[silverfoxco]

Hello! This is my first time here, so please guide me if I'm not doing this properly. Thanks!

I've been having problems with my 'stone age' computer off and on for a couple months now. Following is recap of back ground and problems.

O/S: Windows 98 SE
Browser: IE 6
Anti Spyware: SpyBot S&D
Anti Virus: Avast

1. In late Oct. 2007 my computer started running slowly. So, I removed a lot of old things, such as, out dated emails, bookmarks, saved files etc. And, also decided to remove Corel programs as I didn't really use Corel and it kept causing 'errors'. I uninstalled the following Corel programs:

Corel Print Office (99) Special Edition
Corel Print House Magic (99)
Word Perfect Office 2000 (Prefessional)
Dragon Naturally Speaking
Corel DRAW 9 (Graphics Suite)

I removed these using the 'Add/Remove' programs in the Control Panel.

Results:

Good: Computer ran faster again. Corel created 'errors' ceased.

Problems:

A.) My D and E Drives started 'disappearing' and then reappearing. That is, in My Computer there Icons disappeared completely. If I tried to use my D drive I received a message 'D:/ driver moved or removed'. If I tried to use my E Drive (Adaptec Direct CD) I received a message 'supported drivers'. Then suddenly for no apparent reason both Drives would work fine again, and the D and E Drive Icons would reappear in My Computer. They seem to come and go at will, sometimes for only a few hours or a day, other times for several days at a time.

This problem still persist. HELP! ... Please

B.) Desk Top Short Cut Icons modify themselves. Here is what happens. If I go to My Computer or My Documents, then return to my Desk Top the screen 'blinks' and all the Icons change. Here is how they change. Normally, they most of the icons have a small white square box with a black arrow in it, located at the bottom left corner of the icon. These boxes all change to the icon of what ever the last files I opened in My Computer or My Documents uses. This problem does not seem to effect operation of the computer, at least not that I'm aware of, anyway. But, since I'm here seeking advice, thought I'd bring it up to.

This problem still persist HELP! ... Please

2. In mid December 2007, because my Microsoft Word 97 had too many things it didn't do, I decided to Uninstall it and replace it with a newer verison of Word I have (Word 2000 SR-1).

So I uninstalled the following:

Microsoft Works Suite 99
- Encarta Encyclopedia 99
- Streets 98 Version 6.0
- Word 97 (Value Pak)
- Works 4.5a
- Money 99 (Basic Audio/Video Help)
- Graphics Studio (Greetings) 99

I then installed the following:

Microsoft Works Suite 2001
- Works 6.0
- Word 2000 SR-1
- Money 2001 Standard
- PictureIT! Publishing 2001
(Note: MS Works Suite 2001 also has Encarta 2001 and Streets 2001, but I don't use them, so did not install them.)

Results:

Good: They all work great.

Problems: I noticed the shortly after completing the above, that web pages seemed to be loading a little slower then normal. Time frame was between Christmas and New Year. Then on January 2, 2008 web pages started loading slower and slower, with the exception of financial institutions, i.e. banks, credit card companies, etc. web sites. During the first week of January SpyBot S&D updated, and when I ran a scan with the new updates, it told me RegisteryFix (a registery scrubber program I downloaded about a year or so ago) was full of Malware and recommended 'fixing it' so I did. SpyBot removed a total of 8 items associated with it. Computer still loads web pages slow.

As it stands right now, with the exception of web sites for financial institutes, most other web sites are loading extremely slow. It is taking anywhere from 45 seconds to about 2 mintues for web pages to load. On average it takes 45 to 60 seconds for web pages to load, both Home pages and internal pages of web sites. When I go to a web site the header graphics of the site will load instantly, then comes the slow down as little pieces of the page will load ... then a long pause .. then another little piece of the page loads ... this continues until the page fully loads. Ad blocks and banners on page seem to take the longest to load. And on many pages the bar across the bottom of the browser will say on the left hand side "Done but errors on page".

All of the above happens while using IE 6 browser. I have an older verison of Netscape 8 on my computer, so I tried using it. Web pages loaded okay in it, considering the out dated age of it. But, for the most part instantly. So could this mean my IE 6 Browser got messed up in the process of replacing MS Works Suites? If so, what is the fix? (Besides moving from the 'stone age' and buying a new computer ... lol ...) I tried going to Microsoft web site to download and reinstall IE 6, but could not find it there. Seems they are only offering IE 7 now.

HELP!... Please

I'm basically a user, and have very limited knowledge on the Tech side. So, any help, advise, assistance you can provide will be veryyyyyyyyy much appreciated. Thank you in advance for whatever help you might be able to provide.

Bob

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Welcome to the forum, silverfoxco.

Link to download IE6 (the final SP1 version):
http://www.microsoft...;displaylang=en

As to your other problems, I can recall when I used Windows 98SE (seems like a lifetime ago) and installed "Adaptec DirectCD" there were frequent glitches and strange behaviour until I removed it. Whilst DirectCD is a very convenient way to put a batch of files on to a CD just like it was a hard disk, this is a very unreliable method of cd-writing as is any type of "packet writing" technology. Few people use that method today for that very reason (and the fact that it's a known cause of various Windows problems). It's not unknown for data on a "packet written" CD-RW to easily become corrupted or indeed to become unreadable after only a few weeks.

My advice is to uninstall DirectCD and then see how your system behaves.
Don't forget also it's important to 'defrag' the C: drive regularly and running the 'error checker' (scandisk) would also be a good idea. You should run scandisk first, then defrag, as defrag won't run if errors are present.

