Faster Smarter Microsoft® Windows® 98

Author Sharon Crawford and Jason Gerend Pages 352 Disk N/A Level Beginner Published 11/20/2002 ISBN 9780735618589 ISBN-10 0-7356-1858-5 Price(USD) $19.99 To see this book's discounted price, select a reseller below.	More Information About the Book Table of Contents Sample Chapter Index Related Series About the Author Support: Book & CD Rate this book

Chapter 12: Maintaining a Healthy Computer

• Keeping Your Software Updated
• Housecleaning
• Scheduling Chores with the Maintenance Wizard
• Converting Your Hard Drive to FAT32
• Optimizing System Performance
• Improving Memory Management
• Improving Disk Speed
• Making Windows Load Faster
• Making the Most of Your Processor
• Improving Display Speed
• Take 2: Video Editing Requires Different Settings
• Backing Up Your Files
• Creating a Backup Strategy
• Selecting Backup Media
• Using the Backup Wizard
• Manually Performing Backups
• Restoring from a Backup
• Dealing with Startup Problems
• Using Safe Mode
• When Windows Won't Start in Safe Mode
• Dealing with Shutdown Problems
• Key Points

Chapter 12  Maintaining a Healthy Computer

This chapter delves into all aspects of system maintenance, including housecleaning, optimizing system performance, backing up your system, and recovering from disasters. If you use Windows 98, you need this chapter.

Keeping Your Software Updated

Use Windows Update (covered in Chapter 1, "Making Windows Work for You") to download and install patches, security fixes, and new Windows features.

Update your antivirus program's virus definition files every two weeks at a minimum, or sooner if you know there's a new virus you're not protected from yet. Update other programs as needed—whenever the software developers release important patches.

Some programs have built-in update mechanisms—go ahead and use those if available; otherwise, go to the software manufacturer's Web site and download any patches that apply to your software and the way you use it. Microsoft Office users can use Office Update (http://office.microsoft.com/ProductUpdates) to update Office. Office Update works almost identically to Windows Update, so you'll feel right at home.

Housecleaning

Scheduling Chores with the Maintenance Wizard

• Defragmenting disks
• Checking your disks for errors
• Deleting unnecessary files
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To manually perform these tasks, use the Disk Defragmenter, ScanDisk, and Disk Cleanup tools, located in the System Tools folder on the Start menu.

Using the Maintenance Wizard obviates the need to perform these housecleaning tasks manually. To use the Maintenance Wizard, follow these steps.

1. Click Start and choose Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and finally Maintenance Wizard.
2. Choose Express to accept the default settings or Custom to adjust the settings to best fit your needs. Click Next to continue.
3. Select the best time to run the Maintenance Wizard and then click Next.
4. Clear the check boxes next to any nonessential program that runs at startup, as shown in Figure 12-1, and then click Next. (This screen only appears if you select Custom, instead of Express, and you have shortcuts listed in your Startup folder.)


Click to view graphic

Figure 12-1  Clear the check boxes to reduce the amount of time Windows takes to start.

5. Use the Speed Up Programs section (available in Custom mode) to control how and when your hard disk is defragmented, and then click Next.
• Click Reschedule to change when disks are defragmented. Weekly is sufficient for most people, although people who perform video editing or lots of image editing might want to defragment every other day.
• Click Settings to control which disk to defragment and whether to accelerate program starts.

6. Use the Scan Hard Disk For Errors section (available in Custom mode) to control how and when Windows checks your hard disk for errors and then click Next.
7. Use the Delete Unnecessary Files section (available in Custom mode) to control which unnecessary files are deleted (such as Temporary Internet Files) and when. Click Next to continue.
8. Review your settings and then click Finish.

Converting Your Hard Drive to FAT32

Although converting drives is easy, there are some caveats:

• Windows 95 disk utilities might not like FAT32—double-check or upgrade them to a Windows 98 or Windows Millennium Edition (Me) version.
• Most disk compression programs (including Windows DriveSpace) don't work with FAT32. Uncompress a disk before converting it.
• Windows NT can't recognize FAT32 partitions, so if you're running a dual-boot computer, don't convert your drive(s).
• If your computer has a hibernation power saving mode, converting the drive to FAT32 might disable this mode.
• There's no going back—the only way to get back to the FAT file system is by reformatting your hard disk drive.

To convert your hard disk to the FAT32 file system, uninstall any programs that protect the Master Boot Record (MBR), such as Norton For Your Eyes Only, and then use the following steps.

1. Choose Programs, then Accessories, System Tools, and finally Drive Converter (FAT32).
2. For more information about the conversion, compatibility issues, and other information click Details, otherwise click Next.
3. Select the drive that you want to convert and then click Next.
4. Follow the instructions in the rest of the wizard, which restarts your computer and converts the drive. This process might take as long as a couple hours, during which time you can't use the computer.

Optimizing System Performance

Improving Memory Management

The following sections provide you with advice on how to maximize the effectiveness of memory in Windows 98.

Got Enough RAM?

You can only eek so much performance out of a Ford Pinto. Similarly, running Windows 98 on a computer with 8 MB of RAM is going to be excruciating, no matter what you do.

Although Windows 98 will run on 16 MB of RAM, it won't be pretty. We consider 32 MB the minimum, 48-64 MB necessary for adequate performance, and 128 MB needed for maximum performance for most users. However, users who do a lot of image editing, graphics work, or video editing should consider 256 MB.

If you have less than 64 MB of RAM, investigate adding more. Different systems take different types of RAM, so refer to your computer or motherboard manual or the manufacturer's Web site. Some systems, especially laptops, might require too much effort and expense to upgrade—so check out some new systems before you upgrade.

