should be between 80 to 90 percent free), File System and Virtual Memory at 32-bit. Your System Resources will increase after optimization, and each time afterward that you re-boot you should find the settings to be consistent. While you use your machine, Free Systems Resources will decline until your machine locks up again (it's the nature of the beast). If you save your work and then re-boot before this happens, you'll save yourself a lot of headache.
Click on File System, you'll be at Hard Disk, and in the box labeled "Typical Role of This Machine," select Network Server. "Read Ahead Optimization" should be set to Full. Click on CD-ROM and set the "Supplemental Cache Size" to Large, the "Optimize Access Pattern" for Quad Speed or Higher. Click on OK. Leave those check boxes under Troubleshooting well enough alone. Click on Graphics, and run Hardware Acceleration at Full. This ensures that your Hard Drive, Video card and CD-ROM drive run as fast as they can under Windows. Click on Virtual Memory. Set the minimum and maximum size of the swap file to the same number--about 2.5 to 3 times the size of your memory. This stops Windows from resizing the swap file. For example, if you have 32MB of RAM, set it to 80MB. Click on OK and restart Windows to let the new settings kick in.
Take a look at the bottom-right corner of your Windows display. Each of those Taskbar icons represents a program running in the background. Chances are you don't need them all. While some are useful too many others suck up valuable system resources. Most of them are duplicated elsewhere and can be started when you need them to run, rather than having them run all the time. If you're running Windows98, Click on Start|Run and type "msconfig", (without the quotation marks), in the box and tap on the ENTER key. From this screen you can adjust what loads and what doesn't at startup. Keep track of what you do here so that you can return and undo those actions you've changed. If you're running Windows95, click on Start|Settings|Taskbar|Start Menu Programs|Advanced, inspect what shortcuts are in the Programs|Start Up folder, and make sure that only programs you need and use are there. MSWord97, for instance, puts a program called "Fast Find" in the Start Up folder that is capable of slowing some systems to a crawl and is of very limited value. Others include WinAmp, RealAudio and various CD music players, many of which already have shortcuts placed on your desktop. Either delete those useless shortcuts or drag-and-drop them to the desktop, to be deleted or returned to the Start Up folder at a later time. Restart the machine and inspect your System Resources.
If you are not using DoubleSpace or DriveSpace, (and with modern hard drives averaging 6 gigabytes, nobody should be), delete the files drvspace.bin and dblspace.bin from both the C:\ (Root) and C:\Windows directories. This will free additional DOS memory and speed system startup.
Fred Langa writes a very well subscribed to column in Windows Magazine and for the past couple of weeks (May 22 through June 19, 2K) he's been dissecting Windows Memory Management. In the third installment he summarizes and presents his recommendations. He must get paid by the word. I'm going to cut straight to the chase.
Five things you can do to ensure your machine has the least chance of crashing:
Resource Leaks, Part Four: Final Fixes, went online July 3rd and deals with maintenance program configurations. There's quite a bit of data there, all of it necessary in order to perform the conclusive tweaks to a Windows system.
If you've got a free weekend to peruse Fred's columns, by all means read them. You'll come away wiser for the effort.
There are many more adjustments that can be made to your computer. You'll find links to some of them on my Windows page under Personalization. If you're uncomfortable exercising these options but you'd like to benefit from their application, please contact me at WeaverLane.
The Anatomy of a Crash:
What causes lock-ups, resets and blue screens?
The User Interface can be configured to reduce frustration.