Finally, it's a fact that IE is a bit of a slow plodder when it comes to opening web-pages, not to mention it's poor security owing to the fact it uses a technology called 'ActiveX'. Why not try a a different but bang up-to-date alternative like Firefox 2 which is compatible with Windows 98? You may be pleasantly surprised: http://www.mozilla-e...oducts/firefox/

Third in the browser wars is Opera, also bang-up-to-date and claims to be faster than the other two (a claim which many don't deny):
http://www.opera.com/

Edited by pip22, 14 January 2008 - 09:25 AM.

[pip22]

Welcome to the forum, silverfoxco.

Link to download IE6 (the final SP1 version):
http://www.microsoft...;displaylang=en

As to your other problems, I can recall when I used Windows 98SE (seems like a lifetime ago) and installed "Adaptec DirectCD" there were frequent glitches and strange behaviour until I removed it. Whilst DirectCD is a very convenient way to put a batch of files on to a CD just like it was a hard disk, this is a very unreliable method of cd-writing as is any type of "packet writing" technology. Few people use that method today for that very reason (and the fact that it's a known cause of various Windows problems). It's not unknown for data on a "packet written" CD-RW to easily become corrupted or indeed to become unreadable after only a few weeks.

My advice is to uninstall DirectCD and then see how your system behaves.
Don't forget also it's important to 'defrag' the C: drive regularly and running the 'error checker' (scandisk) would also be a good idea. You should run scandisk first, then defrag, as defrag won't run if errors are present.

Finally, it's a fact that IE is a bit of a slow plodder when it comes to opening web-pages, not to mention it's poor security owing to the fact it uses a technology called 'ActiveX'. Why not try a a different but bang up-to-date alternative like Firefox 2 which is compatible with Windows 98? You may be pleasantly surprised: http://www.mozilla-e...oducts/firefox/

Third in the browser wars is Opera, also bang-up-to-date and claims to be faster than the other two (a claim which many don't deny):
http://www.opera.com/

Edited by pip22, 14 January 2008 - 09:25 AM.

[silverfoxco]

Hello pip22!

Thank you for your kind welcome to the forum and reply to my post.

Thank you for the link to IE6 SP1. I already had it installed on my computer, but reinstalled it from the link you provided, to see if reinstallation would solve the problem. Then installed all critical updates and appropriate other updates. I don't know how or why, but this solved the problem of my Desk Top Icons modifying themselves. But, it did not do much for problem with web pages loading slowly.

I finally gave up in flustration as to the problem with IE loading pages slowly after all these years of never experiencing slow loading with IE. So, installed Foxfire browser. No more slow loading pages with it. In fact Foxfire loads the pages in the blink of an eye, just like IE did for me until the recent problems of the last few weeks. However, now that I've experienced Foxfire, I think I'll stay with it, as I do like the way it functions compared to IE. Actually, IE has never been my preference. I stayed away from it as long as I could, using Netscape instead, until many sites stopped supporting Netscape, etc.

While Foxfire now gives me a better alternative to IE and a good browsing experience, I'm now curious about why IE suddenly slowed down on me. As best as I can determine without being a Techie, is that it appears it might be some type of scripting problem. I'll probably continue to research it, just to satisfy my curiousity, etc.

Regarding Adaptec DirectCD ... I rarely use it to make CD's etc. It is attached to my 'E' Drive. I'm not sure if it is attached to my 'D' Drive (CD-ROM) or not. So my concern is if uninstalling DirectCD will cause me to have not CD-ROM driver, thereby creating a situation of not being able to use it to install programs, or load music CD's onto my computer. I'm concerned about this because whenever it acts up it causes both D and E drivers to disappear, then my CD ROM (drive D) becomes non-functional. Any words of wisdoms about this? Also, any recommendations as to an alternative to Adaptec DirectCD program that works on Windows 98SE?

BTW both D and E drives reappeared a couple hours after I made my original post here. LOL never fails ... contact a Techie about a computer problems and the problem goes away ... LOL

Thank you for your comments about defragging, etc. I do, and always have, run Disk Clean, Scan Disk, Defrag, Spybot S&D scan, Anti Virus Scan on a daily basis.

Thank you again for your time and knowledge you have shared with me to resolve my computer problems. You are very much appreciated. Now that I know about this forum I'll refer others to it, who might be in need of your services.

Have a fantastic day!

Bob

[pip22]

I know my reply is late, silverfoxco, but I am a 'techie' for about a dozen PC forums and what with doing other things (modding my PC for one) I just can't fit everything in every day. Anyway, I can assure you that if you remove DirectCD you will not lose the functionality of your CD-ROM drives. The problem you have with them now is exactly because DirectCD is installed. I recall it causing me similar problems on my previous OS (98SE) so I uninstalled it (especially after reading how unreliable this type of cd-writing is). Just be aware that if you do uninstall it, any cd-roms you've created using DirectCD will no longer be readable on your PC. So if you have any such CDs, you should first copy the files from them to another location so you can write them to a CD using normal methods later on. Then uninstall DirectCD.

I can't suggest an alternative simply because the technology is the same whatever name is given to it. And it's the technology itself which is unreliable and prone to causing problems with the OS. There's only one other that I know of, and it's called "InCD" by Nero, the people who make the "Nero Burning ROM" CD-writing application. They use to offer it as a free separate utility but now that's not so. However, you can download their old 'Nero 5' which should contain InCD, from here:
http://www.nero.com/...ero5-update.php

It will be a 30-day trial version but at least it will allow you try the InCD utility.

I have v7.0 and, tellingly, although InCD is included, it's deselected by default in the setup menu, which I interpret to mean they don't recommend using it.

Edited by pip22, 20 January 2008 - 02:46 PM.