Disable Unwanted Services and Programs

Most computers have a myriad of programs and services running unobtrusively in the background, consuming valuable system memory. Some of these are easy to spot—they have icons in the System Tray. Others leave little trace. To clean out unwanted programs and services that are consuming RAM and slowing down the boot time of your system, refer to the following sections.

Eliminate Unneeded System Tray Programs

Many programs like to clutter the System Tray (and computer memory) with background programs. Closing these programs frees up memory and might also give your CPU a little relief.

To close a program in the System Tray, right-click the program's icon in the System Tray and choose Exit or Disable from the shortcut menu. You can also open the program and look for a Load At Startup or similarly named setting.

Remove Unneeded Network Components

Network components all consume memory and increase the amount of time Windows takes to load. If this isn't enough reason to run only the network components that you actually use, consider that running multiple protocols increases the amount of network traffic generated because each communication is sent through all protocols.

To disable unwanted protocols, services, and clients, use the following steps.

1. In Control Panel, double-click the Network icon.
2. Select any unneeded network components and click Remove. Table 12-1 lists some common components that you might encounter.
3. Click OK and then restart the computer.

Table 12-1  Common Network Components

Network Component	Component Type	Purpose
Client for Microsoft Networks	Client	Communicating with other Microsoft Windows computers on a local network
Client for NetWare Networks	Client	Communicating with Novell NetWare servers
Ethernet Adapter (The name and listing will vary by vendor.)	Adapter	Communicating on a network or over a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) or cable Internet connection
Dial-up Network Adapter	Adapter	Connecting to a remote network (such as the Internet) through a telephone line
Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)	Protocol	Communicating on a TCP/IP network, such as the Internet or any modern network
NetBIOS Extended User Interface (NetBEUI)	Protocol	Communicating on an old Windows For Workgroups
Internetwork Packet Exchange/Sequenced Packet Exchange (IPX/SPX)-CompatibleProtocol	Protocol	Communicating with a Novell Netware server
Fast Infrared Protocol	Protocol	Communicating with other devices over an infrared connection

Empty the Config.sys and Autoexec.bat Files

The Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files are two files used by MS-DOS to start devices and memory-resident (background) programs. Windows 98 can use these files, but it is much better to run legacy MS-DOS drivers and memory-resident programs from an MS-DOS command prompt or using MS-DOS Mode, both of which are discussed in Chapter 3, "Running Programs."

Disabling these files can improve the stability of your system, free up memory, and reduce the time Windows 98 takes to load. To disable these files, use the following steps.

1. In Windows Explorer, locate the Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files in the root directory of the C:\ drive. (Autoexec.bat might be listed simply as Autoexec, and the Config.sys file might be completely absent.)
2. Rename each file to something like Autoexec.bak and Config.bak.
3. Restart your system and make sure everything works properly.

If your system doesn't work properly, selectively disable parts of these files using the following steps.

1. Rename the files back to their original names.
2. Click Start and then choose Run.
3. Type sysedit in the Open box and click OK.
4. Click the C:\Autoexec.bat window and disable a line in the file by typing REM in front of it, as shown in Figure 12-2.


Click to view graphic

Figure 12-2  Use the System Configuration Editor (sysedit) to edit the Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files.

5. Save the file, restart the computer, and test its functionality. If it works properly, repeat steps 2 through 4, disabling another line until the system no longer functions properly. Leave the offending line enabled (by erasing REM in front of the line). Do this for both the Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files.
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The System Configuration Editor (Msconfig.exe) provides a more elegant way to temporarily disable lines in the Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files. However, behind the scenes msconfig replaces the Autoexec.bat and Config.sys files with placeholders and redirects Windows to use its Autoexec.tsh and Config.tsh files. Although this works great for troubleshooting, it's inappropriate for long-term use. Undo any changes you made to these files with msconfig and redo them in sysedit.

Disable Unneeded Startup Programs

Many programs like to (unnecessarily) launch background tasks when Windows starts, consuming memory and increasing the amount of time Windows takes to start. To disable programs that start automatically with Windows, use the following steps.

1. Disable as many System Tray programs as possible (see the previous section).
2. Click Start, Programs, and then Startup. Any items listed here are automatically run when Windows starts. Right-click programs that you don't want to load and choose Delete from the shortcut menu. (If you experience problems, you can restore the file from the Recycle Bin.)
3. To stop hidden programs from running, click Start, and then choose Run.
4. Type msconfig in the Open text box and click OK.
5. Click the Startup tab and clear the check boxes next to any unwanted programs, as shown in Figure 12-3. Click OK when you're finished.


Click to view graphic

Figure 12-3  Use the System Configuration Utility (Msconfig.exe) to prevent hidden programs from running at startup.

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To be thorough, while in the System Configuration Utility click the Win.ini tab, expand the [Windows] section, and then clear the Load= and Run= check boxes.

Disable Compression Drivers

If your hard disk isn't compressed, disable disk compression to free up a little more memory (unless you use compressed Zip disks or other removable media). To do so, use the following steps.

1. In Windows Explorer, choose Folder Options from the View menu.
2. Click the View tab, select Show All Files from the Hidden Files section, and then click OK.
3. Locate the Dblspace.bin file, which should be in the root directory of your drive C:\ drive and rename it Dblspace_bak.bin—or something similar. If your system has trouble booting or you encounter a compressed drive that you want to access, rename the file back to its original name and reboot.

Adjust Virtual Memory Settings—Or Not

When determining whether to mess around with virtual memory settings (in some instances you actually should tweak the settings), use the following guidelines.

