Some Tips on Making Windows 95 run more efficiently<\/p>\n
By Zatni Arbi<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): As Jakarta's toll road fee hops again, life goes
\non and operating system changes. Now that most of the tools that
\nI need to accomplish my tasks are already available in Windows 95
\nversion, I finally feel comfortable enough to move completely to
\nthe new environment -- almost one year after its official
\nrelease. And, just when I am moving to Windows 95, Windows 4.0 is
\nalready being talked about as its logical replacement, since most
\nWin95 application software can also run in Windows 94. Boy, can
\nwe ever keep up with all these?<\/p>\n
Well, since we have to work and do not just play around with
\nour personal computers, I think we should be careful in making
\nour moves, at least as far as operating system is concerned. Like
\nso many other things in life, it is not always the case that the
\nnew is better than the old. Take my favorite CorelDRAW!, for
\ninstance. The new Windows 95 version -- CorelDRAW! 6.0 -- had
\nonly some minor changes that I did not even bother to review. In
\nfact, I still strongly regret having paid US$ 275 for the
\nupgrade.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, here I am in the new, much hyped world. And here
\nare some tips that I would like to share with those of you who
\nhave just started to work in Windows 95. I just assume a Windows
\n95 already installed on one's PC and procede with how to make it
\nrun faster.<\/p>\n
But, a small reminder before I go on: the \"Control Panel\"
\nfolder is probably the most important starting point. One can
\naccess this folder by clicking on the \"Start\" button, \"Settings\",
\nand \"Control Panel\". One should better study carefully each of
\nthe files that the folder contains; particularly the \"Display\",
\n\"Add new hardware\", \"Add\/remove new software\", and \"System\"
\nfiles. One should open them one by one in order to learn what one
\ncan do with their help.<\/p>\n
Fine tuning<\/p>\n
The most important thing to keep in mind is that Windows 95
\nwill not run efficiently as long as one still uses the old
\nWindows 3.x 16-bit device drivers. Therefore, the first thing to
\ncheck is whether any of these old drivers are still being used by
\none's Windows 95. Find the \"My Computer\" icon on the desktop
\n(it's usually located on the top left corner of your screen), and
\nclick on it with the right mouse button. Click on the
\n\"Properties\" menu item, and the \"System Properties\" dialog box
\nwill appear. One can learn a lot about one's PC through this
\ndialog box, including about its performance. By the way, one can
\nalso access this dialog box from the \"Control Panel\" folder; just
\nclick on the \"System\" icon, which is usually the last one on the
\nbottom row.<\/p>\n
Go to the \"Performance\" tab -- one can move by hitting the
\nright arrow or clicking directly on the tab. If the system does
\nnot perform optimally, there will be a window that provides some
\nexplanation as to what is wrong. One can also click on the
\n\"Details\" button found under the window to get more detailed
\nexplanation.<\/p>\n
If, on the other hand, it performs as it should, the file
\nsystem and virtual memory should be both working in the 32-bit
\nmode. If one has compressed one's hard disk(s) with Windows 95's
\n32-bit DriveSpace utility and has a PC Card (the new name of
\nPCMCIA card), one should also work in the same 32-bit mode.<\/p>\n
If a problem occurs and Windows 95 runs in the DOS
\ncompatibility mode, one can go back to the \"Device Manager\" tab,
\nand double-check the offending device driver. One should then
\nreplace it with the new, Windows 95 version. Like many other
\nthings in life, the Internet is the best place for the latest
\nversion of device drives, although one may have a hard time
\nfinding one's way around until one gets to their source.<\/p>\n
Before one quits the \"System Properties\" dialog box, one
\nshould go back to the \"Performance\" tab and check whether the
\nother subsystems are optimized. Check the file system performance
\nfurther by clicking on the \"File System\" button. The typical role
\nof the PC should be set correctly, whether it is intended to work
\nas a desktop PC, a notebook or a network server. More
\nimportantly, the read-ahead optimization's sliding button should
\nbe at the \"Full\" end.<\/p>\n
If one has a CD-ROM drive, one might just as well move to the
\n\"CD-ROM\" tab. If one has more than 8 MB of RAM, one can set the
\ncache size to \"Large\"; if one has 8 MB or less, set the sliding
\nbutton to the left. Also, set the optimization according to the
\nmaximum speed of one's CD-ROM drive: Single-speed, Double-speed,
\nTriple-speed, or Quad-speed and higher.<\/p>\n
Click \"OK\" to go back to the \"Performance\" tab, and click on
\nthe \"Graphics\" button. Check the graphics accelerator whether it
\nis running at full speed. Then click \"OK\" again to return to the
\n\"Performance\" tab. Click on the \"Virtual Memory\" just to make
\nsure that it is set to be managed automatically by Windows 95.
