Some Tips on Making Windows 95 run more efficiently

By Zatni Arbi

JAKARTA (JP): As Jakarta's toll road fee hops again, life goes on and operating system changes. Now that most of the tools that I need to accomplish my tasks are already available in Windows 95 version, I finally feel comfortable enough to move completely to the new environment -- almost one year after its official release. And, just when I am moving to Windows 95, Windows 4.0 is already being talked about as its logical replacement, since most Win95 application software can also run in Windows 94. Boy, can we ever keep up with all these?

Well, since we have to work and do not just play around with our personal computers, I think we should be careful in making our moves, at least as far as operating system is concerned. Like so many other things in life, it is not always the case that the new is better than the old. Take my favorite CorelDRAW!, for instance. The new Windows 95 version -- CorelDRAW! 6.0 -- had only some minor changes that I did not even bother to review. In fact, I still strongly regret having paid US$ 275 for the upgrade.

Nonetheless, here I am in the new, much hyped world. And here are some tips that I would like to share with those of you who have just started to work in Windows 95. I just assume a Windows 95 already installed on one's PC and procede with how to make it run faster.

But, a small reminder before I go on: the "Control Panel" folder is probably the most important starting point. One can access this folder by clicking on the "Start" button, "Settings", and "Control Panel". One should better study carefully each of the files that the folder contains; particularly the "Display", "Add new hardware", "Add/remove new software", and "System" files. One should open them one by one in order to learn what one can do with their help.

Fine tuning

The most important thing to keep in mind is that Windows 95 will not run efficiently as long as one still uses the old Windows 3.x 16-bit device drivers. Therefore, the first thing to check is whether any of these old drivers are still being used by one's Windows 95. Find the "My Computer" icon on the desktop (it's usually located on the top left corner of your screen), and click on it with the right mouse button. Click on the "Properties" menu item, and the "System Properties" dialog box will appear. One can learn a lot about one's PC through this dialog box, including about its performance. By the way, one can also access this dialog box from the "Control Panel" folder; just click on the "System" icon, which is usually the last one on the bottom row.

Go to the "Performance" tab -- one can move by hitting the right arrow or clicking directly on the tab. If the system does not perform optimally, there will be a window that provides some explanation as to what is wrong. One can also click on the "Details" button found under the window to get more detailed explanation.

If, on the other hand, it performs as it should, the file system and virtual memory should be both working in the 32-bit mode. If one has compressed one's hard disk(s) with Windows 95's 32-bit DriveSpace utility and has a PC Card (the new name of PCMCIA card), one should also work in the same 32-bit mode.

If a problem occurs and Windows 95 runs in the DOS compatibility mode, one can go back to the "Device Manager" tab, and double-check the offending device driver. One should then replace it with the new, Windows 95 version. Like many other things in life, the Internet is the best place for the latest version of device drives, although one may have a hard time finding one's way around until one gets to their source.

Before one quits the "System Properties" dialog box, one should go back to the "Performance" tab and check whether the other subsystems are optimized. Check the file system performance further by clicking on the "File System" button. The typical role of the PC should be set correctly, whether it is intended to work as a desktop PC, a notebook or a network server. More importantly, the read-ahead optimization's sliding button should be at the "Full" end.

If one has a CD-ROM drive, one might just as well move to the "CD-ROM" tab. If one has more than 8 MB of RAM, one can set the cache size to "Large"; if one has 8 MB or less, set the sliding button to the left. Also, set the optimization according to the maximum speed of one's CD-ROM drive: Single-speed, Double-speed, Triple-speed, or Quad-speed and higher.

Click "OK" to go back to the "Performance" tab, and click on the "Graphics" button. Check the graphics accelerator whether it is running at full speed. Then click "OK" again to return to the "Performance" tab. Click on the "Virtual Memory" just to make sure that it is set to be managed automatically by Windows 95. Unless one is really short on hard disk space, one would better let Windows 95 manage it by itself. If, however, one has very limited space, one can then specify the maximum size of the swap file thus leaving some space for new data. If necessary, one can also force Windows to move the swap file to a different hard disk -- preferably a faster one.

The display

During installation, Windows 95 also detects what kind of graphics card one has. One will probably encounter no problem if one has a popular brand graphics card on one's PC. It may also happen that the operating system installs a generic video driver for the graphics card that one has. Of course, this will not necessarily bring about the best performance. So, while at it, one can check whether the right display driver is installed.

Go to the "Control Panel" folder again, and click on "Display". Or, click on the desktop and click on "Properties". On the dialog box that appears, click on the "Settings" tab, and then click on the "Change Display Type" button. See whether Windows is using the correct display driver. Otherwise, put the diskette containing the Windows 95 display driver that is supplied by the hardware manufacturer in the drive and click on the "Change" button. The rest is just a matter of clicking on the "OK" buttons.

If one has downloaded the software driver from Internet, chances are that the file is compressed using PKZIP or LHARC. If that's the case, open a DOS window, create a temporary subdirectory on the hard disk, copy the file into it together with the right decompress utility, and decompress it. Then, in order to install the new driver, specify the location of the files in the dialog box that appears after clicking on "Change Display Type".

One of the readers of this column was very kind to provide me with the latest version of the driver for the Diamond Stealth 64 graphics card that I installed on a friend's new Pentium PC. Since the file was compressed, I followed the above mentioned procedure. After the right driver is installed, however, Windows 95 will definitely run more smoothly.

What to do if one does not have the right software driver for the display card? One can select the closest one from the list of installed drivers that Windows 95 has copied to one's hard disk during installation. If worse comes to worse, use the generic SuperVGA driver, and select the highest refresh rate that one's monitor can handle.

Keep it lined up

Icons can move around, particularly if one haven't played with Solitaire often enough to master the art of the mouse perfectly. What to do to avoid unruly display of icons? In each folder opened, click on "View" first, then "Arrange Icons", and then "Auto arrange". This would allow the icons to line up in the proper order even if one resizes the folder's window.

Windows 95 Desktop can also become cluttered because the icons are scattered everywhere. The quick remedy is to click with the right mouse button anywhere on the desktop, and to choose "Arrange Icons" from the list that appears. Again, use the "Auto arrange" option. This would give the desktop a tidier look.

Stay tuned for more tips.