• If you have a single hard disk drive, leave virtual memory settings alone.
• If you have more than one hard disk drive, place the swap file on the most often used partition of the least often used hard disk drive. Pick the faster hard disk drive if it's a close call.
• Make sure that the hard disk on which the swap file is stored has a minimum of 256-512 MB of free space.
• If you use Adobe Photoshop or another image editing program that maintains its own scratch disk files (basically a swap file exclusively for Photoshop), create a permanent, fixed-size swap file that's twice the size of the installed RAM (and a minimum of 64 MB). Ideally, the swap file should be on the system drive (C:\), and the Photoshop scratch disk on a different disk drive (as long as it's not a slow disk drive such as a Zip or network drive). This prevents Windows virtual memory from competing with Photoshop's scratch disk files for hard disk space.
• If Windows 98 often slows down drastically for no apparent reason while the hard disk goes crazy, try creating a permanent swap file with the settings shown in Table 12-2 (the minimum and maximum sizes are the same).

Table 12-2  Manual Virtual Memory Sizing

Installed RAM	Virtual Memory Size (Minimum and Maximum)
16 MB	96 MB (get more RAM)
32 MB	128 MB
64 MB	196 MB
128 MB	256 MB
256 MB	260 MB
384 MB	390 MB
512 MB	520 MB

If you decide to modify virtual memory settings, use the following steps.

1. Double-double-click the System icon in the Control Panel.
2. Click the Performance tab, and click Virtual Memory.
3. Select the Let Me Specify My Own Virtual Memory Settings option and then select the disk drive on which you want to place the swap file.
4. To create a fixed-size swap file, type the size of the swap file in the Minimum and Maximum boxes.
5. Click OK when you're done. Click Yes, Close, and then Yes to restart the computer.

Streamline Display Settings

You can free up some additional memory by streamlining display settings. To do so, double-click the Display icon in Control Panel and then take the following actions:

• Disable Active Desktop   The Active Desktop is a big memory hog. To disable it, click the Web tab and clear the View My Active Desktop As A Web Page check box.
• Eliminate big wallpaper images   Choosing a solid color or a pattern instead of a desktop image saves a significant amount of memory. To peel your computer's wallpaper, click the Background tab, and then choose None in the Wallpaper frame (if you're using a Theme, use the Windows Default theme). For more information, see Chapter 2, "Covering the Desktop."

Improving Disk Speed

Enable Direct Memory Access (DMA)

If your hard disk supports Direct Memory Access (DMA), you should enable it. Doing so provides a big performance boost.

To enable DMA, use the following steps.

1. In Control Panel, double-click the System icon, and click the Device Manager tab.
2. Under the Disk Drives branch, select your hard disk drive and then click Properties.
3. Click the Settings tab, and select the DMA check box.
4. Click OK (you may be prompted with a warning) and then restart your computer.
5. After restarting, double-check to make sure the check box stays selected—if not, check with your computer manufacturer for updated drivers that enable DMA access in Windows 98.

Adjust the File System Properties

Windows 98 usually configures your hard disk cache for optimal performance automatically, but you should double-check just to be sure. To do so, use the following steps.

1. In Control Panel, double-click the System icon.
2. Click the Performance tab, and click File System.
3. In the Typical Role Of This Computer box, use the following settings:
• Network Server: if your computer has more than 32 MB of RAM.
• Desktop Computer: if the system has less than 32 MB of RAM.
• Mobile Or Docking System: if the computer has a very small amount of RAM (16 MB).

4. Drag the Read-Ahead Optimization slider all the way to the right (Full).
5. Click the CD-ROM tab, and drag the Supplemental Cache Size slider all the way to the right (Large) and choose Quad Speed Or Higher from the Optimize Access Pattern For drop-down box.
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If your CD-ROM drive is slower than 4X, it's past time for an upgrade (unless you rarely use your CD drive or only use it for listening to music CDs). Watch your local computer stores for sales—they often have 50X CD-ROM drives dirt-cheap.

Buy a New Hard Disk

This might seem obvious, but another way of improving disk speed is to replace your hard disk with a new one. Hard disk drive speeds and capacities have been increasing tremendously over the last five years, and even a top-of-the-line drive from two years ago can't match the speed of an average drive from today—at half the cost.

When buying a new drive, look for rotational speed as the big indicator of overall speed (a 7,200 rpm drive is generally the fastest.) Also, depending on the age of your computer, you might need to update your computer's Basic Input Output System (BIOS) to use hard disk drives bigger than 2.11 GB (for some systems built in 1996), 8 GB, 32 GB, or 137 GB. A good Web site to check out when doing research on hard disk drives is Storage Review, at http://www.storagereview.com.

Keep in mind that although adding a hard disk drive to your computer is relatively simple (provided that you have a spare drive bay, an extra Integrated Drive Electronics [IDE] channel, and a screwdriver), replacing your existing hard disk drive is not. Replacing a disk drive means transferring some or all of your data and programs over to the new disk drive. To transfer data from one hard disk drive to another, hook up both drives and use a disk imaging or drive transfer program or perform a simple copy operation. Only a disk imaging or drive transfer program can move Windows—otherwise, you'll have to install Windows from scratch on the new drive.