\nUnless one is really short on hard disk space, one would better
\nlet Windows 95 manage it by itself. If, however, one has very
\nlimited space, one can then specify the maximum size of the swap
\nfile thus leaving some space for new data. If necessary, one can
\nalso force Windows to move the swap file to a different hard disk
\n-- preferably a faster one.<\/p>\n
The display<\/p>\n
During installation, Windows 95 also detects what kind of
\ngraphics card one has. One will probably encounter no problem if
\none has a popular brand graphics card on one's PC. It may also
\nhappen that the operating system installs a generic video driver
\nfor the graphics card that one has. Of course, this will not
\nnecessarily bring about the best performance. So, while at it,
\none can check whether the right display driver is installed.<\/p>\n
Go to the \"Control Panel\" folder again, and click on
\n\"Display\". Or, click on the desktop and click on \"Properties\". On
\nthe dialog box that appears, click on the \"Settings\" tab, and
\nthen click on the \"Change Display Type\" button. See whether
\nWindows is using the correct display driver. Otherwise, put the
\ndiskette containing the Windows 95 display driver that is
\nsupplied by the hardware manufacturer in the drive and click on
\nthe \"Change\" button. The rest is just a matter of clicking on the
\n\"OK\" buttons.<\/p>\n
If one has downloaded the software driver from Internet,
\nchances are that the file is compressed using PKZIP or LHARC. If
\nthat's the case, open a DOS window, create a temporary
\nsubdirectory on the hard disk, copy the file into it together
\nwith the right decompress utility, and decompress it. Then, in
\norder to install the new driver, specify the location of the
\nfiles in the dialog box that appears after clicking on \"Change
\nDisplay Type\".<\/p>\n
One of the readers of this column was very kind to provide me
\nwith the latest version of the driver for the Diamond Stealth 64
\ngraphics card that I installed on a friend's new Pentium PC.
\nSince the file was compressed, I followed the above mentioned
\nprocedure. After the right driver is installed, however, Windows
\n95 will definitely run more smoothly.<\/p>\n
What to do if one does not have the right software driver for
\nthe display card? One can select the closest one from the list of
\ninstalled drivers that Windows 95 has copied to one's hard disk
\nduring installation. If worse comes to worse, use the generic
\nSuperVGA driver, and select the highest refresh rate that one's
\nmonitor can handle.<\/p>\n
Keep it lined up<\/p>\n
Icons can move around, particularly if one haven't played with
\nSolitaire often enough to master the art of the mouse perfectly.
\nWhat to do to avoid unruly display of icons? In each folder
\nopened, click on \"View\" first, then \"Arrange Icons\", and then
\n\"Auto arrange\". This would allow the icons to line up in the
\nproper order even if one resizes the folder's window.<\/p>\n
Windows 95 Desktop can also become cluttered because the icons
\nare scattered everywhere. The quick remedy is to click with the
\nright mouse button anywhere on the desktop, and to choose
\n\"Arrange Icons\" from the list that appears. Again, use the \"Auto
\narrange\" option. This would give the desktop a tidier look.<\/p>\n
Stay tuned for more tips.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/some-tips-on-making-windows-95-run-more-efficiently-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }