Windows 98 Installation & Configuration Handbook

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- 14 -

Configuring Memory, Disks, and Devices


by Rob Tidrow

Modifying Virtual Memory Options

As Windows 98 executes programs (especially when executing several programs at once), it performs better when it possesses more memory. To achieve better performance, Windows 98 uses spare room on your hard drive as additional memory. This is called virtual memory. The room on your hard drive that is used by Windows 98 as virtual memory is called the swap file. This file grows and shrinks as you use your computer. The more programs you run at once, the larger the swap file grows. As you close programs, the swap file shrinks. Normally, you won't need to adjust the default settings for virtual memory. However, if your hard drive doesn't have much spare room on it, you might want to control how Windows 98 grows and shrinks the swap file.


CAUTION: In most cases, it is best to leave the swap-file allocation setting at its default to let Windows manage the swap file. Most of the time, unless indicated by Microsoft or by a specific application, Windows can manage swap-file allocation better than users.

To change the virtual memory settings, use the Virtual Memory dialog box. To open the Virtual Memory dialog box, follow these steps:

1. Choose Start, Settings, Control Panel.

2.
Double-click the System icon to open the System Properties dialog box.


TIP: You also can get to the System Properties dialog box by right-clicking the My Computer icon on the desktop. This brings up a context menu. Choose Properties, and the System Properties dialog box opens.
3. Select the Performance tab in the System Properties dialog box.

4.
Click Virtual Memory.

The Virtual Memory dialog box opens, as shown in Figure 14.1.

FIG. 14.1 You can change virtual-memory settings using the Virtual Memory dialog box.

You have two main choices when dealing with virtual memory. You can let Windows decide how to manage the virtual memory, or you can specify your settings. If you need to specify your settings, there are three parameters to set:


CAUTION: If you have 16 or more megabytes of RAM, you are given the option of turning off virtual memory. Don't do this. If you do turn off virtual memory, you might not be able to run more than a few, small programs simultaneously, or you might not be able to work with large amounts of data. Microsoft (and I) recommend that you don't disable virtual memory.

Specifying the Hard Drive on Which the Swap Exists

Normally, Windows creates the virtual-memory swap file on the same drive on which Windows 98 is installed. However, you can have Windows 98 create the swap file on a different drive. You might want to use a different drive because it has more free space (allowing you to have more virtual memory), or you might want to use another drive because it is a faster disk drive (improving performance). All the available drives, as well as the amount of free disk space on each drive, are listed in the drop-down list box.

To change the default location for the swap file, follow these steps:

1. Select the Let Me Specify My Own Virtual Memory Settings option on the Virtual Memory dialog box. Refer to Figure 14.1.

2.
View the list of available drives by clicking the down arrow at the right of the Hard Disk drop-down text box.

3.
Click the drive you want to use for the swap file.

4.
Click OK.


NOTE: Windows 98 constantly reads and writes to the swap file. Reading and writing to a compressed drive is slower than reading and writing to a noncompressed drive. This is because you have the overhead of compressing and uncompressing data when you read and write to it. So, for the best performance, you shouldn't locate the swap file on a compressed drive.

However, if you need more virtual memory than you can fit on any noncompressed drive, you can use a compressed drive. Although it works more slowly, you will be able to run more programs simultaneously. If you run large programs, such as Word and Excel, for example, and you are using object linking and embedding (OLE) to share data between them, you will need a lot of memory. If you run out of memory using the default swap file, your only option to get everything to work might be to put the virtual-memory swap file on a compressed drive.


Setting the Minimum Swap File Size

You can specify the smallest swap file that Windows 98 creates. If you know that you are going to be needing a lot of memory (because you are running several programs or manipulating a large amount of data), you can have Windows 98 preallocate the memory. If you don't, you might notice an additional delay as you load new programs or data and Windows 98 has to grow the swap file to increase the amount of virtual memory.


TIP: Swap files can become fragmented, which hurts the performance of your system. It's a good idea to make the minimum swap file as large as you can afford to in order to help alleviate that problem.
Another way to improve a swap file's performance is to have it created on a drive or partition separate from the one used for system and application files. This way, the drive or partition is not fragmented as much as it would be on a drive with all your files.