Making Windows Load Faster

• Disable floppy disk polling   Windows automatically checks for new floppy disk drives every time you start your computer, which takes a couple seconds. To stop this, in Control Panel, click System, click the Performance tab, click File System, click Floppy Disk, and then clear the Search For New Floppy Disk Drives Each Time Your Computer Starts check box.
• (Carefully) clean out the root directory   The root directory (C:\) can often become cluttered with various unneeded files. To speed up Windows boot times, move or delete unnecessary files from the root directory. You can safely delete .chk and .tmp files; leave any other files you're unsure of.
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If you delete a vital system file from the root directory, such as Command.com, Io.sys, or Msdos.sys, Windows won't boot. Only delete files that you know are safe to delete (leave the System.1st and Videorom.bin files alone as well).
• Disable the splash screen at bootup   If you have Tweak UI (available by searching at http://support.microsoft.com for Windows 98 tweak ui), you can stop Windows from displaying its logo during startup, saving one or two seconds. To do so, in Control Panel, click the Tweak UI icon, click the Boot tab, and clear the Display Splash Screen While Booting check box.

Making the Most of Your Processor

• Turn off background spelling and grammar checking in application programs.
• Work in "normal" views instead of Page Layout views.
• Run one program at a time to provide the most processing power to the program in which you're working.
• Disable fancy screensavers (especially OpenGL screensavers).

Improving Display Speed

• Disable display effects   In Control Panel, double-click the Display icon, click the Effects tab, and then clear some (or all) of the check boxes in the Visual Effects frame.
• Disable themes   Windows Themes, an optionally installed component of Windows, might look pretty, but they slow down your computer a bit. If you're using Themes, either uninstall them or use the Windows Default theme (see Chapter 2, "Covering the Desktop," for more information).
• Lower your color depth   To improve the snappiness of Windows on computers with older display cards, double-click the Display icon in Control Panel, and then use the Settings tab to lower number of colors displayed. High Color (16 bit) is a good compromise between quality and speed, though modern display cards such as the nVidia TNT/Geforce lines, ATI Rage Pro, and Radeon can safely stick to True Color (24 bit) or 32 bit color (if supported).
• Disable Web Content in Windows Explorer and My Computer   By default Windows 98 displays a pretty, but fairly useless, banner in Windows Explorer (and My Computer) listing some summary info about the selected folder or drive. This banner takes up screen space, and also slows down browsing folders.

To disable Web views, use the following steps.

• Choose Folder Options from the View menu in Windows Explorer.
• On the General tab select Custom, and then click Settings.
• Select the Use Windows Classic Desktop and Only For Folders Where I Select "As Web Page" options, as shown in Figure 12-4, and then click OK.


Click to view graphic

Figure 12-4  Use the Custom Settings dialog box to disable Web views in Windows Explorer.

MORE INFO
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To maximize the performance of games, see the Running High-Performance Games section of Chapter 3, "Running Programs."

Take 2: Video Editing Requires Different Settings

• Use a dedicated video drive   Using a separate video drive exclusively for video capture and editing helps eliminate dropped frames and glitches which can be caused by sharing a drive with Windows and your capture program.
• Keep the Windows swap file off the video drive   Leave the Windows swap file on the system drive. If possible, place the swap file on the outside of the disk using a third-party disk defragmenting program such as Norton Utilities.
• Set up your drives properly   The video drive should be on its own IDE channel or slaved to your operating system drive. Do NOT place the drive on the same channel as a CD-ROM or other slow device, such as a Zip drive. Enable DMA for your video and system drives.
• Partition and format your drives properly   Video drives should have a single, FAT32 partition.
• Keep the disk defragmented and partially empty   Windows writes to the inside (slowest) part of the disk last, so leaving it partially empty improves the speed of the drive. A good amount of free disk space is 30 percent.
• Close all background programs   This includes antivirus programs. You might even want to disable the Taskbar clock.
• Disable disk caching   Because video comes in at a steady and relentless rate, software disk caches are useless and should be disabled. To do so, use the following steps.
• In Control Panel, double-click the System icon.
• Click the Performance tab, and click File System.
• Drag the Read-Ahead Optimization slider all the way left (None).
• Click the Troubleshooting tab, and select the Disable Write-Behind Caching For All Drives check box.
• Click OK and then restart your computer. (You might want to switch this back when you're not editing or capturing video so that the rest of your system performs faster.)

• Configure your capture and editing applications to use the video drive   Video editing and capture programs should use the video drive for captured movies and preview/temporary files.
• Make sure your video drive is fast enough   Dedicated video drives need to sustain at least 3.5 MBps (worst case). Most hard disks introduced after 1997 are fast enough as a dedicated video drive and 7,200 rpm models from 2000 or later should be fast enough in a single-drive setup, though using multiple drives is much better.
• Make sure the video drive is big enough   DV consumes 210 MB per minute or roughly 13 GB per hour.
• Install your sound card and network card in the last two PCI slots   If you have a separate sound card and network card, placing them in the last two PCI slots helps ensure that they don't interrupt the capture process.
• Install your Small Computer System Interface (SCSI) or IDE controller in PCI slots one or two   If you have a separate hard disk controller (most are on the motherboard), placing it in one of the first two PCI slots gives it the highest performance.
• Use Windows 98 Second Edition (SE) or Windows XP   Windows 98 SE includes improved support for DV camcorders and generally works better than Windows 98 or Windows Millenium Edition (Me). If your hardware supports Windows XP or Windows 2000, consider upgrading to allow file sizes larger than 2 GB (although upgrading from Windows 98 is not painless, and often times it's better to just buy a new computer with Windows XP preinstalled).
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Windows 98 has a file size limit of 2 GB, limiting videos to a maximum of roughly 10 minutes. Some capture programs have ways of working around this limitation; others require you to capture and edit in 10-minute chunks.

Backing Up Your Files

For this reason, it's vital that you regularly back up your data, if not your operating system and programs. Users of a corporate network probably don't need to worry about backing up anything, as long as they save their files to the proper location (most likely a network share that is backed up nightly). If that's you, go ahead and skip this whole section. If you're not on a network or if you're running your own network, read on (unless playing chicken is one of your preferred pastimes).

