I'm running win98 on a refurbished IBM netvista, Pentium II. I've noticed over the last few weeks that my start menu is sporadically very slow. Like, I will click Start, and it will take 30 seconds or more for the menu to pop up. Sometimes it doesn't pop up at all, the computer freezes and I have to restart it. Any ideas about what's going on here? Like I said, it doesn't occur all the time, just sporadically.

Loks like you may have some malware trying to startup at boot and looking for an internet connection. Try using the msconfig utility to see if anyhting you don't know is set to start up when windows starts:http://netsquirrel.com/msconfig/

Hi,
I also use Win98SE, and it does require some Maintenance to keep it going smoothly. If you haven't done a registry repair, scandisk, or defrag in say, the last month, you might be due for some Maintenance.
Here are steps I use:

Registry Repair should be done whenever there are problems:

To Repair the Registery:
Turn off the computer; or reboot; then immediately press F8, (or, could be F5) located on top of the keyboard. Keep it pressed down (or release and press, release and press) until an options window comes up, then release it.
(If F8 or F5 doesn't work, then re-boot, and immediately press down the CTRL key, hold down until it comes up to the options screen).
Use the up and down arrow keys on the keyboard to select "Command Prompt Only".
Press Enter
You will now see C:\>
Type in SCANDISK , all small letters, and it will look like:
C:\>SCANDISK , then press Enter. Takes about 5 min. maybe.
When finished:
Type in SCANREG /FIX (there is a space between the G and the / ).
You will now see C:\>SCANREG /FIX
Press Enter
This will take about 5 minutes or so.
When finished, press Enter for OK.
Manually, turn off the computer, wait a few seconds, the turn it back on.
If you don't have the "Command Prompt Only" option, then re-boot the computer normally.
Go to Start/ShutDown, then choose "restart in ms-dos mode".
It will come up to C:\windows.
Type in CD C:\
It will look like C:\windows CD C:\
Press Enter.
It will then be at the C\:> prompt.
Continue with the above.
When it returns to the C:\> prompt, then manually turn off the computer, and turn it back on.

Win98/98SE Regular Maintenance
All of these should be run whenever Win98/98SE starts giving problems. It will keep the computer running smoothly.

Before doing any of the following; turn off wallpaper and screensavers before re-starting or re-booting the computer.

Virtual Memory; Notes:
Windows 98/98SE does NOT defrag the swap file; win386.swp; or Virtual Memory. Go to Start>Control Panel>System>Performance tab>Virtual Memory button. Then, click on "Disable Virtual Memory"; a pop-up will say "don't do this", but do it anyway. Click on OK, then Apply, then OK to reboot. This makes the configurations take place. Don't forget, after running Defrag, to come back and re-set it to whatever you used for Virtual Memory. I use twice the RAM number, for both the Min. and Max numbers.

Safe Mode is best where indicated, because most programs are not running meaning their files are closed, or not in use. This allows them to be scanned much better, repaired, or defragged better.

1. Scandisk
Start in Safe Mode by:
Re-boot the computer, and immediately after starting up, Press and hold down (or press and release, press and release,) F8, at top of keypad.
When the options show on the screen, use the up and down arrow keys on the keyboard to select
"Safe Mode".
Press Enter
After it boots to Safe Mode, go to Start/Programs/Accessories/System Tools, and click on Scandisk. Yes, run Scandisk again.
(It is faster if set on "Standard", the "Thorough" usually is not needed and takes a long, long time).
Click on "Start" and let it run until finished.

2. Defrag
When Scandisk is finished, click on "Close".
Now, go back to the same place, but this time, click on "Defrag".
Click on OK, and wait until it finishes (might take 1 hour if not done within a month).
After it finishes, Click on OK or whatever.
Then, re-boot.

Re-set your Virtual Memory, re-boot, then turn on screensavers, wallpaper.

The following Boot Disk has to be done only one time.

Also, a "must have" is a Boot Disk, for Win98/98SE. One never knows when the computer might not load windows and go to the desktop... it does happen.

Here are steps to make one:

Insert the Win98/98SE CD in the CD-ROM drive.
Go to Start/Programs/Windows Explorer
Double click on D:/ , if that is your CD-ROM drive letter.
Find and open the folder; Tools/Mtsutil/Fat32ebd (stands for Emergency Boot Disk)
Double click on the file Fat32ebd.exe and follow the instructions to create the Boot Disk.
Then remove the CD from the CD-ROM.

Now, we must test the Boot Disk to see if it works.
Shut down the computer; then turn it back on with the Boot Disk still in the computer.
When a screen comes up, use the up and down arrows on the keyboard to select "Boot with CD-ROM support". Then press Enter.
It will show some things about the computer, and then come up to the A:\> prompt.
Now, insert a CD (any will do) into the CD-ROM.
Wait until it "spins" and the light goes off.
Now, at the A:\> prompt, type in DIR D:
It will now look like A:\>DIR D:
It should show all the files on the CD.
If so, the Boot Disk is good. If NOT, repeat all the above.
If it's good, then remove the CD, manually turn off the computer, and remove the Boot Disk. Turn on the computer and it's ready to go.

Here are some "tweaks" for Win98/98SE that really work well.

Win98SE Tweaks for better performance
http://www.speedguide.net/read_articles.php?id=170

Win98SE USB Updates:
http://www.usbman.com/win98seusbguide.htm

Virtual Memory
http://www.cyberwalker.net/columns/nov01/081101.html

I also threw in some other links you might be interested in. Best of luck.

Thanks NeedKarma! I went into my msconfig and by trial and error I think the problem might have been stimon.exe (still image monitor), which I know is a Microsoft process, but my computer sped up almost immediately after I disabled it. So here's hoping the problem is solved!

Thanks also Fred, I run all of the tests you mentioned on a regular basis, but thanks for the tweak links, I will check them out!