To specify the minimum size for the swap file, follow these steps:

1. Select the Let Me Specify My Own Virtual Memory Settings option on the Virtual Memory dialog box. Refer to Figure 14.1.

2.
In the Minimum edit field, type in the size for the smallest swap file (in megabytes).

3.
Click OK.


CAUTION: Windows 98 will not let you set the minimum memory less than 12MB (the total of your physical RAM and virtual memory). However, if you do set your total memory to 12MB, you might have problems trying to run additional programs, work with OLE documents, and so on. If you plan to run any large program or work with OLE objects, keep the minimum memory to at least 16MB.

Setting the Maximum Swap File Size

Windows 98 grows the swap file for virtual memory as large as it needs to, unless you set a maximum size. Windows 98 also shrinks the swap file to accommodate disk drive shortage and offers to clean up your drive for you if it runs out of space. If you don't need a certain amount of space left over, you don't need to set a maximum. However, if you know that you need a certain amount of space available for an application to run, you need to set the maximum value. If you have 20MB left on your hard drive, for example, and you know that you will need 5MB free for downloading a file, limit the swap file to 15MB.

To set the maximum size of the swap file, follow these steps:

1. Select the Let Me Specify My Own Virtual Memory Settings option on the Virtual Memory dialog box. Refer to Figure 14.1.

2.
In the Maximum edit field, type in the size for the largest swap file (in megabytes).

3.
Click OK.

Improving Hard Drive Performance

The performance of your hard drive affects the performance of your system under Windows 98. This happens for several reasons. First, the time it takes to load programs and data files affects performance. Second, because Windows 98 uses the hard drive as virtual memory, maintaining your hard drive's efficiency affects overall performance. Windows 98 provides five tools to help you maintain your hard drive:

Given the object-oriented nature of Windows 98, you easily can keep your hard drive in top condition by working from the Properties dialog box of the hard drive itself. The individual Properties pages provide you with information about the drive and ways to easily access the tools you'll use to maintain the drive.

To access the properties of a drive, follow these steps:

1. Open the My Computer folder by double-clicking the My Computer icon on the desktop.

2.
Right-click the drive to bring up its context menu.

3.
Choose Properties.

The Properties dialog box normally contains three pages, as shown in Figure 14.2.

FIG. 14.2 The Properties dialog box for the C: drive.

Here are the three Properties pages:

FIG. 14.3 The Tools page provides access to disk drive utilities.

FIG. 14.4 The Sharing tab shows the status of a shared drive.

Although you can start ScanDisk, Disk Defragmenter, and Backup from the Tools tab, the examples in the remainder of this chapter run the disk drive maintenance tools from the Start menu. But remember, by selecting the object--the drive--and choosing its properties, you can access all the tools from one location.

Using ScanDisk

Although Windows 98 is a much more robust operating system than previous Windows operating systems, including the DOS-Windows 3.1x combination and Windows 95, the files on your computer are still vulnerable to application errors. When an application crashes (or worse, your entire system crashes), your files and folders might become a bit scrambled. Left unfixed, these scrambled files and folders can produce a domino effect, causing more crashes and further scrambling your drive. Fortunately, Windows 98 comes with ScanDisk, a tool that unscrambles your files and folders.


NOTE: If you did not install ScanDisk, refer to Chapter 3, "Selecting Windows 98 Components," for information on how to install individual components.

ScanDisk checks your hard drive(s) for any problems. ScanDisk can perform one of two types of tests: Standard and Thorough. A Standard test checks the file system for errors--such as fragments of files or cross-linked files. A Thorough test adds a surface scan test to the Standard test, which helps to detect when a portion of the hard drive is beginning to malfunction.


NOTE: A Thorough test takes much longer to complete than a Standard test. Depending on the size and speed of your hard drive and your computer's speed, a Thorough test can take a long time to complete. You should perform a Thorough test on a monthly basis or if you suspect a problem.