Fortunately, as the next sections illuminate, devising a backup strategy isn't difficult. There is a plethora of low-cost backup media to choose from (including CD burners), and using backup software is a piece of cake.

Creating a Backup Strategy

• What do you want to back up?   If you don't mind reinstalling Windows and all of your applications, you can forego backing up everything on your hard disk drive. However, it's vital that you back up your important documents and files.
• How can you back up the data?   Most people these days use CD burners, but you could also use DVD writers, tape backup units, or even additional hard disk drives or network drives (as discussed in the next section).
• When do you want to back up the data?   How often you back up your computer should depend on how often you change things—either by adding or removing programs or by creating or modifying documents. Some people who don't change things often or don't care much about their data can get away with a full backup once a month and incremental backups every week. Others have important data and files that change frequently, necessitating weekly full backups combined with daily differential backups, as discussed in the sidebar "Backup Types—Full, Differential, and Incremental."

Most users find the following to be a good strategy, but you should modify it as appropriate for your needs.

• Perform a full backup of your operating system, programs, and data once a month.
• Perform a differential backup as often as needed to make the thought of losing your changes manageable. For some this would be once a week; for those who make a living with their data—daily.
• Keep a full backup set in a safe, offsite location, such as a safe deposit box. Update this set as often as necessary to protect yourself from fire and burglars.
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Users who keep all of their important data in a small number of locations (such as My Documents) can maintain separate backup schedules for their data and their software. For example, perform a full backup of Windows and applications once a month, a full backup of your data once a week, and a differential backup of your data at the end of each day (or automated during the night with a third-party backup program).

Selecting Backup Media

Table 12-3  Common Backup Media

Media	Size	Speed	Notes
Zip	100 MB, 250 MB, 750 MB	1.2 MBps (4.5 MBps for Zip 750)	Good for small data backups
CD-R	650 MB-700 MB	2.5-5+ MBps	Write once; can create audio CDs
CD-RW	650 MB-700 MB	1.5-2.4+ MBps	Not playable in many CD players
DVD	4.7 GB	1.3-3.9+ MBps	Most can also create video DVDs, playable in DVD players
Onstream tape	15-30 GB	2-2.5 MBps	Proprietary format
Digital Audio Tape (DAT)	12 GB (DDS3), 20 GB (DDS4)	1.1, 2.4 MBps	Requires a SCSI controller
Hard disk drive	20-120 GB	15-20 MBps	External drives require Firewire or USB 2.0 drive for best performance

Average User

The average user doesn't use a whole lot of disk space—perhaps 1 GB to 3 GB for Windows 98 and all programs, and another 100 MB to 1 GB for all user data.

Two options make the most sense for the average user.

• Backup to Zip disk   If you already have a Zip drive or other low-capacity backup device, use Microsoft Backup to back up only your data, using 1 to 10 Zip disks.
• Backup to CD   If you have a CD burner or want to back up Windows and your programs, use a third-party backup or hard disk imaging program to back up everything to CD-R or CD-RW discs. (Ahead Software Nero can do this.) This process takes 1 to 6 blank CDs.
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Microsoft Backup can't back up to CD-R, CD-RW or any form of writable DVD. You can use the packet writing software (such as Roxio DirectCD) included with your drive to perform a simple copy of data to CD (suitable for backing up user data), but to back up Windows you need a third-party backup program that supports CD-R and CD-RW media, along with disc spanning (so that you can use multiple CDs).

Multimedia User

Someone who has a big MP3 collection, plays games, has a digital camera, or does computer art consumes a lot of disk space. Windows 98 and all programs might consume 6 GB, MP3 files might take 15 GB, and image files another 3 GB. That's 24 GB total.

Your best backup bets are as follows.

• Back up to CD   This is the cheapest, and slowest, approach. A full backup takes 35 discs—and the better part of a day. Supplement yearly or half-yearly full backups with differential or incremental backups as often as necessary. (These should only consume a CD or two.)
• Back up to hard drives   This is the fastest approach and quite cost-effective. If you get two additional drives, perform a full backup to a second internal hard disk drive (or create a disk image) once a week and a differential or incremental backup at the end of each day. Every week or two, when the internal hard disk drive fills up, copy it to an external hard disk drive, erase the internal drive and start over. Store the external drive in a safe, offsite location. You could also use a single external drive if you don't need as much redundancy.
• Back up to DVD or tape   This is more expensive and less convenient than backing up to hard disks but does provide easier portability, and the benefits of a DVD burner (such as the ability to create your own DVD movies). If you choose tape, look at the Onstream and Travan models.

Perform a full backup every one or two weeks and differential or incremental backups as frequently as necessary. Every week or two place the old, full backup set and incremental or differential backups off site, and reuse the offsite disks or tapes for current backups.

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Images, video, and MP3 files are already compressed and can't be compressed more, so look for uncompressed capacity and speeds when comparing backup methods.

Video User

Video, especially DV or captured analog video, consumes more disk space than anything else (12 GB to 22 GB per hour), making it somewhat unreasonable to back up. As such, here are your best options.

• Rely on tape logs and project settings   Perform batch captures from your source tapes and save the capture logs along with your project files. Back up everything but your video (see the Multimedia User section). When you're done with your video, export the project back to DV. If you lose your work or want to go back and edit a project that you already cleaned off your hard disk drive, recapture from the original source tapes.
• Back up to hard drives   If you can't afford to lose a project you're working on, purchase another hard disk drive and back up your project to the disk drive. This is the fastest and least expensive way of backing up a small number of projects (8 to 12 hours should fit on a 120 GB disk drive).
• Back up to DAT   If you need to archive or back up a really large amount of data, DAT is by far the cheapest over the long haul, though be prepared to keep swapping tapes.

