Well I'm back with another problem with my old win98 Pentium II...

I have a huge amount of documents, files, graphics, etc, located in separate folders in My Documents. Right now I'm sorting through these files and deleting anything I don't need anymore, moving things to different folders, etc. The problem is, any operation I try to carry out - deleting, cutting and pasting, etc - takes a really long time, like I'd say 10 seconds for example, for the computer to acknowledge a delete, and even move between folders. The File menu takes an especially long time. I'm forever seeing that hourglass in between each operation. Yesterday I was even folding laundry in between operations, LOL. It was infuriating. Anyone know what I can do to speed things up? Thanks.

What I would do is invoke the Program Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Del) and see if any program is Not Responding. Next I would use the MSCONFIG to stop any unnecessary programs from loading at startup - maybe some of that nasty spyware is there. Try that. I'm sure you'll have other helpful answers. Though a PII is kind of pushing the obsolescence envelope these days.

In addition to what Need has said:

Scan for viruses (update your AV first if necessary)
Check your hard disk for errors using Scandisk
Defragment your hard disk (after checking it for errors)
Ensure the free disk space on C is at least 100MB
You might want to look at your virtual memory settings also but I can't remember how to do this in 98! Sorry.

Thanks guys! I've done pretty much everything you've suggested, except for the virtual memory thing, so I'll try that. Yeah this is an old clunker of a computer. We have 2 other more modern ones in the house, but this one contains a lot of old files of mine that I need to go through. Once I'm finished, the computer is getting donated.

Hi, Orange,
I do apologize, in advance, if you have already done all this below. It is maintenance steps for Win98/98SE; your slowness could be from not doing a Defrag recently. It does happen often.
Here are steps I use to keep my 98SE running smoothly, and as fast as possible:

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 do wish you the best, and I know what you mean by trying to delete or move files; especially if you do a lot at one time. This really "fragments" many areas on the hard drive, requiring a Defrag maybe once a month.

Thanks for your help, Fred. However, I did just defrag 2 days ago, before I started going through the files. I've been in the habit of defragging and checking for other errors weekly or at least every 2 weeks, since I've had so many problems on this machine. Like I said though, I haven't tried to the virtual memory route yet, so thanks for the added information about that, I will try it!

Transfer the hard drive to the new faster system and delete files from there... it will show up as another hard drive... I did that with my old hard drive and worked great.. good luck

Another great idea! Thanks Tommy. And I actually know how to do that, too! :)

I decided to come back and let you guys know that the problem has been fixed, although I'm not sure how exactly... I kept getting the message that My Documents was not responding, and then windows would turn off my Active Desktop. Well I went into Settings -> Active Desktop and unchecked the option "View as Webpage". Now My Documents is very fast. Go figure.