Performing a Standard ScanDisk Test  To run a standard ScanDisk test on a drive, follow these steps:

1. Choose Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, ScanDisk. The ScanDisk dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 14.5.

FIG. 14.5 You can perform two types of ScanDisk tests: Standard or Thorough.

2. Select the drive you want ScanDisk to check for errors.

3.
Select Standard.

4.
Click Start.


TIP: You can select several drives at once on which to run ScanDisk. To do this, press Ctrl while clicking each drive you want to check for errors.

You can customize the behavior of ScanDisk by clicking the Advanced button in the ScanDisk main window. The ScanDisk Advanced Options dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 14.6.

FIG. 14.6 Set advanced options for ScanDisk in the ScanDisk Advanced Options dialog box.

From this dialog box, you can set the following options:


NOTE: Here are the default settings for the ScanDisk Advanced Options dialog box:

Display Summary
Always
Log File
Replace log
Cross-Linked Files
Make Copies
Lost File Fragments
Convert to Files
Check Files For
Invalid file names
Check Host Drive First
Enabled
Report MS-DOS Mode
Enabled
Name Length Errors

Performing a Thorough ScanDisk Test  To run a Thorough ScanDisk on a drive, follow these steps:

1. Choose Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, ScanDisk.

2.
Select the drive you want ScanDisk to check for errors.

3.
Select Thorough.

4.
Click Start.

If you want ScanDisk to perform a Thorough test, you can set several options by clicking the Options button. These options enable you to customize how ScanDisk performs the surface-scan portion of the test. As Figure 14.7 shows, these options enable you to do the following:

FIG. 14.7 Set ScanDisk to scan both the system and data areas of the drive.

ScanDisk enables you to control three aspects of its Thorough disk drive test:

Setting ScanDisk to Automatically Fix Errors  You can have ScanDisk automatically repair errors that it discovers. To set this option, enable the Automatically Fix Errors check box on the main ScanDisk window. Refer to Figure 14.5. If you choose to have ScanDisk automatically fix errors, set the advanced options so that you can do the following:

By setting these options, you prevent ScanDisk from removing information from your drive without your approval. You need to review the log file periodically to see what ScanDisk has done. At that time, you can delete or recover any files ScanDisk created.


TIP: You can automate the running of ScanDisk by setting the Maintenance Wizard to run ScanDisk at a specific time.


TROUBLESHOOTING: I've tried to run ScanDisk, but it says it can't fix a problem it found. ScanDisk might be unable to repair errors for files that are in use while ScanDisk runs. Because Windows 98 itself has many files in use, ScanDisk might not be able to completely repair all the errors it finds. To fix these errors, choose Start, Shut Down and select Restart the Computer in MS-DOS mode. Then, run the DOS version of ScanDisk. This file is located in the WINDOWS\COMMAND folder.

Performing Backup

The Microsoft Backup tool provided with Windows 98 copies the files on your computer to floppy disks or supported tape drives. There are two main ways to use Backup. First, the application can be used in a manual mode. In this mode, the Backup program looks and behaves very much like Explorer. You manually select the folders and files you want to back up. In the second method, you can use the Backup program by creating backup sets. With backup sets, you can back up files using a simple drag-and-drop operation.

Because an entire chapter is devoted to Microsoft Backup, this chapter does not go into detail on creating backup sets. You can learn more about this topic in Chapter 13, "Setting Up Backup Systems."

Defragmenting Your Hard Drive

Over time, as a hard drive is used (as files are saved, edited, resaved, and deleted), the files become fragmented into pieces scattered on the drive. Then, when a file needs to be loaded, it takes longer to load the file because it is not in one piece. A badly fragmented drive does not perform as well as a drive on which all the files are neatly organized. The Disk Defragmenter tool supplied with Windows 98 helps keep files on your drive organized into contiguous pieces.


NOTE: The Maintenance Wizard schedules and runs Disk Defragmenter automatically for you.

You can control how Disk Defragmenter works by changing the Disk Defragmenter Settings, as shown in Figure 14.8. You can change these by clicking the Settings button in the Select Drive dialog box. See Figure 14.9.