Using the Backup Wizard

Although Windows 98 includes Backup, it is not installed by default. If Backup is not installed, perform the following steps:

1. In Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs.
2. Click the Windows Setup tab, select System Tools, and then click Details.
3. Select the Backup checkbox and then click OK. Restart your computer if prompted.

To use the Backup Wizard to back up your files, follow these steps:

1. Click Start and choose Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and finally Backup. If you don't have a tape backup device, click No when Microsoft Backup tells you that it couldn't detect any backup devices.
2. Select Create A New Backup Job and click OK.
3. To back up your entire computer (everything on all hard drives), select Back Up My Computer. Otherwise, select Back Up Selected Files, Folder And Drives. Click Next to continue.
CAUTION
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The Backup Wizard can only back up Windows 98 properly if you select the Back Up My Computer option. To back up Windows 98 and only some of the other files on your hard disk drive, see "Manually Performing Backups" later in this chapter.
4. If prompted, select the files and folders you want to back up and click Next.
5. Choose whether to perform a full backup (All Selected Files) or an incremental backup (New And Changed Files) and then click Next.
6. Choose the backup medium, type a file name for the backup and then click Next.
7. Use the two check boxes in the next screen to control whether Microsoft Backup should verify the integrity of the data, which takes additional time, and whether it should compress the data to save space. Click Next to continue.
8. Type a name for the backup job so that you can load these settings another time and review the backup settings.
9. Click Start to begin the backup job.
CAUTION
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Anyone who obtains your backup tape or disc can access your files. For this reason, keep your backup media in a secure location and set a password for the backup, as described in the "Manually Performing Backups" section.

Manually Performing Backups

To manually perform a backup using Microsoft Backup, use the following steps.

1. Select which folders and files you want to back up, as shown in Figure 12-5.


Click to view graphic

Figure 12-5  The main Microsoft Backup interface gives you more control over the backup process than does the Backup Wizard.

2. In the What To Back Up frame, select All Selected Files to perform a full backup, or New And Changed Files to perform a partial backup.
NOTE
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Microsoft Backup automatically performs whichever type of partial backup is set as the default type. To change which type of partial backup you perform, click Options, click the Type tab, select New And Changed Files Only, and then select Differential Backup Type or Incremental Backup Type.
3. In the Where To Backup frame, choose the backup medium and type a descriptive file name for the backup.
4. Click Options to specify such things as backup comparison, compression, password, and whether to back up the Windows Registry (you must select this option to properly back up Windows).
NOTE
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New tapes might need to be formatted or initialized before you can use them. To do so, choose Media from the Tools menu and then choose either Format or Initialize.
5. Click Save Job (the floppy disk icon in the toolbar), type a descriptive file name in the Job Name text box, and then click Save.
6. Click Start to begin.

Restoring from a Backup

Restoring Files from Within Windows

If you can boot Windows, use Microsoft Backup to restore selected files from your backup set. Here's how.

1. Click Start, choose Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and finally Backup.
2. Select Restore Backed Up Files and click OK.
3. Choose the backup medium, and type the file name of the backup or click the folder icon to browse for the backup. Click Next to continue.
4. Select the backup set from which you want to restore and then click OK.
5. Select the files and folders you want to restore, and click Next.
6. Choose where Microsoft Backup should place the restored files—either the Original Location or an Alternate Location (if you want to compare the files)—and then click Next.
7. Choose when existing files should be replaced (if at all) and then click Start. Insert the requested media and click OK to begin the restore process.

Disaster—Restoring When You've Lost Everything

If a major disaster occurs, the first thing that you should do is try to get Windows running again.

If you can't get Windows to reboot, use the following procedure to boot from your Windows 98 boot disk (grab someone else's if you must) and automatically reinstall Windows.

1. Insert a Windows 98 boot disk in the computer's floppy drive and restart your computer. If the computer doesn't boot from the floppy disk, go into your system settings (BIOS) and change the drive boot order to boot from the floppy disk first.
2. Boot with CD-ROM support. Insert the Windows 98 CD-ROM and type the following commands (where D is your CD-ROM drive): cd d:\tools\sysrec\pcrestor.bat.
NOTE
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If your hard disk is really messed up, you might need to format, repartition, or replace the drive (though this is a last resort).
3. After Windows is finished reinstalling itself, log on and click Next in the first screen of the System Recovery Wizard.
4. Type your registration info, click Next, and then Finish.
5. Select Restore Backed Up Files and click OK.
6. Choose the backup medium and type the file name of the backup, or click the folder icon to browse for the backup. Click Next to continue.
7. Select the backup set from which you want to restore and click OK.
8. Select the files and folders you want to restore and then click Next.
9. Choose where Microsoft Backup should place the restored files—either the Original Location or an Alternate Location (if you want to compare the files) and then click Next.
CAUTION
---

When you choose Always Replace, any changes made to files after the backup are lost. If you have important changes that aren't backed up, select Replace The File On My Computer Only If The File Is Older. If you're performing a full restore of Windows, the computer might not work properly if you don't select Always Replace Files. If you want to preserve recently altered data files, don't select those files.
10. Choose when existing files should be replaced (if at all) and then click Start. Insert the requested media and click OK to begin the restore process.
11. If you haven't changed your hardware (for example, by replacing your hard disk) or any system settings since the last backup, click Yes when asked if you want to restore hardware and system settings to the registry.
12. Once Windows is functioning properly, use the Restoring Files From Windows section to restore your incremental backups, starting from the oldest backup made after the full backup. To restore a differential backup, restore the most recent differential backup you have.

