Chantal said:
All of a sudden, I only have to open Excel and it will crash and tell
me I have extremely low resources. I don't know why as I haven't had
that problem in the past: it just started.
Extremely low resources is a slow process. Here are some steps to take.
(bad formatting courtesy of Outlook Express)
Check availability of system resources; resources are probably low when
printing. Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Resource Meter. Win98
needs 70-80% free resources and will choke as you observe with printing
when resources get to 10-20% available. Slow printing is a typical sign
of low resources. Resources are not RAM, but memory reserved for
system pointers, references to system objects like icons and fonts and
system files. Win9x has fixed resource stack independent of installed
RAM; it cannot be resized.
Making resources available:
Empty C:\Windows\temp. Run Disk Cleanup or delete temp internet files
with IE or control panel Internet settings (I forget what it is called
in Win9x). Minimize number of desktop icons and files. Clean up C:\,
just the files in the root of C:; leave the system files and move or
delete log files and other files stored here. The folders, of course, do
not count. Do not use any desktop wallpaper or screen saver. Reduce the
fonts folder to 30-40 fonts.
From Start/Run/type: msconfig [enter]. When msconfig opens, select the
startup tab. Find osa.exe, the so-called Office startup application and
uncheck the box. Check all of the other startup apps and uncheck those
that should not be started. Use this site as a guide for startup apps:
http://www.pacs-portal.co.uk/startup_content.php . Close msconfig. If
using the Office Bar, disable it,or at least close it before opening any
Office application. It is a resource hog of the worst kind. Reduce
display color to 16 bit. Reboot to force the changes made.
Also, the HP printer interface programs or printer monitors, are not
necessary for printing with HP printers, and these heavily consume
resources with no real benefit. If the HP print monitor is running in
either msconfig or in the startup folder, remove it. If it is in
Add/Remove Programs, deinstall it. I believe that terminating it after
it starts will often not restore the resources that it consumes.
Defrag simply because it helps Win9x run better. Use the resource meter
to verify that available resources has improved.