FIG. 14.8 You can set the Disk Defragmenter to perform a full defragmentation.

You may select the following settings:

Click OK to save your settings.


TIP: By default, Disk Defragmenter checks a drive for errors before it attempts to defragment the drive. However, you can disable this error-checking by deselecting Check the Drive for Errors on the Disk Defragmenter Settings dialog box. Disable this feature only if you are positive that the drive doesn't have any errors. If you have just run ScanDisk on the drive, for example, you could disable the error-checking.

To defragment your hard drive, follow these steps:

1. Choose Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter. The Select Drive dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 14.9.

FIG. 14.9 Use the Select Drive dialog box to select the drive you want to defragment.

2. Select the drive you want defragmented by choosing the drive from the drop-down list box.

3.
Click OK, or press Enter.

4.
Click Start.

As Disk Defragmenter runs, you see a dialog box like the one shown in Figure 14.10. To see a graphical representation of the defragmentation process, click Show Details. See Figure 14.11.

FIG. 14.10 Disk Defragmenter usually takes some time to finish.

FIG. 14.11 This is a popular way to view Disk Defragmenter in action.

Disk Cleanup

You can use the Disk Cleanup utility to systematically go through your disk drives (it cannot clean up CD-ROM drives, of course) to delete unneeded files. This frees up drive space for other files to be stored.

To run Disk Cleanup, perform these steps:

1. Choose Start, Programs, Accessories, System Utilities, Disk Cleanup. The Disk Cleanup dialog box appears.

2.
From the Drives drop-down list, select the drive you want to clean up.

3.
Click OK.

Disk Cleanup returns a list of the types of files you can delete to free up disk drive space, as shown in Figure 14.12.

The Files to Delete list includes the following types of files:

FIG. 14.12 Select the types of files you want Disk Cleanup to remove from your system.

Select the types of files you want to remove. If you select the Temporary Files option, Disk Cleanup deletes only those temporary files that have not been modified for more than a week. It does not delete temporary files created during your current session, which could be problematic for your system and any open data files.


TIP: To view individual files that are selected to be removed by the Temporary Internet Files, Downloaded Program Files, and Recycle Bin options, click View Files. This displays an Explorer view of the files found by Disk Cleanup that will be deleted.

Click the More Options tab to see other ways to free additional space on your system. These ways include removing Windows components you no longer use, uninstalling applications, and converting your drive to use FAT32.

Finally, the Settings tab includes an option that automatically launches Disk Cleanup any time your drive gets low on space. By default, this option is enabled.

Using Maintenance Wizard

You can use the Windows Maintenance Wizard to set up a maintenance schedule to the following performance-improving utilities:

To set up a schedule for running these utilities, follow these steps:

1. Choose Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Maintenance Wizard. The Maintenance Wizard appears, as shown in Figure 14.13.

FIG. 14.13 Use the Maintenance Wizard to set up a schedule to run disk drive maintenance tools.

2. Select one of the following options:

The Maintenance Wizard displays different screens, depending on the preceding option you select. The following steps assume that you select the Custom option.

3.
Click Next. Select a maintenance schedule to specify when you want the Maintenance Wizard to run your disk drive utilities. You can select Nig_hts, Days, Evenings, and Custom. The following steps assume that you choose Custom.

4.
Click Next. On the Speed Up Programs dialog box, you can set up the Disk Deframenter utility. If you do not want to schedule this tool, select No, Do Not Defragment My Disk.

5.
Click Reschedule to change the schedule for the Disk Defragmenter. The Reschedule dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 14.14. Set the schedule for the utility. In Figure 14.14, for example, Disk Defragmenter is set to run weekly, every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 6:00 A.M.


TIP: To create multiple schedules for a utility, enable the Show Multiple Schedules check box. This lets you create or delete different schedules that the Maintenance Wizard can use to run disk drive utilities.
6. Click OK to save your schedule settings.

7.
Click Settings to display the Disk Defragmenter utility, so you can set runtime options for Defragmenter. See the "Defragmenting Your Hard Drive" section, earlier in this chapter, for information on setting up Defragmenter. Click OK to return to the Maintenance Wizard.