Dealing with Startup Problems

Using Safe Mode

To use Safe Mode, follow these steps.

1. Turn on your computer or restart it.
2. Press and hold the Ctrl key.
3. Choose Safe Mode from the Windows 98 Startup Menu and then press Enter. (If Windows fails to start successfully in Safe Mode, you've got bigger problems—see the section "When Windows Won't Start in Safe Mode.")
4. Restart the computer normally. Sometimes Windows miraculously decides to work again. If not, reboot into Safe Mode again and move on to the next step.
TIP
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When troubleshooting startup problems, ask yourself, "What's changed?" If you recently added a new device, installed a program, or changed a system setting, this is the most likely cause. Try removing the device, uninstalling the program, or changing the system setting. If error messages appear during boot up, query the Microsoft Knowledge Base (http://support.microsoft.com) for additional information about the errors.
5. Click Start, choose Run, type msconfig in the Open box, and then click OK.
6. Choose the Selective Startup option on the General tab, as shown in Figure 12-6, and then try the boot options listed in Table 12-4 under Set 1. Click OK and then restart the computer normally.


Click to view graphic

Figure 12-6  The System Configuration Utility (Msconfig.exe) is the best tool with which to troubleshoot startup problems.

7. If Windows doesn't load, reboot into Safe Mode and try Set 2. If Set 2 doesn't work, try Set 3. The set that enables you to boot Windows normally tells you where the problem is:
• Set 1 works—The problem is in the System.ini or Win.ini files.
• Set 2 works—The problem is in the Config.sys or Autoexec.bat files.
• Set 3 works—The problem is with a program loading from the startup folder.

Table 12-4  Startup Troubleshooting Sets

	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3
Process Config.sys File	Yes	No	Yes
Process Autoexec.bat File	Yes	No	Yes
Process Winstart.bat File	Yes	Yes	No
Process System.ini File	No	Yes	No
Process Win.ini File	No	Yes	Yes
Load Startup Group Items	Yes	Yes	No

8. Choose Normal Startup and then use the following sections to pinpoint and fix the problem. (See "Fixing Other Problems" later in this chapter if none of the sets work.)
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Before editing any files, click Create Backup on the General tab to back up the relevant system files.

Fixing Problems with the Autoexec.bat or Config.sys Files

Windows 98 doesn't need the Config.sys or Autoexec.bat files to function and actually runs faster if these files are empty. If a line in these files is preventing Windows from loading properly, refer to the "Empty the Autoexec.bat and Config.sys Files" section earlier in this chapter for a walk-through on how to empty or streamline these files.

Fixing Problems with the System.ini or Win.ini Files

If the problem is in the System.ini or Win.ini files, click the Win.ini tab, expand the [Windows] section, and then clear the Load= and Run= check boxes.

If that doesn't fix your problem, disable the entire win.ini file and reboot. If the problem is still there, you know it's the system.ini file; if it goes away, it's in the win.ini file. Use the System.ini and Win.ini tabs to disable lines until you've identified which one is causing the problem. Leave that line disabled. (If it's an important line, research it on Microsoft's Knowledge Base, in newsgroups, or with the help of Microsoft tech support.)

Fixing Problems with the Startup Folder

If the problem is in the Startup folder, open the System Configuration Utility and use the following procedures, starting with the first one and then working down.

• Click the Startup tab, clear each check box, click OK, and then restart the computer. If the problem goes away, enable each Startup program, one by one, until the problem returns. To fix it, leave the last line you changed disabled, uninstall or reinstall the offending program, or contact the software developer for an updated version.
• Choose the Selective Startup option on the General tab and enable everything but the Winstart.bat file. If the problem goes away, either back up and then delete this file, or use Notepad to edit the Winstart.bat file, located in the C:\Windows folder. Disable each line in the file, one by one, until you find the offending line. (Type REM in front of a line to disable it.)
• If the problem still persists, a program loading from the Windows 98 registry might be causing the problems. To prevent the program from loading, use the following steps.
CAUTION
---

Editing the registry is extremely dangerous and could force you to reinstall Windows. Always registry keys before editing them and don't make extraneous edits.

1. Click Start, choose Run, type regedit in the Open box, and click OK.
2. One at a time, select the following keys and choose Export Registry File from the Registry menu.
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices

3. Delete the key values (NOT the key itself) from among the following that you suspect might be causing the problems.
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunServices
• HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\RunOnceEx
• HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Run

4. Restart your computer. If you find that your deletions broke something else, double-click the backup files you created (the .reg files) to merge the keys back into the system registry.

Fixing Other Problems

If none of the sets fix the problem, try these procedures, starting with the first one and working through them in order.

• Troubleshoot protected mode drivers Click Advanced on the General tab of the System Configuration Utility and select check boxes one by one, restarting after each one. If Windows boots properly, you've pinpointed the problem. For more information, see Microsoft Knowledge Base Article Q181966 at http://support.microsoft.com.
• Run the Windows Registry Checker Click Start and choose Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and then System Information. Choose Registry Checker from the Tools menu.
• Disable PCI bus IRQ Steering   Double-click System in Control Panel, click the Device Manager tab, expand the System Devices object, and then double-click PCI Bus. Click the IRQ Steering tab and clear Use IRQ Steering. Restart your computer and disable IRQ Steering in your BIOS (if necessary).
• Disable all unneeded devices   Double-click the System icon in Control Panel, click the Device Manager tab, and then disable all unneeded devices (basically everything not under the System heading). To disable a device, double-click it and then select the Disable In This Hardware Profile. Some devices may be listed as Exists In All Hardware Profiles.