FIG. 14.14 You can set customized schedules for the disk drive tools using the Reschedule dialog box.

8. Click Next. Set scheduling and runtime options for ScanDisk from this screen. Or, select No, Do Not Scan My Hard Disk for Errors if you don't want to run ScanDisk with Maintenance Wizard. Clicking the Reschedule button displays the Reschedule dialog box, which is the same as the one described in step 5. In addition, the Settings button displays the ScanDisk utility to set runtime options.

9.
Click Next. From the Delete Unnecessary Files dialog box, you can select which types of files you want Disk Cleanup to remove when the Maintenance Wizard runs. Or, you can select No, Do Not Scan My Hard Disk for Errors if you don't want to run Disk Cleanup with Maintenance Wizard. The Reschedule and Settings buttons work the same as the ones you use when setting the Disk Defragmenter and ScanDisk tools.

10.
Click Next to see a listing of your Maintenance Wizard schedule.


TIP: If you want to run the scheduled utilities now, click the When I Click Finish, Perform Each Scheduled Task for the First Time option.
11. Click Finish to save your settings.

Maintenance Wizard now is set up to run the scheduled utilities.

If you run Maintenance Wizard from the System Tools folder, you are asked whether you want to run your schedule now or change the maintenance settings or schedule.

Using the Device Manager

Although Windows 98 supports Plug and Play hardware devices, many of the devices still in use are not Plug and Play devices. Windows 98 consolidates the management of all of these different devices into one central spot--the Device Manager. With the Device Manager, you quickly can see all the devices in your system and change the setting for any device.

Changing Device Properties

To change the properties of a device using the Device Manager, follow these steps:

1. Right-click My Computer.

2.
Choose Properties. The System Properties dialog box opens.

3.
Select the Device Manager tab in the System Properties dialog box, as shown in Figure. 14.15. All devices with errors are marked in the list. An X denotes devices that are disabled. An exclamation point (!) denotes devices that have problems.

FIG. 14.15 The Device Manager page enables you to change the properties of a device.

4. Click the plus sign in the small rectangle to the left of the type of device you want. This expands the item, showing all the devices of that type in your system. By clicking the DISK DRIVES folder, for example, the tree expands to show all physical drives in the system.

5.
Click the device you want to modify or examine.

6.
Choose Properties.

Although the Properties dialog box for each device is unique, you will see standard pages. All devices have a General page. The General page lists the following information:

Changing Device Resources

Some devices will have only the General page. However, if the device uses system resources (such as DMA and IRQ settings), the device also will have a Resources page.

To change the resources for a device, follow these steps:

1. From Device Manager, select the device you want to modify or examine.

2.
Click Properties.

3.
Select the Resources tab, as shown in Figure 14.16.

FIG. 14.16 You can change the resources used by a modem on this page.

4. If the Use Automatic Settings check box is marked, deselect it.

5.
Click the resource type you want to change in the Resource Type box.

6.
Click Change Setting. A dialog box appears, enabling you to edit the specific resource settings.


TROUBLESHOOTING: I changed the resource for one of my devices, and now Windows 98 won't restart. If you can't restart Windows 98, restart your computer. When the words Starting Windows 98... appear on your monitor, press F8. The Windows 98 Startup menu appears. Select Safe mode to restart Windows as a default configuration. You should be able to go back and undo your changes using Device Manager.

Changing Device Drivers

Some devices will have drivers associated with them. If a device does have a device driver, there will be a Driver page. This page displays the following information:

To change the driver for a device, follow these steps:

1. From Device Manager, select the device you want to modify or examine.

2.
Click Properties.

3.
Select the Driver tab, as shown in Figure 14.17.

FIG. 14.17 You can change a device driver to a display device.

4. Click Update Driver. The Update Device Driver Wizard appears, enabling you to install a new device driver, as shown in Figure 14.18. You can learn more about this wizard in Chapter 5, "Installing and Configuring New Hardware and Software."

FIG. 14.18 Use the Update Device Driver Wizard to help you update a device's driver file.


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