If this fixes the problem, enable each device, starting with COM ports, hard disk controllers, and floppy disk controllers. (Reboot after each device you enable, and use Safe Mode to change display drivers or settings if you have display problems.) When you identify the device causing the problem, remove it, move it to a different slot, or troubleshoot it using the techniques covered in Chapter 9, "Conquering Computer Hardware."

If the problem still isn't resolved, click Start and choose Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and then System Information. Then choose Automatic Skip Driver Agent from the Tools menu. For more information on this tool, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q186588 at http://support.microsoft.com.

• Check for damaged virtual device drivers (VxDs) Restart the computer, hold down the Ctrl key, and then select Step-By-Step Confirmation from the Windows 98 Startup menu, then press Enter. Type Y for all prompts up to "Load All Windows Drivers?" Type Y for this prompt and then N for all subsequent prompts, writing down each item (file name) for which you type N.

If Windows boots successfully, perform this procedure again, but this time type Y for the first prompt for which you typed N the previous time. Continue this procedure until you identify which line(s) is preventing Windows from booting.

When you find the offending file(s), uninstall and reinstall the program associated with the file referred to in the problem line. The file in question is a hidden .vxd file in the C:\Windows\System\Vmm32 folder. (Right-click the file in Windows Explorer, choose Properties, and then click the Version tab to view the file association.) If you can't figure out how to uninstall the files causing the problem, move them to a backup folder.

TIP
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To display hidden files, in Control Panel, double-click Folder Options, click the View tab, and then choose the Show All Files option under the Hidden Files container.
• Use the System File Checker to check for changed system files   Click Start and choose Programs, Accessories, System Tools and then System Information. Choose System File Checker from the Tools menu, choose Scan For Altered Files, and then click Start. If it finds any corrupted files, follow the prompts or use the Extract One File From Installation Disk option to replace them.

When Windows Won't Start in Safe Mode

• Boot your computer with an antivirus recovery disk and scan your system for viruses.
• Turn on your computer and enter the system BIOS (usually by pressing Delete or F2). Check to make sure all settings are correct, and consider resetting them to the default or most conservative settings.
• Remove all unnecessary devices from your computer. This includes sound cards, modems, network adapters, USB and Firewire adapters, TV cards, and extra RAM modules. If your computer boots successfully, add devices back one by one until the problem returns. Then use Chapter 9, "Conquering Computer Hardware" to troubleshoot the device.
• Run the Windows Registry Checker. To do so, restart the computer, hold down the Ctrl key, choose Command Prompt Only, type scanreg, press Enter, then follow the on-screen prompts.
• Check the Msdos.sys file for incorrect settings. For information on doing this, refer to Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q118579 at http://support.microsoft.com.
• Boot the computer with a Windows 98 boot disk and type sys c: at the command prompt. This writes a new Master Boot Record (MBR) to the hard disk drive.

If you still can't get Windows to boot, install Windows 98 into a new folder. If Windows doesn't install properly, you most likely have a hardware problem. If Windows installs OK, you can either restore from a backup or reinstall your programs and use the new Windows installation from now on. (Delete the old C:\Windows folder when you're sure that you don't have any data hidden within it.)

Dealing with Shutdown Problems

• Boot your system normally, open the System Configuration Utility, from the General tab choose Selective Startup, clear all check boxes, and then shut your system down. If it shuts down properly, repeat this, selectively enabling options. When you find the file that's causing the problem, use the tabs in the System Configuration Utility to troubleshoot the affected file by selectively disabling lines within it.
• Disable fast shutdowns. To do so, click Advanced on the General tab of the System Configuration Utility and then select the Disable Fast Shutdown check box.
• Change the Exit Windows sound to None, using the Sounds tool in Control Panel (as discussed in Chapter 10, "Wielding the Control Panel Tools"). If the problem goes away, you have a corrupted sound file. Replace the file, choose a different sound, or leave it disabled.
• Disable all unneeded devices and check for damaged virtual device drivers. To do so, see the "Fixing Other Problems" section earlier in this chapter.
• Check if Advanced Power Management (APM) is causing the problem. Double-click the System icon in Control Panel, click the Device Manager tab, expand the System Devices object, double-click Advanced Power Management, and select Force APM 1.0 Mode and Disable Power Status Polling (if your system uses APM).
• If Windows still refuses to shut down properly and you're using Windows 98 SE, consult Microsoft Knowledge Base Article Q238096 at http://support.microsoft.com. This article includes additional troubleshooting steps and a link to a software update to resolve this issue.

Key Points

• Keeping Windows 98 and your other programs up-to-date provides the best stability, security and features—just as long as you don't install updates that you don't need or won't use.
• The Maintenance Wizard makes it easy to schedule your routine housecleaning chores, such as defragmenting disks, checking for disk errors, and cleaning up unnecessary files.
• Windows 98 runs best if you have at least 64-128 MB of RAM. Computer artists and video editors should have 256 MB of RAM, but no more than 512 MB.
• You can make the most of your memory by closing or disabling unneeded programs and services.
• Let Windows 98 manage virtual memory and its disk cache, despite what various Web sites might report. (However, if you have multiple disks, you might want to reposition the swap file.)
• Video editing requires different optimization technsiques, such as disabling disk caching and using a separate hard disk for video files.
• Backing up your data really is as important as your mother always said it was.
• If Windows won't start, hold down the Ctrl key when booting and choose Safe Mode to boot Windows using a special diagnostic mode.
• Use the System Configuration Tool (Msconfig.exe) to troubleshoot startup and shutdown problems.

Last Updated: November 14, 2002

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